Home › Journeys › Oceania › Limestone Coast: Crater Lakes, Coonawarra, Naracoorte Caves & Robe

Limestone Coast: Crater Lakes, Coonawarra, Naracoorte Caves & Robe – Route Guide

Last updated:

Blue Lake Mount Gambier — The Limestone Coast
Photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Explore the Limestone Coast over four days, from Mount Gambier's crater lakes and sinkhole garden through Coonawarra's terra-rossa landscape to Naracoorte's fossil heritage and Robe's maritime streets and coast. Cave tours, diving and wine tastings need separate arrangements. Check road and park conditions; beach driving and 4WD coastal tracks are outside this trip.

Limestone Coast: Crater Lakes, Coonawarra, Naracoorte Caves & Robe is a 340 km loop (self-drive). It works best as 4–5 days; the plan below is the 5-day version for November, built from 30 verified places, with planned transit times, opening hours and daylight checked.

4–5
days
340km
distance
4
Stops
30
curated stops

Plan your own version → 4-day plan · 5-day plan · best time to go

The route

Mount Gambier & Crater Lakes→ 55 kmPenola & Coonawarra→ 50 kmNaracoorte Caves→ 105 kmRobe & Little Dip
Hanging greenery and paths in the sunken garden at Umpherston Sinkhole

Mount Gambier · Day 1

Umpherston Sinkhole

Stroll through the well-maintained garden and maybe spot possums in the evening.

5-day plan →

Photo: User:Satellizer · CC BY-SA 4.0

What you'll see

Blue Lake
Watch the lake shift from ocean grey to bright iridescent blue throughout the year.
Mount Gambier & Crater Lakes
Coonawarra public terra-rossa-and-rail-trail circuit
Use a bounded public Coonawarra rail/wineries walking-trail section and Penola context; cellar-door tasting remains optional and the driver must not drink.
Penola & Coonawarra
Naracoorte Caves World Heritage public fossil-and-rooftop circuit
Use the public World Heritage fossil-centre and rooftop-loop context; every cave interior or bat experience requires its own current tour or ticket.
Naracoorte Caves
Robe public maritime-heritage-and-coast circuit
Use Robe’s mapped public heritage and Cape Dombey coast plus a condition-suitable 2WD public Little Dip approach; the storm-damaged jetty, beach driving and 4WD coastal track are excluded.
Robe & Little Dip
Mount Gambier public crater-lakes-and-sinkhole circuit
Use the public Blue Lake/Warwar circuit and Balumbul/Umpherston setting; cave interiors, diving and wildlife sightings remain separate.
Mount Gambier & Crater Lakes
Robe Lighthouse
See the concrete structure built in 1972 that replaced the old Cape Jaffa Lighthouse.
Robe & Little Dip

Choose your length

4-day plan7 stops · 6.6 h transit1.8 stops/day · 1.6 h transit/daySee the full plan →5-day plan9 stops · 6.8 h transit1.8 stops/day · 1.4 h transit/daySee the full plan →6-day planSee the full plan →8-day planSee the full plan →

When to go

Best months: November, December, January, February, March

The Blue Lake performs its December colour-flip to vivid cobalt, Robe's beaches and rock pools warm, and cellar doors along the terra rossa strip pour cabernet in shirtsleeve weather.

See the month-by-month breakdown →

Similar journeys

Plan your own version →