1 The LimesTone CoasT 4WD expLorers GuiDe Contents Page 2 Welcome to the Limestone Coast Exploring Page 4 Footprints Page 20 The Border to Southend Page 5 Getting to Know the Limestone Coast Page 24 Beachport to Robe Page 6 While You’re Here Page 28 Kingston to the Coorong Page 7 Important Contacts Page 32 Ngarkat Conversation Park Page 8 Know Your Vehicle Page 9 Before Your Trip Page 10 Sand & Beach Driving Published by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, for the Limestone Coast and Coorong Coastal Management Group Page 12 Past, Present and Future First edition printed August 2010 Page 14 Landscapes ISBN: 978-0-646-53964-5 Page 15 Seascapes Page 16 Protecting Seabirds Page 18 Guide to Parks 2 Left: Four-wheel driving in Canunda National Park Top: Yellow Robin (Photo Steve Bourne) Welcome To The LimesTone CoasT The Limestone Coast and Coorong We hope that within this guide, you will find the makings of a great holiday within our region, in which you will explore Coastal Management Group and enjoy all that the Limestone Coast has to offer. We acknowledges and respects the encourage you to tread lightly and to think about your impact. Help us to protect this great part of the country traditional owners of the ancestral now, so that we can all enjoy it long into the future. lands of the Limestone Coast. We acknowledge elders past and present and we respect the deep feelings of attachment and relationship of Aboriginal peoples to this country. 3 Four-wheel driving in Ngarkat Conservation Park 4 FooTprinTs Pelicans in flight. Photo John Gitsham footprint / fütprint / n. 1. An impression left by the sole of the foot in walking or standing etc 2. The ground area beneath a vehicle or aircraft that is affected by forces such as noise, pressure, or blast 3. The area of contact between a tyre and the ground From The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary As word gets out about the fantastic four-wheel drive see and do, advice about some of the tracks to take experiences on offer in the Limestone Coast, more and importantly an acknowledgement that if we all and more people are visiting the region each year, do the right thing, we can all enjoy the place for the to drive the tracks for themselves. While new visitors long run. We want our children and grandchildren to are welcome, reckless drivers are endangering the enjoy this wonderful landscape as much as we do now fragile coast. The coastal landscape, although it looks and have access to the same great destinations. rugged and harsh, can be easily damaged by four- There are some simple principles we ask you to wheel drives and motorbikes driving off the tracks. follow to have your own ‘tread lightly’ adventure. The production of this guide comes after many years of discussion by locals with a passion for exploring n Stick to the tracks their local patch, including four-wheel driving n Don’t disturb the plants and animals enthusiasts and conservationists alike. The rigours n Respect the heritage and the history of vehicles on our natural landscape were starting to show so the concept for this book was devised - n Look out for others guidelines for safe and respectful use of the coastal n Take your rubbish home strip. The guide includes information about things to GettinG To knoW The LimesTone CoasT 5 GET YouR BEaRinGS The Limestone Coast’s stunning landscape is a great destination for your next four-wheel driving, camping or touring holiday. Located half way between Melbourne and Adelaide, the region takes in rich and diverse scenery, including almost 400 kilometers of magnificent coastline, the terra rossa soils of Coonawarra, the ancient fossils of the World Heritage Listed Naracoorte Caves and the mallee wilderness of Ngarkat. If you are travelling by four-wheel drive here are some trips and destinations not to miss, all are featured in this guide: n The Border to Southend (Page 20) n Beachport to Robe, through nora Creina (Page 24) n Kingston to the Murray Mouth (Page 28) n ngarkat Conservation Park (Page 32) Each of these trips takes you through a different landscape where you can experience nature at its best. Be sure to take the time to discover each place for yourself. There are endless opportunities for camping, fishing, bushwalking, bird watching, surfing and sightseeing. There’s so much to see and do. What are you waiting for? 6 WHILe YOU’RE HERE World Heritage listed Naracoorte Caves The Limestone Coast offers visitors the picturesque rows of quaint cottages. so much to see and do. The Admella Trail, stretching from Portland in Victoria through to Robe, takes you on a unDERGRounD WonderlanD journey of discovery as you learn the tragic and heroic history of the Shipwreck Coast. Hidden out