Posted on 23 October 2025
by
Mum Today we woke to cloudy by dry skies. We packed up once again and hit the road
headed for Geelong. With John's back is still sore I did most of the driving
today. We stopped in Warrnambool for lunch and a play in the playground. There
were some really good ziplines and a big slide.
Just before dinner we pulled into Riverview Family Caravan Park - our last
campground for the trip - in Ocean Grove (just outside Geelong). The place was
pretty quiet but we could see why it would fill up in summer with the river and
beaches so close by.
Posted on 22 October 2025
by
Mum Last night we had quite the thunderstorm blow through camp and woke this morning
to gale force winds and rain. Rather than try to drive to Geelong today as
originally planned, we opted to stay another night here in Mount Gambier.
Letting John's back have a rest day and hopefully for the storm to move past.
Today's weather was the worst we have had all trip. It continued to blow and
rain all day. The kids and I escaped the caravan for a bit by going bowling in
town and play in the local arcade. On the way home we saw several tree branches
on the ground and even a building that had lost part of its roof.
Hopefully the weather improves in the coming days as we continue our journey
east.
Posted on 21 October 2025
by
Mum This morning was looking like our only chance to have a look around Mount
Gambier before the rains were meant to settle in. I headed out early for a run
around Blue Lake and a wander around town and Cave Gardens before making my way
back to camp. Then we all piled into the car to drive to the trailhead for
Observatory Hill. John's sore back had struck again (something about Adelaide
seems to set it off!! Both times it coincided with leaving Adelaide) so he
walked slowly up the hill while the kids and I waited for him at the top. The
view from there was amazing. Since it was located on the edge of an old volcanic
cone we were high above the surrounding farmland below.
Our next stop was to Little Blue Lake, which is a water filled sink hole that in
warmer weather would make a great swimming hole. There is even a dock to swim
from. While we where there, there were two scuba divers in the water - all we
could see was their air bubbles coming to the surface.
The next stop we made was at Port MacDonnell on the coast. We drove out to Cape
Northumberland to watch the waves roll in and see what was left of the
lighthouse (not much!). There were lots of seabirds nesting on the small island
off the cape and sea lions swimming in the bays below the cliffs. The cape marks
the southern most point in South Australia and according to the sign we were
only 770km from Hobart.
Once back at camp the rains started so we stayed close to home for the rest of
the day. Popping out to the campground playground and visiting the local alpacas
between the showers.
Posted on 20 October 2025
by
Mum Today we packed up and left the Adelaide area for the last time and made our way
south to Mount Gambier near the Victorian border. We stopped in Keith to play in
the playground between rain showers. This playground had a cool cart you could
ride that ran along a rail. It was sort of like a short roller coaster.
By the time we got to Mount Gambier in the afternoon the rain had stopped. We
set up camp at the Pine Country Caravan Park and headed into town to visit
Umpherston Sinkhole (Balumbul). The sink hole was once part of a station,
whose owner turned it into a garden and recreation area for people to come
visit. It even used to have a small lake inside it. Now the ground water level
has dropped so it is dry and has a beautiful garden that you can walk down into.
Afterwards we played on the swings, and with our yo-yos, in the park surrounding
the sinkhole before heading back for dinner.
