Thursday, March 22 – Back to the Mainland

Up before sunrise again. We parked ourselves in the great room with coffee to watch for light.

One last sunrise at Southern Ocean Lodge

Today the sunrise was even better, as there were only a few low-lying clouds. Once the sun peeked over them, it was brilliant. 

Dining Room at Southern Ocean Lodge

A leisurely breakfast before returning to the room to pack up. Here is the dining room, filled with bright morning sunshine.

Then we were back in the van for one last ride over the bumpy road, before the drive back to the airport. Lots of wildlife out this morning so we had to be careful.

North Coast of Kangaroo Island

At the airport we were offered exit row seating again, which we happily accepted. Then we had to sit and wait…We were supposed to take off at 10:30, but the incoming aircraft was delayed. Eventually we boarded, and took off a little after 11:00. 

One last look at Kangaroo Island as we flew away.

The flight seemed much slower too, but we finally landed about 10 minutes before noon. Thankfully, luggage delivery was fast and we were out and into our rental car quickly. The interior was cool and the wine all looked OK. Might have to try some to make sure!

It turns out I had inferred the parking system correctly, and once I inserted my credit card into the exit reader, the gate opened and off we went. We had about a 5 hour drive ahead of us. It was fortunate that we had knocked Port Fairy and the Murray River Mouth off the list a few days ago, so we didn't need to detour there. We set a course straight to our hotel in Mount Gambier.

Outdoor seating at The Haus, Hahndorf, SA

About an hour into the journey we decided that some lunch would be in order, so we stopped off in Hahndorf.

This had been a dilemma during our planning - some sources say it is a cute imitation of a Bavarian town, and others say it is a tourist trap. 

So we hadn't really planned on visiting, but it was in a handy location for lunch.

Flammekuche - Alsatian-style pizza. Delicious!

We were lucky enough to find parking on the street right near a Bavarian restaurant called The Haus. So we  enjoyed some assorted sausages and a Flammekuche. It was really tasty! That should tide us over for a bit.

The rest of the drive was fairly unremarkable. Chris drove a part of the way which she handled well, despite her worrying about it. She’s driven on the left only once and that was in college, on a moped, in Bermuda. But no issues. 

After several hours of rural Southern Australia had been put in the rear-view mirror, and countless wineries and vineyards had been passed by untasted, we arrived in the outskirts of Mount Gambier with time to spare. Since we had booked a dinner package with the hotel, we didn't have to worry about finding a place to eat. So we decided to stop for some highlights in town before checking in. 

Blue Lake, Mount Gambier, SA

We changed course and drove directly to the Blue Lake Lookout. The evening sunlight still shone on a part of the blue water, making for some nice colors.

The lake is a natural volcanic crater. A beautiful formation, and it is still is used as a water reservoir to this day.

Blue Lake. The building shown is a pump house.

Lastly, we made a stop at the Umpherston Sinkhole. This natural sinkhole was tidied up and turned into a garden in the late 1800s by the (then) property owner, who used to charge admission. It is now owned by the city.

Umpherston Sinkhole and Gardens

The sinkhole itself is accessible by a set of stairs which are carved into the walls. It's an easy walk down to the floor of the sinkhole.

The gardens on the sides and in the bottom were a pleasant place to spend a few minutes, but after all this driving we were definitely ready to settle down for the night.

We drove the last few miles to our hotel and checked in. The clerk was worried because we hadn’t made an actual reservation time for dinner – even though dinner was in the package, apparently we should have booked a time. Oops. She found us a table, but now we had an hour to kill before dinner. 

That gave us time to settle into the room and crack a bottle of wine. We sat out on the deck, planned tomorrow’s journey, and sipped until it was time for our reservation. Luckily, the wine was still in pristine condition, so no worries about the storage in the hot car.

View from our porch, The Barn, Mount Gambier, SA

The setting was very pretty as the sunset approached. It felt good to stop and smell the roses, rather than drive.

Dinner was a three course affair and it was quite a large meal. Everything was included except wine, so we found a nice bottle of Shiraz and placed our orders. 

This dessert was similar to churros, just shaped differently.

Pork belly and bacon-wrapped scallops for the appetizers, big steaks for the main courses, and then dessert. 

We really didn’t need such a big meal starting so late but oh well. We rolled ourselves back to the room and went to bed.

Tomorrow we have another big day planned, of course. We will start off by going inland to visit the Grampians National Park, to see some mountains and waterfalls. 

Then we return to the coast for an overnight in Port Fairy. And, we lose a half-hour tomorrow due to a time zone change, going from South Australia to Victoria. So we only have 23-1/2 hours.