Big4 Blue Lake Holiday Park
Bay Road, Mount Gambier
4th - 8th November 2023Powered Site2 adults and 2 children
We decided to head to Mount Gambier for the Melbourne Cup weekend, we headed off and stopped in Hamilton at the bakery for lunch before arriving at the Blue Lake big 4
Our site was in the powered site 1-18 area and was a great spot, we could see the jumping pillow and play ground from our site and were also reasonably close to the toilet block.
It was a great park but a little bit Hilly, the sites were huge with plenty of room
We arrived and set up and had a relaxing afternoon with the kids playing and exploring the park and having a swim. We found out some friends of the kids from Bannockburn were also staying at the park.
The next morning we went across the road and walked around the Big Blue Lake
The Blue Lake is an old Volcano crater and is an ever changing blue colour through put the year. There is a 3.6km walking track all the way around the lake which provides different viewing points.
We went back to camp for some lunch and then headed into town to have a look at the Cave Garden / Thugi which is a sink hole in the middle of the city. Apart from the location I did not find this very impressive and quite dirty
We headed back towards the park and
decided to take a turn beside our park and follow the road back which lead to some statues
and the Valley Lake play ground which is beside the Valley Lake conservation centre, it is a big playground next to another lake, the kids had fun playing at the park
We then went back for another swim and some more water slides
Next day we headed to the Umpherston Sinkhole
at the back of some beautiful gardens/park/picnic area is the Umperston Sink hole, it is amazing. It is a large sink hole that can be viewed from the viewing platform at the top and then you can walk right down into it, along the terraces and hanging vines.
The sinkhole was once a typical limestone cave that formed by the corrosion of limestone rocks by seawater waves and the sinkhole was naturally created when the chamber’s roof collapsed. The sinkhole was made into a garden by James Umpherston in 1886
the pictures don't really do this sink hole justice.
Next we headed to the Little Blue Lake
This is a water filled sinkhole located about 10 min out of Mount Gambier, It really is a volcanic sink hole in the middle of a paddock that you can swim in!
The lake has a diameter of about 40 metres, with cliffs approaching a height of about 8 metres above water level and a maximum depth of about 47 metres . The shallowest point is a depth of about 25 metres. It has stairs and a floating platoon and is freezing!
Mum and Dad both jumped off the top of the cliff into the water and Mason & Kayleigh both jumped of the Platoon into the cold water, Nashy watched from the top of the cliff
We went back to the camp site for another swim and bike ride with the kids friends.
Our last full day was spent exploring caves, first we went to Engelbrecht Cave, this is a beautiful cave beneath the streets of Mt Gambier, we did a 30 minute tour in the dry caves but parts of the cave can also be accessed by divers. The tour includes the European history and geology of the cave and is well worth doing.
Enjoying a refreshment from the cave cafe Next we went to Tantanoola Cave in the Tantanoola conservation park, It is about a 20 minute drive from Mt Gambier. This spectacular cave, set into a cliff face, is believed to have been exposed by the constant pounding of the ocean. Over time the sea has retreated leaving behind a cavern of interesting shells, pebbles and seal bones.
Today, Tantanoola Caves comprises an extraordinary display of cave decorations (speleothems) in beautiful shades of pink and brown, coloured by its dolomite base rock. The ‘Up and Down Rocks’ is a special highlight.
I think this is my favourite cave we have been to so far. Above the ground there is a cliff top walk with views of the surrounding area which we did afterwards.
Once again it was back to the park for a last swim before heading home in the morning. We had beautiful weather and so many fun things to do and the trip was well worth the drive. Mount Gambier is up there on my list of favourite places so far.
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