Just south of Mount Gambier, two of the Limestone Coast’s best stops sit only 8 minutes apart – a dormant volcano you can climb and water-filled sinkhole you can swim in. I visited both on day three of my drive from Adelaide to the Great Ocean Road. I also did them in the wrong order – a mistake this guide saves you from.
Climb Mount Schank first, then cool off with a swim at the Little Blue Lake afterwards. They are only 8 minutes apart by car.
Both Mount Schank and the Little Blue Lake are a short drive south of Mount Gambier, around 15 minutes from the city:
Little Blue Lake: Mount Salt Rd, Mount Schank SA 5291, Australia
Mount Schank: Mount Schank Car Park, Mount Schank SA 5291, Australia
I came to them on day three of my Limestone Coast road trip between Robe and Mount Gambier. You pass the Little Blue Lake first when approaching from the north, however, don’t fall into that trap…
They also make a great natural pairing with the Blue Lake and the Umpherston Sinkhole in Mount Gambier itself, so you can comfortably fit all four into one volcanic, sinkhole filled day.
I stopped at the Little Blue Lake on the way past, had my look around, then drove on and climbed Mount Schank. Standing at the top of the volcano, warm from a steep climb, I realised the swimming hole was now behind me.
My advice? Do it the other way around – Climb first, swim second. Walk up Mount Schank, work up a sweat on the steep path, then drive the 8 minutes back to the Little Blue Lake and get in the water.
This will also save you from midday sun, if you set off early. The Mount Schank climb is quite exposed and would be far better in the cool of early morning, while the Little Blue Lake gets busy in the warm afternoons. So, climb early, swim before the hordes arrive, and you get the best version of both.
Mount Schank is a dormant volcano rising around 100 metres out of otherwise flat farmland. The walk to the crater rim is short but steep, climbing straight up the side of the cone. Here is what to expect:
Distance: Around 900 metres one way, so roughly 1.8km there and back.
The climb: Steady, steep ascent of a little over a 1,000 limestone steps, with handrails and rest points on the stepped section.
Difficulty: Moderate to hard. It is short, but gets the heart rate up quickly.
Time: Most people reach the rim in 15 to 20 minutes, with the basic up and down taking 30 minutes. Add the full rim circuit and it takes 45 minutes to an hour.
Exposure: The track has little shade, so allow extra time and bring extra water in hot weather.
It is a proper leg burner, but it is very enjoyable. The car park, at the base of Mount Schank is well set up. With flushing toilets, accessible facilities and a sheltered picnic area with a barbeque, so you can picnic or regroup before or after the climb. There is no drinking water on site, so bring your own, and dogs are allowed on lead, though check the signage.
The rim walk was one of the most beautiful moments of my time in South Australia. I had the entire summit to myself, with a pair of wedge tailed eagles riding the wind overhead and views stretching across the farmland to the coast.
The Mount Schank path is a thousand limestone steps, so trainers at a minimum.
Mount Schank belongs to Australia’s youngest volcanic field, and it erupted only around 4,500 to 5,000 years ago – the same time as the volcano at Mount Gambier. The eruptions were explosive, driven by magma meeting groundwater in the limestone that is famous along this part of coastline.
Unlike the volcano at Mount Gambier, the crater is dry. Its floor sits above the water table, and so has been barely touched by erosion – making it one of the best preserved young volcanoes in the country.
The volcano stands on the traditional Country of the Bunganditj people, who know it as Pareen. Their tradition tells of the giant ancestor Craitbul, who travelled the region with his family building great ovens to cook in, the volcanic cones. Warned of an evil spirit, they fled Mount Schank leaving their oven burning, and settled at Mount Gambier, where rising water put out their fires and formed the crater lakes.
This story is widely regarded as preserving living memory of the actual eruptions, which, for events 4,500 years ago, is remarkable.
The Europeans came here in 1800, when Lieutenant James Grant sighted the cone from HMS Lady Nelson and named it after John Schank, the naval officer who designed the ship’s innovative sliding keels. The volcano and its surrounds have been protected as a State Heritage Area since 1992.
From the top of the main climb, a path continues around the rim of the crater, a circuit of 2.7 km in total, with some exposed and narrow sections along the way. I walked the full way around, taking in the views from all angles – stunning.
There is also an unmaintained track dropping into the crater floor itself, but it is steep, rough and not recommended for most visitors, so stick to the rim.
If you have a spare hour, the full rim circuit would be the way to do it. If you’re short on time, climb to the rim, walk a bit of the crater and then head back down. If you have time to spare, do the full circuit.
When you get to the start of the rim walk, if you look to your right, there should be a wooden bridge - this is the best place to take photos. Just make sure you don’t block the path.
Yes, with the caveat that it is steep. The path climbs around a thousand limestone steps up the side of the volcano, so it is hard work, but children can manage it at a steady pace and the crater views are… legendary. I saw a family with children descending Mount Schank as I was climbing, and they seemed to be pretty happy.
The Little Blue Lake, known locally as Baby Blue, is a water-filled sinkhole ringed by cliffs, sitting in open farmland on Mount Salt Road. Metal stairs run down through a cutting in the rock to a floating pontoon, installed in 2002 to give swimmers a safe way in and out, and access is free.
The sinkhole was christened for its resemblance to Mount Gambier’s Blue Lake, but nowadays, the water runs a little more green, thanks to the nutrients in the water and occasional algae. After a hot climb up Mount Schank, this is still as good as swimming gets. A few things to keep in mind:
It is deep, cold, natural water: The sinkhole averages around 35 to 40 metres deep reaching to 47 metres at its deepest, and stays cold all year. Keep a close eye on children and stay within your ability.
No cliff jumping: Tempting as the rock walls look, jumping is prohibited and the underwater hazards do actually exist (more on that later). Use the stairs and the pontoon.
Facilities are minimal: A gravel car park with limited spaces, rubbish bins and little else. There are no permanent toilets - although there were portable toilets when I was there. There is no shade, no drinking water and no camping, so treat it as a wild swim and bring everything you need. The nearest toilets are at the Mount Schank car park.
Check conditions on the day: Blue green algae warnings will appear occasionally, so have a look before you commit and use your judgement.
Have towels and swimwear at the top of your boot rather than buried under the luggage, so the post climb swim is easy to say yes to.
The sinkhole is a collapse in the limestone, formed by underground chambers, dissolved out by acidic groundwater rising from the volcanic system below, finally giving way around 20,000 years ago. When sea levels rose again around 8,000 years ago, the hole filled with fresh water to the level of the water table, leaving a pool roughly 40 metres across below cliffs of up to 8 metres.
Like many sinkholes in the region, it spent part of the 20th Century as a dumping ground, and a 1966 Morris 1100 still sits on the bottom among the debris. Diving is also restricted here to qualified deep cavern grade divers, after a spate of diving deaths in the 1960s and 70s in the region. Swimmers usually stay on the surface, which, given what sits 40 metres below, feels like a safe place to be.
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