Limestone Coast road trip: Blue Lake and Coonawarra

A Limestone Coast road trip in South Australia can run from the Blue Lake at Mount Gambier to the Coonawarra wine strip in one day. The Coonawarra Vignerons Association, the local winemakers' group, says Coonawarra is 60 km north of Mount Gambier. We suggest staying a night in Mount Gambier and adding a detour to the Naracoorte Caves if you have time.

Sources for this section: Coonawarra Vignerons: Wine Dine Sleep Visit 2014; Wineries (member list).

The route at a glance

The Limestone Coast sits in the south-east of South Australia, next to the Victorian border. Mount Gambier is the largest city in regional South Australia, and Mount Gambier Tourism puts it 436 km from Adelaide and 441 km from Melbourne. The Vignerons Association says Regional Express flies to Mount Gambier daily and that hire cars are available at the airport terminal.

Our plan: see the lake and the gardens in the morning, then drive north to Coonawarra for the afternoon.

Sources for this section: Mount Gambier Tourism: About Mount Gambier. Wikipedia: Limestone Coast. Coonawarra Vignerons: Visiting Coonawarra. Table facts are sourced below.

Stop one: the Blue Lake

Start at the Blue Lake. Mount Gambier Tourism says it sits in one of three extinct volcanic craters and is the city's drinking water, so no swimming or diving is allowed.

Mount Gambier Tourism says the lake starts to change from winter steel blue to brilliant turquoise blue in November, then changes back to steel blue in March. Wikipedia gives December to March for the blue. February falls inside both ranges. Wikipedia says the exact cause is still uncertain. The same article adds that it is generally considered likely that summer warming of the surface water lets tiny calcium carbonate crystals form and scatter blue light.

A 3.6 km road and walking track runs around the lake and gives access to many viewing points, Mount Gambier Tourism says. Mount Gambier Tourism also lists a 45 minute tour by Aquifer Tours for a closer look. On that tour, a glass panelled lift takes visitors down the original well shaft, and a tunnel leads to the lake.

Sources for this section: Mount Gambier Tourism: Blue Lake page; Blue Lake attractions listing; Aquifer Tours. Wikipedia: Blue Lake.

Stop two: sinkholes and gardens in town

Mount Gambier Tourism lists two sinkhole gardens among its attractions, and both are free to enter.

Mount Gambier Tourism says Umpherston Sinkhole formed when the top of a cave chamber fell in. James Umpherston beautified it around 1886, and it is open at all times. From dusk, possums come into the floodlit gardens to feed.

The Cave Garden is in the centre of the city, and Mount Gambier Tourism says it was the early settlers' original water supply. It is famous for its roses, and a sound and light show runs each night, with times that change by season.

Mount Gambier Tourism lists numerous motels, hotels and caravan parks, and many bed and breakfasts.

Sources for this section: Mount Gambier Tourism: Umpherston Sinkhole; The Cave Garden; Region access.

Stop three: Coonawarra

From Mount Gambier, take the Riddoch Highway north through Penola. Coonawarra is a small town north of Penola, and Wikipedia's Coonawarra article says the highway runs through the middle of the wine region.

Wine Australia calls Coonawarra's cabernet sauvignon, a red wine, world-renowned. It says Coonawarra's red terra rossa is Australia's most famous soil. The Vignerons Association's About page says the strip of terra rossa is only 21 km long and 2 km wide. The Association's 2014 guide says John Riddoch founded Coonawarra and that his winery is now Wynns Coonawarra Estate.

The About page also says more than 25 wineries have cellar doors, or winery shops with tastings. It adds that most are open seven days a week except Christmas Day. Check opening hours first, since some open by appointment only. If you plan to taste wine, we suggest picking a driver first. The Association's Visiting page lists the Penola Coonawarra Taxi Service and says bookings are preferred before you arrive.

Sources for this section: Wikipedia: Riddoch Highway; Coonawarra, South Australia. Wine Australia: Coonawarra. Coonawarra Vignerons: About; Wine Dine Sleep Visit 2014; Wineries (member list); Visiting Coonawarra.

Optional detour: Naracoorte Caves

If you have more time, drive on toward Naracoorte, north of Coonawarra on the Riddoch Highway. Naracoorte Caves National Park is on Wonambi Road, 10 km south of the town. UNESCO lists the Naracoorte Caves as part of the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites, added to the World Heritage List in 1994. The park says it has 26 known caves and over 100 known fossil deposits, with bones of Thylacoleo carnifex, the marsupial lion.

The park lists opening hours of 9am to 5pm. Entry is free, but tours cost extra. The Victoria Fossil Cave tour takes about an hour, with up to half an hour in the Fossil Chamber. The park says you also get the chance to analyse complete skeletons of megafauna, which UNESCO describes as giant, now extinct animals.

The park says the Bat Centre and Blanche Cave tour also takes about an hour. In the Bat Observation Centre you can watch a colony of southern bent-winged bats in their maternity chambers through infrared technology. In the summer months you can also watch the bats leave at dusk. Check the park's daily tour times before you go.

Sources for this section: UNESCO: Australian Fossil Mammal Sites. Naracoorte Caves: History and fossils; World Heritage; Hours and location; Victoria Fossil Cave; Bat Centre and Blanche Cave; Tour times. Wikipedia: Riddoch Highway.

Planning tips

• Best months: For the lake colour, we suggest December to February. Both Mount Gambier Tourism and Wikipedia put the blue in those months, and Mount Gambier Tourism says the lake changes back in March.
• Days: We suggest two days, with a night in Mount Gambier, and a third day to add Naracoorte without rushing.

Sources for this section: Mount Gambier Tourism: Blue Lake page. Wikipedia: Blue Lake.