Quality Inn International
Millicent Rd, (formerly Flag Inn), Mount Gambier, South Australia, 5290, Australia
More about Mount Gambier
Photos
the pump house
some of the items for sale
another view
cave garden
Forum Posts
Driving Melb -> Adel
by Chuq
My wife and I will be driving from Melbourne, to Adelaide and back again in February. We have allowed about 2-3 days each way, hopefully one way via Mt Gambier and the other way via Horsham. Does anyone have any recommendations of things we shouldn't miss on these routes?
Re: Driving Melb -> Adel
by JustinJansen
Phoehoe drive up north via mildura and visit Murray Sunset ore Littel Desert NP. Very nice area, and the barossa valley is very nice too!
Re: Driving Melb -> Adel
by CandS
We drove Melbourne to Adelaide in 2001 and had a great time... Almost the whole length of the Great Ocean Road is gorgeous... In particular we loved the petrified forest, Cape Bridgewater (great walk!), 12 Apostles and London Bridge. You can find more info on my Port Campbell page.
I haven't been via Horsham though as far as I can remember...although many friends have said the Grampians are fantastic...
Good luck!!
Re: Re: Driving Melb -> Adel
by Kate-Me
Definitely don't miss Mt Gambier - I try to go there a few times each year and I still haven't seen everything! Easy to spend a whole weekend there....the blue lake, many caves, nice gardens, sinkholes, limestone buildings...very nice indeed. And then there's Naracoorte, about 100 kms north...bat cave, more caves, fossil caves (but not a lot else in the town itself, unlike Mt Gambier, pop 30,000 and plenty of shopping etc).
Ballarat is great (though it took me a few years to figure this out as I take it a bit for granted since I was born there and still live there). Botanical gardens, a great lake, Birdworld, Sovereign Hill, Gold Museum (lots of stuff on all this on my pages)
Been to Adelaide via Horsham only once and found it rather boring (apart from the Grampians, which are also really great and worth days on their own)
Horsham area mostly wheat farming, rather dry, flat, pretty uninteresting to me and it doesn't improve much for about 6 more hours driving when you're about 1 hour from Adelaide.
Via Mt Gambier on the other hand, plenty of medium sized towns to see with their own attractions, State Parks, hills, mountains, etc. Much more interesting.
Hope this helps!
Re: Re: Driving Melb -> Adel
by Chuq
Thanks for the information guys...
We have decided to make our Ballarat visit a day trip from Melbourne; (we are actually from Hobart and will be taking the ferry from Devonport to Melbourne, staying 5 nights in Melb first). We will then drive to Adelaide direct in one day, without stopping; spend 10 nights in Adelaide, and then return via the Great Ocean Road with stops in both Mt Gambier, and Port Campbell. It should be good :)
Travel Tips for Mount Gambier
Wildlife Park - Valley Lake
by iandsmith
The park is a lovely open space for picnics while the wildlife reserve won me over. Trying to get through the entry gate (it's free) past a prying overbearing emu was a bit disconcerting but there are well laid out trails to walk around and there are many bird species on show as well as kangaroos, most of whom are quite tame. I'm not recommending that you approach them of course, it's just that you can get quite close for photography purposes. It was great to see people acting in an appropriate manner at this facility and simply letting the animals do their thing. I had to keep moving to get a photo of this bird though they have learnt not to fly away, making happy-snapping much easier.
The lake itself is available for some water sports though it isn't huge.
Adventure Caving
by Kate-Me
Adventure caving is a popular activity in and around Mt Gambier.
Englebrecht Cave (which runs beneath the main highway in town) has several water filled segments which can be explored by qualified cave divers.
The water is so crystal clear and beautiful.
There are several other Adventure Caves at Naracoorte, approx 100 kms north of Mt Gambier. There must be some place in town where you can hire equipment - see the local dive shop perhaps.
Dairy farmland
by Kate-Me
Mt Gambier's surrounds, with its almost endless supply of underground water and quite good rainfall is a very good place for dairy farming.
(The level of the Blue Lake never drops and at the sink hole ponds near Nelson & Pt McDonnell where the clear water comes up through the limestone, millions of litres flow out of the already very deep ponds (average 9 - 11 mts at Ewen ponds and into the sea nearby)
Caving
by Kate-Me
The Englebrecht cave right on the main Jubilee highway inside the Mt Gambier township is a nice cave to see (cave divers use the under water part of it) or you can also drive to Nelson (approx 20 minutes away) and see the really nice Princess Margaret Rose Caves (these are said to be the best in the region) Each cave is different and I found them all great.
The Tantanoola cave, another nice one, is also quite close to Mt Gambier.
Shopping and Wandering
by Kate-Me
While you wander the shops, you can also admire more of the stone buildings.
This shop, (in or close to Commercial St) is a very nice furnishings/gift shop.
From the shape of it though, I'd say it may once have been the Post Office.
Hotel Helper
Mount Gambier
Questions and Answers
Q: freshwater fishing "are there any freshwater fish in the area? i may be moving to the area and am a keen fw fisho.
cheers wes"
A: "Mt Gambier, Australia.
You can drive to the Murray river cod, carp and perch can be cought when a fresh flows through. If you are after trout etc you will need to travel..."
Read 4 Replies ยป
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