Its a Hop, Skip and Jump to Kangaroo Island - Retrospective TR (updated 5/1)

[PrincessInOz]

Something Old - Umpherston Sinkhole - Again

It's Groundhog Day!

Day 2 felt like we were turning full circle. The boys had seen my image of the Umpherstone sinkhole over dinner last night and wanted to go back to get their own versions. I was happy for the re-do. It gave me the opportunity to put a pano together.





We also timed our visit with the blue sky.





It must look really beautiful when there are a heap more flowers blooming. Next time!









And what did I learn from this re-do?


Yeah. Do NOT share pictures with my fellow togs until we have completely left the area!!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Something Blue - Blue Lake Crater

The Blue Lake in Mount Gambier is effectively the water-filled caldera of an extinct volcano. It's the other local attraction that we had put on our to-do list.




It is one of four crater lakes in the area.




We really did try to push on down the road....but it really felt like we were locked into staying in Mt Gambier.




We weren't around for the prime Blue coloration season. During December to March, the lake turns to a vibrant cobalt blue colour. The cause of the phenomenon is believed to be caused by the warming of the surface layers and the precipitation of calcium carbonate into microcrystallites. These, in turn, scatter the blue wavelength of sunlight. Someday. I might actually come back to see how blue the lake actually gets.


For this visit, this was at good as it got. The blue sky did make an appearance and we got the blue reflection from the sky on the lake.





Lots of lock wishes around!





There was a walk up on the 'hill' behind the lake. My fellow travellers decided it would be a good idea to see if we got a better vantage view of the lake.





It was marginally better

 

[PrincessInOz]

Something Somewhat New - The Other Side of the Lake


Whilst we were here, we decided we needed to drive round the lake. Afterall, it was highly improbable that any of us would be heading back this way.

All we got was a different perspective of the lake on the other side.





We didn't see much to inspire us for photo taking on the other side of the lake. But we did find some trees with interesting patterns in their bark.





Once upon a time, it was a rite of passage to carve initials into trees.




Maybe...not so much these days?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Something Borrowed - We were running out of Time (at the Cave Gardens)


Believe it or not! We had spent the entire morning in Mt Gambier. We did try and push on down the road......but we also needed to see the Cave Gardens in the daytime.





Of course we took photos.




From all angles.





In the daytime, the Cave Gardens looked every bit as pretty as it did last night. We were very lucky to see it with water flowing. It's no where near as big or as pretty as the Umpherston Sinkhole.....but this one is located right in the centre of town and within spitting distance of everything.

By now, we were definitely running on borrowed time! We still had a fair way to make it to our hotel for the night.

 

[ACDSNY]

I'm with Kimmar, the Gaol would be scary. The gardens and sinkhole are beautiful.

 

[kimmar067]

Day 2, 8 September 2019


Where is the Food Porn????


Good morning Mt Gambier. At 8 am on a Sunday morning, it was super quiet.

.....WHAT? Huh? I can't hear ya...

 

[kimmar067]

Something Blue - Blue Lake Crater
....We weren't around for the prime Blue coloration season. During December to March, the lake turns to a vibrant cobalt blue colour. The cause of the phenomenon is believed to be caused by the warming of the surface layers and the precipitation of calcium carbonate into microcrystallites. These, in turn, scatter the blue wavelength of sunlight. Someday. I might actually come back to see how blue the lake actually gets.

...no wonder you missed out - you spelled 'color' wrong!

 

[kimmar067]

Something Borrowed - We were running out of Time (at the Cave Gardens)

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....lovin' the waterfalls pics....

 

[kimmar067]

I'm with Kimmar, the Gaol would be scary. The gardens and sinkhole are beautiful.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Oh my! Glad you alerted me to this trip, PIO Thanks.

 

[franandaj]

I'm glad you alerted me too....although my name is not Bobbi!

I miss reading your reports, and your puns and such!

 

[kimmar067]

I'm glad you alerted me too....although my name is not Bobbi!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Oh my! Glad you alerted me to this trip, PIO Thanks.

YAY!! Glad I did as well.

I'm glad you alerted me too....although my name is not Bobbi!

I miss reading your reports, and your puns and such!

Oooh! I just assumed you had seen the alert on the Old Fogies thread! Saw-ry! Glad you're here too!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm with Kimmar, the Gaol would be scary. The gardens and sinkhole are beautiful.

I did wonder about staying in the gaol. But it was an experience that I just couldn't pass up.

 

[PrincessInOz]

...no wonder you missed out - you spelled 'color' wrong!

Depends on which side of the pond you come from. British vs American spelling.

 

[PrincessInOz]

A Large Watering Hole

We really did try and make our way out of Mt Gambier. We were heading down the Riddick Highway and through Coonawarra wine country. We didn't stop for vineyards but we just had to stop for the grazing.




Yeah. I do mean lunch! An hour out of Mt Gambier, we arrived in Naracoorte. With a population size of under 6000, we weren't expecting a large town. The word Naracoorte has its derivation in the local Aboriginal language, meaning place of running water or large waterhole.




You guessed it. We found the local pub!

The Naracoorte Hotel Motel was filled with the usual local suspects.




And reminders that we weren't in a big smoke.





I expressed my views about eating seafood at an inland small town last night. Obviously....I never follow my own advice! Thankfully, the calamari was good. Three out of the four in my car pool chose the calamari. It tasted fresh and was rather tender.




DH was the odd-vegan out. The kitchen was very accommodating. They were happy to amend a dish to suit his dietary requirements.




Actually, the grub was surprisingly good. I would be happy to recommend the Naracoorte Hotel Motel as a stopping point.

In fact. If I were ever heading this way again, I would make more time for this whole area. With the Coonawarra vineyards and the world heritage listed limestone Naracoorte Caves, I think this area deserves at least two days in itself. Next time!

 

[PrincessInOz]

A Large Grain Silo


We still had about 3 - 4 hours drive to get to our destination for the night. That didn't leave us any time to stop, But when we hit the little community of Coonalpyn, the car came to a screeching halt.





This is an example of the Silo Art that has been revitalising some towns in country Victoria.

There are hundreds of silos littered across regional Australia. Originally built to store grain, changes in rail infrastructure and agriculture demand has forced quite a number of these silos to close.




Silo art started in Brim, a small town in Victoria's north west Mallee region. Grain Corp, which owns most of the silos, agreed to let Guido van Helten (an artist from Brisbane) to paint a mural on a 30m high silo. That mural became an instant success and drew visitors to Brim.




In 2016, Grain Corp agreed to donate more silos to create one of the largest outdoor galleries in Australia. It literally stretches more than 200 km. Whilst the Coonalpyn silo is outside of this original silo art trail, the success of the art form has meant more and more towns seeking similar artwork so that visitors come.

 

[PrincessInOz]

More Food Porn - Late Dinner


We didn't stay long at the Art Silo. Just long enough to capture pictures and our car kept heading on down the road to our motel for the night. It was dark when we arrived, so there are no pictures.

The motel did recommend we head to a local pub. We just made it there in time before the kitchen closed.....like literally. If we had even been 5 minutes later, it would have been shut!

I went with some local sausages and veg.






DH's plate of food.





The two other people in the carpool went with a plate of cheese. I didn't trouble them for a picture.

The food was good enough....but I won't be rushing back there in a hurry.

 

[PrincessInOz]

For those of you following along, the Dis-ser that I caught up with was @Aussie Wendy . She has started her TR, after a gentle prod from me.

If you want to read along, you'll find her TR here.

 

[kimmar067]

I did wonder about staying in the gaol. But it was an experience that I just couldn't pass up.

....that's okay....I'll live vicariously through you....