Limestone Coast

The Limestone Coast earns its name from the karst geology that defines it — a vast sheet of porous limestone beneath the surface, dissolving over millennia into sinkholes, sea caves and underground lake systems that remain almost entirely unexplored. Mount Gambier sits on a cluster of volcanic craters, the largest of which contains a lake that turns an extraordinary tropical blue in December and January, for reasons that are still not fully understood.

Coonawarra is about a centimetre of soil — specifically, the famous terra rossa, a shallow strip of red clay over limestone that produces cabernet sauvignon of unusual depth and structure. The cellar doors here are understated by the standards of the Hunter or Barossa, but the wines produced on the Riddoch Highway corridor are internationally recognised and the experience of tasting them at the estate is unpretentious and enjoyable.

Robe is the coast's most appealing town — a heritage fishing village on an exposed southern coastline, with brilliant diving at Cape Dombey, sea kayaking and a serious local crayfish industry that keeps the town's restaurant supply excellent. The Canunda National Park protects a spectacularly remote stretch of coastal dune and beach stretching south from Millicent, accessible only on foot or by four-wheel drive.