Day 133: Naracoorte to Mount Gambier

Today we only had 100km to drive to Mount gambier. Along the way, we stopped at Bool Lagoon which is a wildlife sanctuary well-known for its bird life, however due to the incredible rain they have this year, the birds have spread their wings and their were very few at 'home'.

Next place of interest was Penola in the heart of the Coonawarra wine growing area - there were wineries everywhere but we had our fill in the Barossa so we didn't stop. Just north of Penola, we came across a series of wood carvings done with a chainsaw in the trunks of gum trees. The carvings were about Mary MacKillop and other religious figures connected with Penola's past. We have seen similar carvings in the past when we were on holidays in Tasmania a couple of years ago. They were very good.

Penola is also famous because it is known as the central location in the life of Mary MacKillop (St Mary of the Cross), the first Australian to gain Roman Catholic sainthood. In 1866 she established the first free Catholic school in Australia and also established her order of nuns. We didn't stop in the town but it was quite pretty and had some historical buildings.

We arrived at the Blue Lake Caravan Park, right next to Mount Gambier's Blue Lake, at about 10:30am. After setting up and the mandatory cuppa, we set to fixing Doug's caravan awning damaged in the wind yesterday. It took 2 1/2 hrs but the end result is pretty good and it should see them home to Brisbane.

This afternoon, we did a bit of shopping. Tomorrow we will go sight-seeing.