Thursday was our last day in Mt Gambier and as usual it was raining.  At least we had plans to thwart the weather.  We went down into Engelbrechts Cave for a quick tour.  This cave is what is known as a dry cave as it had no hanging limestone formations in it.  It is just part of the huge cave network that runs underneath Mt Gambier.  At the bottom of the cave you can see that it is all part of a huge underwater network of caves.  Cave divers come from all around the world to dive in these caves.  To be permitted to dive in this network takes between 5 and 10 years training.  A bit difficult to photograph as you couldn't get close enough but the water is crystal clear.  You could see the bottom and it looked about 1 metre deep but it was in fact 8 metres deep.

The mine entrance

 

After out tour and coffee we just returned to home base to pack up and get the van ready to leave.  Come Friday morning we were off bright and early, about 10, for the drive to Kingston SE.  It was fairly incredible but yes, it was not raining.

We drove through a tiny fishing village called Beachport but there was nothing there of any great note.  The first stop that we had was at Robe.  This is a lovely little beachside town and judging by the cost of the Real Estate, it is very popular.  Probably reminded me a bit of a smaller version of Anglesea.

We went on a bit of a Leyland Brothers tour of the town and went to check out the marina, eventually finishing up at a local tourist site called 'The Obelisk' This structure stands 40ft tall and acted as a landmark for shipping and it also contained rocket fired lifesaving equipment to be fired to stricken ships.  It is painted red and white and can supposedly be seen on a clear day from 20k's away out to sea.  Just across from the obelisk is a rock feature called Doorway rock.  Obviously so named because of the big opening in the rock caused by the constant pounding of the waves. 

To complete our nature trip we headed up a steep hill, towing the van, to the local lookout.  Not to be missed according to staff at the information centre.  Alas, when we got there it was closed for repairs, and looked like it had been for some time.

After our huge disappointment at missing the lookout it was back on the road again, with our nose pointed towards Kingston.  On arrival in the town it wasn't too hard to find the caravan park as the town is not that big.  The Caravan Park is set on the ocean and as you can see below, the sunset was just incredible looking out of our van window.

A close inspection of the beach shows that there is no beach.  There is just tons and tons of smelly seaweed.  It must be about 6ft deep on the foreshore and it just goes on forever.  Of course, in the tourist brochures, Kingston has the most beautiful beaches, maybe in the summer only.  There is a great bike path that runs past the caravan park and takes us into the township.  As it is now Saturday, and for the first time not raining, we had a leisurely ride into town.  Checked out another local piece of history, being "" The Big Lobster "".  How awesome is that.  Also checked out a sculpture that is supposed to be a sort of sundial, but of course, there was no sun to check it out properly. 

Having a quiet night tonight before heading off to a little place called Meningie tomorrow.

By4now.