Mount Gambier

Introduction

Mt. Gambier Sinkhole

© fenderson

Mount Gambier is a town on the border of South Australia and Victoria. It is South Australia's second largest city with a population of 23,000.

Mount Gambier's best known attraction is its huge lake, descriptively known as Blue Lake (or Waawor in the local Aboriginal tongue). Blue Lake is not blue year-round, but changes colour with the seasons, from a steely grey in winter to cobalt blue in summer.

Sights and Activities

Blue Lake

© SheIsFree

• Blue Lake
• Valley Lake
• Umpherston Sinkhole Garden

Getting There

By Plane

Mount Gambier Airport (MGB) services Regional Express flights to Melbourne and Adelaide.

By Train

V/Line operates train and coach services from Melbourne to Mount Gambier. The train goes to either Warrnambool or Ballarat, and from there a coach departs to Mount Gambier. Via Warrnambool, the trip takes about 6:20; via Ballarat, it's about 5:40 hours long. Either way, it costs $32.40 one-way per adult.

By Car

Mount Gambier is situated along the Princess Highway, which connects it with both Adelaide and Melbourne. The drive from both these cities is about 5 hours.

By Bus

Premier Stateliner operates coach services from Adelaide to Mount Gambier once a day (twice on Friday). The trip takes about 6 hours and 15 minutes, and costs $62 for an adult fare.

V/Line operates train and coach services from Melbourne to Mount Gambier. The train goes to either Warrnambool or Ballarat, and from there a coach departs to Mount Gambier. Via Warrnambool, the trip takes about 6:20; via Ballarat, it's about 5:40 hours long. Either way, it costs $32.40 one-way per adult.

Sleep

Upscale

You can use the form below to search for availability (Travellerspoint receives a commission for bookings made through the form)

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafés are very common in the larger Australian cities and popular tourist destinations. However, once you leave the major population centres, you might have trouble finding somewhere to log on. Free wifi is getting more and more common (either with or without a code) in places like restaurants, some bars and coffee places and hotels. Sometimes a fee is required.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

Australia is on a GSM 900/1800 network, so if you have an unlocked phone that works on those frequencies, you will be able to buy a prepaid SIM-card and stick into your phone when you're in Australia. You will receive a new Australian phone number with the SIM-card.

To dial out of Australia use the prefix 0011, followed by the calling code of the country you are trying to reach, followed by the area code of the city/town (without the 0!) and finally the phone number.

Within Australia, it is necessary to add an area code to the phone numbers if you are calling from outside the area. Below are Australia's area codes:

• 02 - New South Wales & Australian Capital Territory (Sydney, Canberra)
• 03 - Victoria & Tasmania (Melbourne, Hobart)
• 07 - Queensland (Brisbane)
• 08 - Western Australia, South Australia & Northern Territory (Perth, Adelaide, Darwin)

000 is the emergency telephone number in Australia, but the international GSM mobile emergency telephone number 112 also works on mobile phones.

Post

Australia Post is the government's postal service. Most suburbs will have at least one post office. Opening times are mostly from around 8:00 or 9:00am to 5:00pm though larger ones keep longer hours sometimes. A standard letter or postcard sent within Australia will cost $0.60. Internationally, it costs $1.70 to send postcards anywhere in the world. Letters cost $1.85 to send within the Asia Pacific region and $2.60 to anywhere else in the world.^[1]. It is also possible to send things as parcels or by express mail. You can also use use private courier companies like TNT, UPS or DHL as they are competitive and reliable.