We called into the visitor information centre in Naracoorte this morning to get some directions to the caves which are just outside of the town. The guy there was very helpful and gave us some information about the coastal towns south of Mt Gambier so that will be helpful in a couple of days. He also gave us a pass to get a 10% discount on our cave entry, which was great! After a quick stop at the bakery, we headed out of town to the fossil caves and it turned out to be a really interesting place. We went through the interpretation centre first where there are fossil displays and animatronics of the extinct mega-fauna that they have found bones of in the caves. Then we did a self-guided tour through nearby Wet Cave where the lights are on motion sensors and turn on as you walk past. Although that cave was big, it wasn't very decorative. After lunch we drove the 1.5km down the road to the Victoria Fossil cave for the afternoon guided tour. This was a highlight because the cave had some well lit decorative formations of stalagmites, stalactites, flow stone and shoals as well as the fossil site which was the last stop on the tour. So we learnt all about the big marsupial fossils they have found there and had a photo with Dippy the Diprotodon (a 2.5 tonne extinct wombat)!
As it was getting late in the afternoon, and Callen had fallen asleep, we drove through the Coonawarra wine district, Penola and Tarpeena (and saw the Gunns Timber Mill) before arriving at Mt Gambier for the night. There was just enough light left that we could see Blue Lake as we drove to the caravan park, so there will be lots to explore tomorrow as well!