Day 3 - Leaving Mt Gambier

I'm currently at Cape Bridgewater, 17km W of Portland, Victoria.

Awoke at 3:48am and took advantage of the early hour to see some of Mt Gambier's main attractions by night. First to Cave Gardens which was beautifully lit up for the occasion. It really did need more colours though, I think - the lights were just lights, and mixed-colour lighting like that in Fraser Avenue, Kings Park (see here or here) back home in Perth).

On the way back up, I was called over by two intoxicated teenagers to adjudicate a dispute between them (which I did seemingly to almost everybody's satisfaction). I don't know why they always choose me for these kind of things! :P

At 4:50am - it is a 6km walk with some uphill through residential streets, a fact not entirely clear from the tourist guides - I finally arrived at Umpherston Sinkhole. This is basically a cave whose roof collapsed at some point and it's basically a big hole in the ground with a lot of vegetation growing at the bottom and up the sides as the volcanic rock is very fertile. I stayed there through sunrise and listened to the birds' morning chorus and the dragonflies while looking at the lush gardens and the odd possum. I bailed on the way back, though, and got a taxi.

It's sad leaving Mt Gambier. I like it, which is odd given my general distaste for the state capital, Adelaide. But I seem to have this thing for small regional cities (Launceston, Katoomba, Mt Gambier) - I'd never want to live in one as I like my city creature comforts too much, but they're great for holidays.

At 10:30am I left Mt Gambier aboard Wayward Bus on a beautiful fine day - 26°C and clear skies, a nice change from the oppressive humidity yesterday. We crossed the border and headed for Nelson, just 3km inside Victoria, where we had lunch. Shane, our driver, provided an excellent salad lunch which was all gone by the time we finished.

Then we were off to Cape Bridgewater. I didn't go on the Seals by Sea boatride this time round (I ended up in the water last time!) and am enjoying an R&R break at the Beach Cafe, which sells unexpectedly good gourmet food, with a stunning cliff scenery backdrop.

I've feasted on smoked salmon sandwiches and pancakes/icecream/maple syrup, so I won't need dinner tonight. It's just 15°C here!

Day 2 - Mt Gambier - Walking!

What a long day! I've walked somewhere in the region of 23km today around Mt Gambier. Although the hiphop-blasting P-platers and their antics on the roads make walking here a hazard, I've really come to like this place and one day I will be back.

I spent the morning discovering the central city area and the Lady Nelson information centre. I guess it'd be of more use if I was either much older or much younger and/or had a car, but it was worth going.

The Jail YHA's shower was the next stop, followed by the long walk trail around the back of Valley Lake and Brownes Lake. Some spectacular scenery and great views of Mt Gambier and also got to talk with tourists from all over Australia, although quite an arduous walk!

Next was the much more famous Blue Lake - which turns a brilliant blue every November due to unknown volcanic factors (it is one of the handful of active volcanoes in Australia - apparently this region is the third-biggest and sixth most important volcanic region in the world). The fairly easy 3.6km circular walk around the top of it was excellent - I spent quite some time amusing myself with some tiny superb wrens which were about the length of my little finger and were busily hopping around looking for water and squeezing through holes in the wire mesh fence.

Returned to the YHA and talked to some Year 11s from Adelaide (450km away!) who'd come to compete in an athletics carnival. Also the owner, Gary, whose hyperactive dog Milka and its ball-fetching activities provided some cheap entertainment.

I'm exhausted.

Day 2 - Mt Gambier - Morning

It cooled down alright - from 25° at 1am to 14° at 8am (although it felt colder). Was weird waking up in a real jail cell! I got my chance to wander around the grounds and take some photos before discovering the friendly local butcher.

I've just been to Cave Gardens (a vertical cave right in the middle of the city) and am using the local library's internet connection at the moment. It's still humid here, but I intend to check out the visitor centre and Blue Lake etc before day's end. I still can't get over how busy this place is for a city of its size.

Day 2 - Mt Gambier - Observations

I'm in jail! I even have my own cell. Unlike past occupants, however, my only crime was to pay $30 a night for accommodation at The Jail YHA here in Mt Gambier. My twin cell, er, room has a functioning sink and toilet, and even a copy of the jail rules from when this place was a functioning jail up until the mid-1990s. Free self-serve breakfast and a local butcher 2 buildings away - what more could one ask for?

Mt Gambier itself has a population of 27,000 and is SA's 2nd or 3rd largest city, depending on who you believe. My observations of it so far are of a modern, well-serviced city with largely psychotic young drivers (reflected in its road toll, 9 times that of Adelaide in relative terms). Even at 9:30pm the main street, Commercial Street East, was still quite busy - the place was reminiscent of Rokeby Road in Subiaco. At 12:00am, the pubs were still going, as were the young motorists.

It's VERY humid here and I hope it cools down soon.

Day 1 - In transit

Arrived Adelaide at 14:08 ACDT. Got stopped by quarantine because of my Chinese meal in a lunchbox, but the guy approved it and they moved on. The little dog was actually quite cute and not at all noisy.

Boarding of Rex ("Welcome to Regional Express, but you can call us Rex") flight ZL688 to Mt Gambier was an interesting experience. As per the flight to Canberra in Dec 2001 we got a small 42-seater plane with shiny propellers, and there was quite a bit of turbulence on it. We got amazing views of the Coorong Peninsula and massive radiata pine plantations west of Mt Gambier.

Day 1 - In transit (Per -> Adl)

28/11/03, 10:45 Nullarbor time (GMT+8.75)
On Virgin 737-700 east of Esperance, WA.

The takeoff from Perth was pretty normal on a fine, beautiful Perth day aboard Virgin flight DJ354 to Adelaide. On this flight, one can buy, amongst other things, an autobiography of Richard Branson (described as "interesting and inspirational reading"), a Virgin Blue card deck or even a model of the plane - All this while gliding 10km above endless kilometres of salinity-addled farmland and cloud-covered ocean. (To be fair, though, WA's Wheatbelt region surrounding Perth is WAY greener than last year).

Forecast for Adelaide - 34°C (92°F) - Cloud/Late storms
Forecast for Mt Gambier - 32°C (90°F) - Humid


28/11/03, 13:45 Central time (GMT+10.5)

Watching a lightning storm from about 8km above it is an odd experience, as is flying between clouds.

Current Mood: Bored
Current Music: Terrible 80s-pop cover of Strokes "Last Night"

Yay!

15.25 hours to takeoff. I think it's when everyone at work suddenly turns all nice and starts wishing you happy holidays that it starts to sink in that you're actually about to go on a big adventure of sorts.

I'm foregoing the comfort factor a little (but not much) this time in favour of cost, just to see how I manage in time for Canada when I'll be spending practically all my time in YHAs and on the road. I've been on two annual holidays now - in 2001, I didn't really leave my comfort zone, and was in nice motels and at a friend's home. In 2002, I went on a few backpacker tours but still paid for the upgrade option.

In 2003 I'll spend the first 4 nights or so at YHAs and hostels and even get to sleep in a tent for a night, travel on a big boat and use public transport to get me and my stuff from A to B. In 2004 (Canada, US etc), only a total of 9 of the 60 days are *not* in hostel accommodation, and Greyhound and public transport feature even more than air travel. So there's sort of a pattern here.

Anyway, I fly tomorrow. An update on Saturday hopefully :)