Summer days (and a spot of spelunking)

I am listening to the patter of large rain drops on our roof. Its a muggy, misty afternoon and our family's new year holiday - filled with blue sky, warm breezes and fresh country air - seems an eon ago already.

If you too, are sitting somewhere grey, lean in a little closer to your monitor. Look at the blue, blue sky in this next holiday snap. Perhaps we can pretend its sunny, together?



Hang on. Ooops.

Apparently, that's not the sky after all. We're looking down a steep hill, here ... and that's water at the bottom.

This is Blue Lake in Mount Gambier, South Australia. Isn't it the most exquisite colour? Even more beautiful than a summer sky.



Most of the year the lake is steel grey in colour, but changes in the summer. From memory the transformation is a chemical reaction related to temperature ... rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb ... calcium carbonate ... rhubarb, rhubarb ... and wavelengths of light. (Whew, I think I almost got away with that explanation.)

The lake is situated in an extinct volcanic crater; one of a series in the area. The city of Mount Gambier is known for its craters, sinkholes and caves.



We also did a little cave exploration while we were visiting the city. This dark, cool limestone space is Engelbrecht's Cave, which stretches underneath a number of suburban streets. We took a very interesting tour.

Some of the tour party would have heard interesting facts about its formation and features and how its a popular cave diving site. Me? I mostly heard things along the lines of fault lines and collapse and how a power pole in an adjacent street mysteriously disappeared into a cavernous void one evening.

My attention wandered a little as I pondered whether our parked car might suddenly drop through onto our heads.

Luckily my attention was diverted as the tour guide cheerily told us that the word spelunk means "to explore caves for fun". Which is funny, because I thought it was more likely to be the noise I'd make if I lost my footing on, say, quite a steep stair case. Arrrrrggghhh ..... spelunk.



Thankfully, I managed to descend this particular set of stairs without incident. They lead to another of Mount Gambier's beautiful natural features - the Umpherston Sinkhole.



That's natural in the sense has-had-a-formal-garden-planted-smack-in-the-middle-of-it.



Apparently one Mr J. Umpherston thought that this spectacular limestone sinkhole would look better as formal sunken garden. The one-time cave is full of ivy, ferns and moptop hydrangeas arranged on terraces. Planted in the late 1880s, it remains a lush green garden to this day.



I have to say I liked the pretty hydrangeas ... and roofless cave ... very much.



No cars or power poles to fall through on one's head.
(Are you sensing the joys of spelunking were a little lost on me?)


Umpherston Sinkhole
Jubilee Highway
Mount Gambier, South Australia 5290
Open sunrise to 1am (floodlit at night).
Entry free.

Engelbrechts's Cave
Chute Street
Mount Gambier, South Australia 5290
Entry fee applies. 45 minute guided tour.
Mon - Fri: 10am - 2pm
Sat: 10am - 2pm
Sun: 10am - 2pm
Public Holiday: 10am - 2pm
Good Friday: 10am - 2pm

Blue Lake
John Watson Drive
Mount Gambier, South Australia 5290
Free (3.6 kilometre road and walking track)