Best Day Trips from Mount Gambier
Where to head when you're based in the region's capital
As the largest city on the Limestone Coast, Mount Gambier is the natural base for exploring the wider region. Within an hour or so you can reach fossil caves, dramatic coastline, historic towns and one of Australia's great wine regions.
These are the day trips that make the most of that central location.
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NaracoorteNaracoorte Caves National Park
World Heritage fossil caves, under an hour north.
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Port MacDonnellPort MacDonnell Foreshore
The state's southernmost town and rock lobster capital.
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PenolaPetticoat Lane Heritage Walk
Heritage cottages and the Mary MacKillop story in Penola.
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BeachportBeachport Visitor Information Centre
Float in the salt-heavy Pool of Siloam at Beachport.
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Mount GambierPiccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park
Snorkel the crystal-clear spring-fed ponds near the coast.
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Base yourself in Mount Gambier and the whole Limestone Coast opens up, one easy drive at a time.
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A Penola Heritage Loop
A half-day loop through Penola's historic streets, following the footsteps of Mary MacKillop and the founders of the wine country.
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Coast and caves road trip
A three-day arc from the seaside charm of Robe to the World Heritage caves of Naracoorte, taking in wild surf parks, salt lakes and a fossil record stretching back half a million years.
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Natural wonders of the Limestone Coast
The soft limestone underpinning this corner of South Australia has shaped a landscape unlike anywhere else — cobalt crater lakes, sunken gardens, fossil caves and spring-fed ponds clear enough to dive.
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A Coonawarra Cabernet day
A single, unhurried day along the famous cigar-shaped strip of red soil over limestone, where Cabernet Sauvignon reaches a pitch it manages almost nowhere else in Australia.
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A Coonawarra Wine & Food Long Lunch
Slow down for a classic Coonawarra day: a string of cellar doors on the red strip built around a long, unhurried lunch.
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Kingston to Robe Coastal Drive
Drive the northern Limestone Coast from Larry the Lobster at Kingston down to historic Robe, with coastal wine and big-sky beaches along the way.