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The Limestone Coast: Route Guide

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

A volcano lake that flips to impossible blue every December, gardens sunk into collapsed caves, and Australia's best cabernet strip on a ribbon of terra rossa soil: the Limestone Coast packs geology and gastronomy into an easy triangle. Robe finishes it with crayfish straight off the boats and a beach you can drive. Divers come for the sinkholes; everyone else, the cellar doors.

The Limestone Coast is a 190 km one-way journey (self-drive). It works best as 2–3 days; the plan below is the 3-day version for December, built from 16 verified places, with real road-routed transit times, opening hours and daylight checked.

2–3
days
190km
distance
3
Stops
16
curated stops

Plan your own version → 2-day plan · 3-day plan · best time to go

The route

Mount Gambier & the Blue Lake→ 130 kmRobe→ 45 kmKingston SE

What you'll see

Umpherston Sinkhole
Stroll through the well-maintained garden and maybe spot possums in the evening.
Mount Gambier & the Blue Lake
Robe Customs House Maritime Museum
Discover maritime history in a customs house built in 1863, now a museum.
Robe
The Big Lobster
Pose for photos with the 17-metre tall iconic roadside attraction, Larry the Lobster.
Kingston SE
Engelbrechts Cave
Explore the cave and enjoy local produce at the on-site cafe.
Mount Gambier & the Blue Lake
Little Dip Conservation Park
Explore lakes and beaches that provide a habitat for various bird species.
Robe
Cape Jaffa Lighthouse
Step inside this historic lighthouse moved and restored to Kingston for a glimpse of maritime history.
Kingston SE
Blue Lake
Watch the lake shift from ocean grey to bright iridescent blue throughout the year.
Mount Gambier & the Blue Lake
Robe Lighthouse
See the concrete structure built in 1972 that replaced the old Cape Jaffa Lighthouse.
Robe

Choose your length

2-day plan8 stops · 3.5 h transit4 stops/day · 1.8 h transit/daySee the full plan →3-day plan11 stops · 3.5 h transit3.7 stops/day · 1.2 h transit/daySee 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 →