Limestone coast

Sunday morning we set off back across the border and into SA.  We had to put our clocks back 30min cause that's just how the South Australians like to roll, not up with NSW or VIC different to its northen neighbour NT or back with QLD or even further back with WA but just float along in the middle just doin their own thang. Anyways we pulled into the Big 4 at Blue lake did the necessary set up get chores done then out to explore. First stop yep you guessed it the Information centre and they had lots of information. We were impressed by how friendly and informative the lady was who was working there. We then went for lunch in town and then to the main centre building where the top level was dedicated to the towns past. We spent time in the interactive room then watched the hour long movie on the volcanos around the area and also in Vic. It was interesting to watch as we had walked the Crater of Mt Eccles and it featured in the documentary. After we visited the sink hole in the middle of town and on the outside of town. Local volunteers have made the sink holes into gardens and beautiful spaces to explore. Back at camp the rain set in so we retreated to the camp kitchen which was comfortable for the evening. Each night at 9pm the sink hole in the middle of town shows a light and sound show with a video. We rugged up and headed in to watch it. It was nice to see the way they had done it. 

And the rain kept falling all through the night it rained and rained and as we woke guess what it was still raining :( when it eased we packed hooked up and bundled out of camp. A quick visit to the Natural Resources Office to pay for and pick up a holiday and camping SA permit which now allows us unlimited access to all the national parks on the coast from border to border. We wanted to visit and stay at the Piccaninnie Ponds which is supposed to be a spectacular site where water from the underground lava tubes and tunnels has made its way to the surface 35,000 years after falling from the sky. With the drizzle continuing we arrived to find the whole area under water and not the water coming up from underground but water from the sky pushing through above the ground. It was disappointing to say the least as I had been looking forward to seeing this place for about 2 weeks. Oh well out came the books and maps and we pushed off to our next spot.  We tried the Cape Banks lighthouse camp but it was also very soggy and smelly too as the beach was covered in sea weed so back on the road and towards Millicent. We decided to try a place near Beachport with the back up option that if it too wasn't what we needed there would be a C/park to spend the night. We did a drive out and yep very wet and with the concern of more rain and being flooded in we headed back to town. After paying and then waiting for the rain to stop we set camp. We have a stunning outlook across the water it's just a shame that it's under 5 degrees out and the wind it howling through at 40-50km. We made the most of our situation and kept comfortable inside looking at options for the rest of the week. Oh and just a side note Beachport has SA's second longest pier at 772 meters long. We hope to walk it tomorrow.

 Piccaninnie Ponds, Limestone Roads.

 Can't camp here!!!

 Cape Banks Lookout.

We woke to a nicer day Tuesday but hey unless it was the same it honestly had to be better. We packed and left the park by 9am destination unknown. We had a few spots to look at but we really had no idea where we would end up. We decided to walk out to the end of the pier to start our day. It was well a long pier with water all around it, the water was a beautiful blue but the wind was still blowing which made for a cool walk. Back in the car and after warming up we headed back east a little to Southend which was another lovely little beach side town. There were 2 camping spots in from here. We looked at both but decided the day was still early so we turned around and continued west. We pulled into Little Dip Conservation Reserve which is what they call national parks down here. One camp site was being used by a camper trailer magazine to do some filming so we couldn't bunk there unfortunately but it was interesting to see which big camper trailer companies they did have there. The other campsite had a spot right next to a little lake which suited us fine. We were only about 10km from Robe. After lunch and a cuppa we headed into Robe for a few supplies. We explored the town and then 2 more campsites still in the same national park but not connected by road to where we were. Back to camp for a afternoon relax but it wasn't long before the dinosaur sized mosquitoes chased us inside.

Wednesday was going to be a do nothing day. It was cold outside I don't think it made 15 degrees and overcast the whole time. We stayed in our pjs under the blankets and watched movies all day. Thanks goes to Rah for supplying today's viewing. Oh I did manage to take a photo of the sunset from the trailer door. It lit the lake us golden and was beautiful to watch while having dinner.

 I woke hmmmmmm overcast again and within 30 seconds I heard rain sprinkling on the roof. Ahhhhh crap. Oh well not much we can do about it. It's now Thursday and we are not hanging around here being eaten alive by mosquitoes. So we packed, it seemed to be clearing we even saw the sun for a few minutes. It only sprinkled about 4 times so toady was certainly looking up. We decided to head inland slightly and visit a few other national parks. We drove to Penola and visited the info centre. Penola has a great display about its town and war time souvenirs. After caching up with the Hamilton's via phone we stocked up at the IGA and headed for camp. The clouds seemed to also be lifting and the bright glowing thing in the sky showing through a little more. We set camp overlooking a beautiful wetlands area with heaps and heaps of birds. We had lunch then sat in the sun to soak up the warm. We watched in amazement as a large flock of birds on many occasions would circle in a Helix formation out over the water. They did this various times all afternoon and had us puzzled as to what they were really doing. Always in the same direction at about the same speed around they would go. Anyway we went and did 2 of the walks enjoying seeing all sorts of birds particularly the families of black Swans and then back at camp sat and put our feet up with the sun on our backs and enjoyed being warm, outside and just ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Friday we were not sure to stay where we were as we had a nice spot with good view or head off exploring. After a little researching we decided to pack and move on a few spots not far had good reviews so we took the risk. We drove through Naracoorte getting fuel on the way and arrived at camp beside Cockatoo Lake around noon. After a quick assessment of the grounds we picked a fantastic little spot plenty big enough for just us, up on a slight hill over looking the lake. Close enough to other campers to be friendly but far enough away to have our own privacy. The spot we found was only big enough for 1 possibly 2 if you knew each other so we knew we had it all to ourselves. We set camp enjoyed lunch outside under the huge gum trees overlooking the lake. We noticed a family pull up with their speed boat and they started doing laps with the girls behind. James couldn't resist and took out his RC boat for a spin. We got chatting with them then spent a few hours sitting on the bank of the river with our feet in the water chatting while the girls tried all sorts of water sports. We met the neighbours who were close to us and who just happened to also have a big fire pit and plenty of wood. They were friendly so we enjoyed a BBQ dinner, had lovely warm bush showers then went and had a very funny night by the fire. We met, Ali & Tom, Bev & Wayne, Maurie & Donna all who were very funny and we chatted late into the night.

 James enjoying his RC boat.

 Looking back towards the rest of camp.

We woke to a stunning calm warm day. The first for ages.  A day of dot sitting and socialising was in order. Bev & Wayne were keen to see our shower set up so they visited with Ali & Tom and we chatted about the Coleman and other various camping tricks. Mid morning I baked a batch of scones in the camp oven which went down a treat with the neighbours we then spent the rest of the day by the lake watching all the boats with fishermen and skiers behind them zooming around the lake. James got Zumi out to play and we had a great day. Late afternoon Ali tried out her camp oven for the very first time with some more scones which turned out wonderful also. We cooked roast chicken & veg in ours while we kept warm. A cold change had pushed in about 6pm. After dinner we rejoined the fire but it was just to cold and windy and everyone bailed to their trailers at 9pm. 

The limestone coast was certainly not what I had expected but hey that's what this holiday is all about finding new places discovering new things.