Mt Gambier to Parnka Point - On the Coorong Saturday 16th October 2010

 

As we left Mt Gambier, we called in at the Umpherston Sink Hole on the outskirts of the town. This hole was once a cave which collapsed forming a sink hole and creating the perfect environment for a garden. There is a large overhang of rock and a waterfall. It is floodlit at night and is quite remarkable. After quite a freezing cold night, the sun shone again and we moved on..

 As we wound west along the Coorong,which is the scenic gateway to the Limestone coast and takes its name from the Aboriginal word Karangh which means narrow neck. It is one of Australia's most fragile ecosystems with almost 47,000 hectares of stunning scenery. Along the way we stopped at Millicent, then Beachport which boasts the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere. It was quite windy and still cold so we declined the long walk out along it.


We then drove further to Robe which lies at the southern end of Guichen Bay. It used to be one of the Limestone coast's busiest ports. The Cape Ombey obelisk was built in 1853  as a navigational guide to assist entry to the bay. However it didn't prove very successful with lots of ship wrecks ensuing! The present light station was then built which proved more successful.

The seas were quite rough and the rock formations along the coast quite spectacular. This rock arch had almost worn through and was in danger of imminent collapse.

 Our next stop was at Kingston SE, the home of the big lobster. The Cape Jaffa light station was originally located out at sea on the treacherous Margaret Brock Reef. It was dismantled in 1970 and moved to Kingston. Regarded as an engineering feat, it was the only offshore lighthouse which had light house keeper's quarters.

As is usual for us... the rock lobster was out of season and not available.

As it had been a long day, we began to look for a campsite. We diverted to Jack's Corner which was the largest pelican breeding ground on the Coorong. When we got out of the van, the stench of the mangroves hit us hard. On the ground were thousands of black leeches. It was a unanimous decision to get back in and move on...  Eventually we found a superb spot called Parkna Point. The view was spectacular and we only had one other camper there. We backed into our pitch and poured the wine!!  Another great back window view!