Thursday : Left Robe and drove along the coast as far as Beachport,then headed in towards Mount Gambier pasiing through the town of Millicent. Here we drove out to look at the Wind Farm on the Canundra Development Road. A wonderful local property owner has left a gate open so you can drive up onto a hill on his property and stand right beneath a wind turbine(local Information Centre gives out info). They are massive!(Have kept pamphlet with details but can't remember offhand and it is packed away - unusual for me - hey!)There will be 123 when completed and they will supply 1/8th of SA's power!
We arrived in Mt Gambier at lunch time so spent the afternoon exploring the shops and The Cave(a small volcanic crater in town which supplied the early town with water).Leaving the tourist 'stuff' for tomorrow.
Friday: We spent the morning exploring the volcanic craters in Mt Gambier: Blue Lake(filled with a mysterious blue water which supplies the town water), Valley Lake,Brownes lake and the Devil's Punchbowl which shared another crater , and above this crater was The Centenary Tower. All these are accessible by car, bike or walking tracks.
The Tower was accessed by an 85m walk which I thought wasn't long! I'll do it with Jessica and George! Problem - it had a 1 in 4 gradient - really too steep for me but by the time I realised that and decided to stop we were half way up.It was a very slow ascent and I was worried about the descent(the caretaker even offered to drive me back down at the end of the tour but I was too stubborn).
At the top, was the Tower and you could do a tour up to the top of it. While sitting outside waiting for George and Jess the Caretaker decided I shouldn't miss seeing it after walking up,and talked me into going up too. Once more I had to bum it down a few stairs and take it slow but the caretaker made sure I did it. Beware, this walk is for the able bodied. Most people found the ascent difficult. I found the descent difficult as well. But well worth the effort for the 360 degree views.
PS it was very cold and windy at the top!
We had lunch in the Valley Lake crater beside the lake - an excellent spot for young children with a flora and fauna park, boardwalks and a massive playground. Finally we finished off the afternoon with a visit to the information centre which also has a 'historical discovery centre'. We were interested in seeing the 3d display which features a 3d person, Christine Smith, telling of her life in the early days as a missionary. We have now seen 4 of this type of hologram display. We thought the centre was quite good, though it may be dependent on others interests and willingness to read displays. Altogether it was a busy and interesting day.
Will post photos soon
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