Up at 7.15 as we decided we were going to run around the perimeter of The Blue Crater Lake first thing. 

It was only a short drive away, we parked at the Apex Lookout and ran in a clockwise direction (thanking our campsite neighbour for tip on direction). What a beautifully scenic run and a long downhill section as opposed to an uphill bit had we gone anti-clockwise.

Back to camp to shower in our cute little ensuite followed by fried egg on crumpet for breakfast.

We left the camp again at 10 with the sun begining to chuck out some serious heat, we headed for the main city centre to find the Cave Garden.

Nowhere near as pretty as yesterday’s sinkhole but still nevertheless an impressive hole in the ground! Then we walked to a disused railway track (closed 25 years ago!) and did a 2.5 mile out and back walk.

Next onto Engelbrecht Cave, had to pay for this one but wow what a fab tour, we spent 30 mins in two caves (East and West) which descended to about 26 metres and we got told about the history behind them, including them being a rubbish tip for 100 years!

Lunchtime, being used to parking up somewhere scenic for lunch we decided to drive out to The Little Blue Lake and have our ham and tomato sandwiches there. The lake made from yet another sinkhole is a constant 12 degrees (tad on the chilly side for some) and ranges from 25 to 40 metres deep. You are able to actually swim here so straight after lunch I got in for the most amazing swim and basically did a circular lap, the sides are 8 metres tall. It was divine. 

Then following a recommendation (woman swimming in blue lake) we headed to Mount Schank. Oh wow, so pleased we did this, it’s a 100 metre high dormant volcano and once you reach the top you can then walk all the around the rim. Only a little hairy in a couple of places, it was extremely high and you could see for miles.

Even though our legs were tired we had one item left on the itinerary, The Centenery Tower. Built around 1900 it’s only 300 metres from the car park but the elevation gain is 232 ft. It is set on a crater rim and overlooks the Valley Lake as well as offering 360 degrees views over the city of Mount Gambier and surrounding areas. We could even see across to Mount Schank which we had just climbed.

After catching our breath it was time to walk back down, we then did a lap of the Valley Lake Conservation Park in the campervan which is all inside the crater. Amazing.

Back at camp, we read in the sun for a while with a nice cold beer and then set about cooking tonight’s dinner of steak, potatos, sweetcorn plus salad.

It’s quite chilly when the sun goes down so around 7.45, we settled in the van for the evening – shattered!