Mount Gambier and Beachport

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Introduction

The hikers are normally silent over summer as SA is way too hot to walk - so this year we headed off down South - to Tasmania. Peter decided to drive - which meant we had an opportunity to catch up with Tom and Kate in Mount Gambier and also visited their family at Beachport.

If you want to read more about our Tasmania holiday then you should have a look at this web site My Tassie journey.

Mt Gambier walk

I got up early in the morning and walked from the Presidential Hotel towards Mount Gambier. I went past quite a few tree processing factories and through a sinkhole that had been converted into a cricket ground, before making my way up onto the ridge of the volcano. On the highest point of this ridge is the monument marking Mount Gambier. After doing a little bit of ridge walking I headed back home determined to visit the next morning and take some more photographs.

I drove to a car park at the top of the ridge by taking the road up near the old hospital. I then proceeded to walk around the edge of the volcano with the Valley Lake visible inside the crater, up to the highest point which is Mount Gambier. We later visited the Blue lake as a family and a we were stunned by how blue it really was.

Tom took us for a drive to see his father's farm where cattle are kept. We checked out the happy cows and climbed a rise to get a good view of the lay of the land. We then headed off to Beachport where Kates parents have a shack.

At Beachport we spent a lot of time in a very comfortable shed eating lobster and platters of 70s food and chairing the excellent company of Kate's family. After a short walk to visit a local memorial (Lanky's well) we headed into the town of Beachport where Dan was able to secure enough gear to go swimming. Peter and I stayed in the coffee shop/jewellery shop that looked over the jetty.



If you want to read more about our Tasmania holiday then you should have a look at this web site My Tassie journey.

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Photos

Sink hole cricket ground
A sink hole next to the Mount Gambier walk was a natural for the placement of a cricket pitch

Walking the ridge
To the mount

Sun light on monument
On top of Mount Gambier

Plaque
On Mount Gambier

Blue Lake
Pretty blue, isn't it?

Dan, Peter and Tom
On the cattle block

On a rise at the farm
We could see the sea from there

The wilder side of Beachport
Calm on one side - surf beach on the other

Lobster
Visiting Kate's parent's shack

Relaxing in the Shed
An extraordinary shed where we spent most of our time

Dan at Lanky's well
A memorial to an aboriginal man called Lanky

Dan swimming at Beachport
A newly purchased Rash top, undies and a borrowed towel and Dan is where he seems most happy - in the water.

Visiting seagull
On the grass near the coffee shop where we sat watching Dan swim

Dan playing Wii
On the big screen at the Presidential motel at Mount Gambier

The Beachport jetty
And Dan swimming