When last we left off, we were at Mount Gambier Showgrounds.
A lovely little stop over, mainly because of the hot showers! Anyway we spent Sunday
in town stocking up and then went to the well known sunken garden (Umpherston Sinkhole).
It was spectacular and you could really see why everyone says you must visit
it. Originally it was created as an oasis away from Aussie heat, but now it’s a
public garden that descends deep into the ground, with cave walls, cascading
vines and flowers of all sorts, it was beautiful!
 |
| A view of the sunken gardens |
The next day we had The Hulk (our car) booked in at a
mechanic to beef it up a bit. We were told it would be finished by 5 and we’d
be back on the road again, so we thought we’d adventure the town a little more
and check out the Cave Gardens (Mt Gambier is actually built around a
cave/sinkhole…it’s not huge but it’s at the centre of town and has roses all
around it – very random). When it was nearing 5 Michael and I were beginning to
wonder what was going on, and upon calling the mechanic we found out that everything
was not finished. With our house being stored in the garage on stocks, it
somehow seemed only logical that we were to sleep in the garage that night.
Initially this idea seemed foreign and unpleasant, but having access to a
coffee machine, heater, tv and a computer meant we ended up being quite happy…we
did however have to wake up relatively early so when the first mechanic rolled
up we weren’t still asleep.
 |
| It doesnt look great, but it was actually a pretty good stay! |
So we had another several hours that day in town to kill, somehow
during this time we managed to find another way to spend a grand and ended up
with a new you-beaut fridge. We eventually got our beefed-up Hulky back, picked
up the fridge and did some serious re-arranging of the camper. Then we set off –
in search of more adventure. However it was rather late in the day so that
adventure really just meant find somewhere to sleep! After taking the wrong
road yet again, attempting to read the longitude and latitude of our location
and then finding a lovely fellow who pointed us in the right direction, we
ended up at Bool Lagoon – a bit dry on the water so more like Bool almost swamp
but it still had lots of birds. We set up, annex up and began cooking tea. I
thought it had begun to rain because I could hear little taps on the annex, I
looked up and saw hundreds of mozzies and subsequently had a little freak-out. Asides
from the mozzies Bool “Lagoon” was rather lovely. We spent the next day having
showers, wandering around and swapping fridges over. Good times!
 |
| Stalactites in Naracoorte caves |
The next morning we set off towards Naracoorte – Caving time!
I’d been looking forward to going to the world heritage fossil caves since just
after the concept of our trip took form. We descended 20 odd metres below the
ground into picturesque caves, where beautifully lit stalactites, scarfs and
really cool rock formations were in abundance. After walking through several
caves we ended up at the fossil sites, where we saw fossils from a long long
long time ago! Because we were a small tour (6) we were able to see another
chamber and climb some rather scary slanty steps to overlook some more fossil
sites. Very cool. We slowly ascended and had a picnic in the grounds before
heading to Naracoorte town…not long after arriving in town, we had seen the
town. So we grabbed a few naughty foods (cheese and choccy biscuits) from the
grocery shop then we were away – back to Bool “Lagoon”. We decided to take the
4WD track around the lagoon because the local ranger had recommended it –
saying there was still some water on that side and brolgas had been sighted. We
found water by half way, but by about three quarters through we felt lost. We
reached a gate that was locked even though this was clearly the way to go – so I
called the national parks office. Apparently a lovely local fellow had locked
the gate because he had nothing better to do, despite police and court efforts
the gate keeps being locked. We were directed through other gates and sort of
found the track again. Feeling reassured we continued on, by now it was late in
the afternoon, making for a lovely sight when looking at the lagoons and birds,
but also a tad worrying when the mozzies were potentially looming! Again we
found a gate, this time not locked, so we went through it – only to be greeted
by a full herd of sheep. By now we were very close to the end of the track and
turning back meant over an hour’s adventure – so we ploughed on, well herded
on? The sheep were following us, surrounding us and coming at us. Seriously bizarre.
At one stage I had to hop out to scare then away. Eventually we reached another
gate, got out before the sheep and headed back to camp.
 |
| "Kangaroo" from many years ago |
aa) This is a place an old man
would like to sit and ponder
bb)
The sand smelt like old man
Regardless, it was a nice stay in amongst trees all alone.
The next morning, feeling the need to get back to nature we went 4WDing along a
rather long and at times rugged track. It was superb. We saw a baby wombat, a
fresh water lake, several really weirdly placed picnic areas, beaches and
rocks. We settled at a campsite called The Gums – confusing because there wasn’t
really many gums around. The one Gum I did manage to find had a homemade swing
attached so good times ensued.
With wine and cheese to follow we had a lovely evening
(despite the weather still doing its best to dampen our spirits) and that my
friends is the end of that chapter!
Lesson of the week: Don’t be afraid to Ask – Ask for help,
ask for directions, ask for advice – in the long run it pays off!
No comments:
Post a Comment