Adel Aide & South AuStr Ali ALIMESTONECOASTAdel Aide & South AuStr Ali ASLEEPINGAdel Aide & South AuStr Ali AMOUNTGAMBIERup at one of Australia’s best regional galler-
ies. There are three galleries (touring and
permanent exhibitions, contemporary in-
stallations, community displays), plus her-
itage exhibits and a cinema screening local
history flicks. Free tours 11am Thursday.
Cave ̈Gardens ̈ CAVE
(cnr Bay Rd &WatsonTce; h24hr) F A 50m-
deep sinkhole right in the middle of town,
with the odd suicidal shopping trolley at
the bottom. You can walk down into it,
and watch the nightly Sound & Light Show
(8pm) telling local Aboriginal Dreaming
stories.
Engelbrecht ̈Cave ̈ CAVE
(%08-8723 5552; www �mtgambiersa�com �au/
attractions/engelbrecht-cave; Jubilee Hwy W,
off Chute St; tours adult/child/family $12/8/34;
htours hourly9am-4pm,to 3pm winter) A mean-
dering cave system running beneath Jubilee
Hwy and 19 local houses! Tours last 45 min-
utes and take you down to an underground
lake (call for cave-diving info). There’s also
a cafe here.
Umpherston ̈Sinkhole ̈ CAVE
(%0429 349 328; 2160 JubileeHwy E; admission
free, guidedtours adult/child/family$9/4/20,self-
guided tours adult/child $5/free;h24hr, tours
9am-9pmsummer,10am-4pmwinter) F Once
‘a pleasant resort in the heat of summer’ on
James Umpherston’s long since subdivided
estate. It’s free to check it out, or you can
take a self-guided or guided tour.
4 ̈Sleeping
Park ̈Hotel ̈ PUB $$
(%08-8725 2430; www �parkhotel�net �au; 163 Com-
mercialSt W; dfrom $140; aW) In Mount Gam-
bier’s western wastelands, this old corner pub
has spent a fortune renovating its three up-
stairs rooms. Polished timber floors, double
glazing, marble bathrooms and coffee-and-
cream colour schemes − a really slick product.
Colhurst ̈House ̈ B&B $$
(%08-8723 1309; www �colhursthouse�com �au; 3
ColhurstPl; dincl breakfastfrom $170; a) Most lo-
cals don’t know about Colhurst − it’s up a
laneway off a sidestreet (Wyatt St) and you
can’t really see it from downtown Mt G. It’s
an 1878 mansion built by Welsh migrants,
and manages to be old-fashioned without
being twee. There’s a wrap-around balcony
upstairs with great views over the rooftops.
Cooked breakfasts, too.Old ̈Mount ̈Gambier ̈Gaol ̈ HOSTEL$
(%08-8723 0032; www �hmgetaway�com �au; 25
MargaretSt; dm/tw/dfrom $26/60/80;W) If you
can forget that this place was a prison until
1995 (either that or embrace the fact), these
refurbished old buildings make for an at-
mospheric and affordable stay. There’s a reg-
ulation backpacker dorm in one building, or
you can up the spooky stakes and sleep in
a former cell. There’s a bar with occasional
live bands.Blue ̈Lake ̈Holiday ̈Park ̈ CARAVANPARK$
(%08-87259856,1800 676 028; www �bluelake�com �
au; Bay Rd; unpowered/poweredsites from $31/36,
cabins/units/bungalows from $98/120/180;
aiWs) Adjacent to the Blue Lake, a golf
course and walking and cycling tracks, this
amiable park has some natty grey-and-white
cabins and well-weeded lawns. There are
also spiffy contemporary, self-contained ‘re-
treats’ (from $200) that sleep four.588 Eating
Yoeys ̈ CAFE$
(www�yoeys�com �au; 32 James St; items $5-14;
h8�30am-5�30pm Mon-Fri, 8�30am-1�30pm Sat)
What a find! A gourmet cafe-providore with
shelves full of cakes, muffins, breads, choco-
lates, pasta and gourmet foodie hampers; a
fabulous cheese fridge (rustic Italian goats’
cheese anyone?); and the best coffee in
town. Soups, pies and pasties, too.PORT ̈MACDONNELLAround 30km south of Mount Gambier, snoozy crayfishing Port MacDonnell (population
700) is SA’s southernmost town. It was once the second-busiest port in the state, which
explains the handsome 1863 Customs ̈House (%08-87382475,0418854595;www �
thecustomshouse�com� au;3CharlesSt,PortMacDonnell;dfrom$260), now a B&B.
Around 40 ships have sunk along the coast near here since 1844. The Port ̈Mac-
Donnell ̈& ̈District ̈Maritime ̈Museum (www�dcgrant�sa� gov �au/page�aspx?u=449;5-7
CharlesSt,PortMacDonnell;adult/child$5/3;h9am-5pmMon-Thu,9am-8pmFri,10am-4pm
Sat&Sun) is a barnacle-encrusted trove of artefacts recovered from the shipwrecks.