Mount Gambier is best known for its limestone, volcanic landscape and crater lakes.
Lava that erupted from volcanoes thousands of years ago formed a Swiss cheese network of 800 caves. Over time, some of the roofs of these caves have collapsed, exposing the secret existence of 50 sinkholes in the region.
One of those is Kilsby Sinkhole and you can go snorkelling in its crystal clear, 16 degree water.
Umpherston Sinkhole was developed into a fun community garden for visitors to wander down into. The tall palm trees give you an indication of its depth.
A volcanic sinkhole located in the middle of a paddock, about a 17-kilometre drive south of Mount Gambier, off an otherwise nondescript country road, Little Blue Lake has that wonderful air of chancing upon a secret local spot.
It is often what you can’t see that forms the biggest adventure of all, what is beneath us is like nowhere else in the world. Deep below the rich volcanic earth lies a spectacular labyrinth of caves created over thousands of years by the constant slow drip of rainwater filtering through porous limestone. There are approximately 800 caves in the Limestone Coast region, and a cluster of the safest and most spectacular sites are accessible to the public.
The photos below were taken in Naracoorte Caves.
