Famed for its red wines, red soils and red rock lobster, the Limestone Coast is perfectly located in the middle of the Adelaide to Melbourne touring route. Lush pastures dotted with towering gums, immaculate vineyards, sweeping expanses of coast and parallel pine plantations line the way as you drive among the region's pretty country towns. Venture into a subterranean world of stalactites, stalagmites and ancient fossils at the Naracoorte Caves National Park, one of only 14 World Heritage-listed sites in Australia. You can also watch rare southern bent-wing bats at the high-tech Bat Centre, and explore the world of ancient mega fauna at the Wonambi Fossil Centre. Unearth the classic and the cutting edge at cellar doors throughout the Coonawarra, where unique terra rossa soils have helped to create some of the best red wines in the world. Visit in October for the Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations: meet the winemakers at the cellar door, taste fine food and wine and soak up the atmosphere. Other great wine regions on the Limestone Coast include Padthaway (with its immaculately-restored 1882 homestead), Mount Gambier, Mount Benson near Robe, and Wrattonbully near Naracoorte. Celebrate the lives of Blessed Mary MacKillop and Father Julian Tenison Woods, who founded the Sisters of St Joseph in Penola to provide schooling for isolated children. The Mary MacKillop Interpretive Centre, housed in their original schoolhouse, shows why Mary is on the way to becoming Australia's first saint. Take your tastebuds on tour with the Limestone Coast Pies and Platters Trail, which will lead you to gourmet pies and regional platters featuring hero ingredients of the Limestone Coast: beef, lamb, duck, rabbit, venison, emu, goat, lobster and barramundi. Grab a brochure and map at visitor information centres throughout the region, or visit in February for the Taste the Limestone Coast Festival in Naracoorte. Dine beachside on takeaway fish and chips or tackle a whole lobster in one of many great pubs and restaurants in seaside towns like Robe, Kingston SE, Port MacDonnell and Beachport. Quaint museums tell the history of these regional centres, while you can also wander among historic buildings in search of cosy cafes, galleries and shops, or take to the beaches and jetties to fish, surf, swim andrelax. Most major towns in the region celebrate their culture and cuisine with annual events: among them are the Port MacDonnell Bayside Festival in January and the Robe Village Fair in November. Wander through the Coorong National Park, declared a Wetland of International Importance in 1975. It's home to the world's largest breeding colony of Australian pelicans and is also a temporary sanctuary for thousands of migratory birds from all around the world. You can hike the 130km beach linking the park and the Southern Ocean, drive a four-wheel drive through some areas of the park and visit Camp Coorong on Lake Alexandrina to hear the history of the land through the eyes of the local Ngarrindjeri Aborigines. Visit between September and November each year for the Meet the Waders Festival, celebrating the amazing journey of migratory birds. Explore Mount Gambier, South Australia's second biggest city and home to the Blue Lake, which turns from grey to a brilliant turquoise blue every November. The city is built on the slopes of an extinct volcano, and you can also tour limestone caves beneath the city streets and walk through stunning gardens created inside sinkholes. You'll find some of South Australia's best four-wheel drive routes on the Limestone Coast. There are tough desert tracks in the Ngarket Conservation Parks, or great coastal drives through Canunda and Coorong National Parks and Beachport Conservation Park. Please stick to marked trails and look after the environment. |
Visitor
Information
Centres
Beachport
Millicent Road, Beachport
Telephone: +61 8 8735 8029
Bordertown
81 North Terrace, Bordertown
Telephone: +61 8 8752 0700
Millicent
1 Mount Gambier Road, Millicent
Telephone: +61 8 8733 0904
Mount Gambier
Jubilee Highway East, Mount Gambier
Telephone: +61 8 8724 9750
Freecall: 1800 087 187
Naracoorte
36 MacDonnell Street, Naracoorte, 5271
Telephone: +61 8 8762 1399
Freecall: 1800 244 421
Penola/Coonawarra
27 Arthur Street, Penola
Telephone: +61 8 8737 2855
Robe
Mundy Terrace, Robe
T: +61 8 8768 2465 |