of site in the Limestone Coast is an intricate network of underground caves. A great RELax place to learn about the geology and history of the region is at the World Heritage Listed Naracoorte There are some stunning beaches along the Caves, which shows a continuous record of the Limestone Coast which are a great place to past 500,000 years, including the evolution of unwind and relax on a hot day. There are Australia’s unique megafauna. Not for the faint- popular surf beaches in the region, such as hearted, adventure caving tours are available Long Beach at Robe, home to the National Kite here also. For bookings please telephone Surfing Championships and the Robe Surfing (08) 8762 2340. In and around Mt Gambier Classic, Beachport’s Surf Beach and Browns Bay caves can be explored with guided tours of east of Port MacDonnell. If you are heading to Englebrecht and Tantanoola Caves. Picanninie a more secluded beach, check with the locals Ponds and Ewens Ponds can be explored by first to make sure it is safe for swimming. snorkelling. These freshwater ponds are the window into an underground world of water plants, CLiMaTE reptiles and fish. For bookings please telephone The climate of the Limestone Coast region is the Department of Environment and Natural considered to be Mediterranean, with cool wet Resources (08) 8735 1177. winters and mild to hot, dry summers. Through summer the average daily temperature ranges GreaT WinE, GreaT FooD from 21⁰C to 29⁰C. In winter, daytime temperatures The terra rossa soils of the region produce average 15⁰C and nights can be cold. The southern world class wines in the wine growing districts part of the region has a generally cooler climate of Coonwarra, Wrattonbully, Cape Jaffa, Mount than the northern part. Late spring, summer Benson, Robe, Mount Gambier and Padthaway. and early autumn are the best time to explore Most wineries welcome visitors for tasting and the coastal regions by four-wheel drive. sales. Grab a copy of the Limestone Coast Ngarkat Conservation Park experiences Real Food Trail Guide to help you experience more extreme summer temperatures than the region’s food and wine at its best. the coast, with temperatures often remaining in the high 30’s for many days at a time. The aLL in ThE PaST best time to visit Ngarkat Conservation Park To get a taste of the history of the Limestone is in the cooler months when fire danger is Coast, take the time to visit the local museums. low and daily temperatures aren’t as high. Usually run by volunteers, museums are a great source of facts and interesting information WanT To KnoW More? about the place you are visiting. The volunteers Contact one of the many Visitor Information always know their patch and enjoy sharing Centres and Information Outlets in the their knowledge of the people and the place. region for further information, assistance with Don’t miss the award winning museums of bookings and for an extensive selection of Beachport and Millicent, and the fascinating brochures, maps and useful information. Port MacDonnell Maritime Museum. The Limestone Coast Visitor Guide offers Around the region there are many historical comprehensive information on accommodation, sites such as Robe’s Old Gaol Ruins and dining and attractions throughout the region. Chinese Monument, Dingley Dell just out of To obtain a copy please call Limestone Port MacDonnell, home of Australian Colonial Coast Tourism on freecall 1800 087 087 poet Adam Lindsay Gordon and the Mary or visit www.thelimestonecoast.com. MacKillop Museum at Penola where you can enjoy a stroll down Petticoat Lane to experience IMPORTANT CONTaCTs Visitor information Centres Beachport Visitor Millicent Rd, Tel (08) 8735 8029 [email protected] information Centre Beachport SA 5280 Freecall: 1300 045 373 Bordertown Visitor 81 North Tce, Tolmer Park Tel (08) 8752 0700 [email protected] information Centre Bordertown SA 5268 Millicent Visitor 1 Mount Gambier Rd, Tel (08) 8733 0904 [email protected] information Centre Millicent SA 5280 Freecall 1300 045 373 “The Lady nelson” Visitor & Jubilee Hwy East, Tel (08) 8724 9750 [email protected] Discovery Centre, Mt Gambier Mount Gambier SA 5290 Freecall 1800 087 187 naracoorte Visitor 36 McDonnell St, Tel (08) 8762 1399 [email protected] information Centre Naracoorte SA 5271 Freecall 1800 244 421 7 nelson Visitor information Leake St, Tel (08) 8738 4051 [email protected] Centre/Parks Victoria Nelson Vic 3292 Penola / Coonawarra 27 Arthur St, Tel (08) 8737 2855 [email protected] Visitor Centre Penola SA 5277 Freecall 1300 045 373 Robe Visitor Mundy Tce, Tel (08) 8768 2465 [email protected] information Centre Robe SA 5276 Freecall 1300 367 144 Visitor information outlets Port MacDonnell Visitor 5-7 Charles