Australia | Down nowhere road
Five memorable places on a drive across Australia
On our first road trip across Australia, my husband and I drove all the way from Adelaide to Melbourne, a distance of around 730km, over three days. Here are my favourite five places on this route.
Coorong National Park
Robe
Robe is a little seashore town and we reached it just in time to watch the sunset. It is a perfect place to walk or cycle up the road beyond the main town towards the cliffs, to see the coastline drenched in the evening rays of the sun. The only reminder of Robe’s tryst with fame as a thriving 19th century port is the Cape Dombey Obelisk, perched atop a craggy outcrop overlooking the sea. Standing 40ft tall, it used to help ships navigate the Guichen Bay. The town also has a small memorial dedicated to 17,500 Chinese miners who came here during the Australian Gold Rush in the 19th century.
Naracoorte Caves
Coonawarra Wine Region
As we drove towards Penola from the Naracoorte Caves, we were suddenly surrounded by a fabric of green on both sides of the road, with signboards everywhere. Spread among 20km of lush greenery are more than 25 cellar doors beckoning you to taste their wine. Coonawarra is where the first vintage was produced in the 19th century by the Wynns Coonawarra Estate, the first winery here. There is also the famous Penfolds Winery.
Coonawarra is known for its cabernet sauvignon, Shiraz; the rich wines owe it to the terra rossa soil, a blend of limestone and clay naturally mixed in the earth.
Mount Gambier
Our last port of halt in south Australia before crossing into Victoria was Mount Gambier, a city located on the slopes of an extinct volcano. Crater lakes attract tourists—and we headed to one of them: Blue Lake, a huge trough filled with still water glimmering in jet blue. I felt like I was inside a painting.
You can see the cobalt blue colour only if you travel between November and March; at other times it is apparently grey. No one really knows why it changes colour, although it is believed to be due to changes in temperature.
Another crater lake, The Valley Lake, pales in comparison though; it is many shades lighter in colour. I was fascinated by the names of the other two crater lakes, the Leg of Mutton and Browne—only to be told that they have dried up.
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First Published:17 Jan 2015, 12:16 AM IST
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