Bordertown (pop. 2300) lies on the Dukes Highway 300km southeast of Adelaide, near the borders of Victoria. In the mid-19th C it was an important supply center for the goldfields of western Victoria. It is now the center of an agricultural area (wool, wheat, milk).
From nearby Mount Monster there are fine views.
Address: Bordertown Visitor Information Centre, 81 North Terrace, Bordertown, SA 5268, Australia
The area round the little settlement of Coonawarra is the most southerly region in South Australia. Although the high quality of the terra-rossa soils in this area was recognized in the 19th C and there were ambitious plans it was only in the 1950s and 60s that these plans really came to fruition.
Address: Penola / Coonawarra Visitor Information Centre, 27 Arthur Street, Penola, SA 5277, Australia
Naracoorte (pop. 4800), founded in the 1840s, is one of the oldest inland settlements in South Australia. The local economy is based on cattle, sheep and wheat.
Address: Naracoorte Visitor Information Centre, 36 MacDonnell Street, Box 555, Naracoorte, SA 5271, Australia
Three out of the 60 caves of the famous Naracoorte Caves are open to the public. The Alexandra and Blanche Caves have spectacular stalactites and stalagmites, while the Victoria Fossil Cave, also containing stalactites and stalagmites, is famous for the fossils of giant Ice Age marsupials and the skeleton of a giant wombat which were found here in 1969. The Bat Cave is the home of a large colony of bats.
Naracoorte Caves are listed on the United Nations World Heritage listings for the excellent fossils that are buried within the rock. There is a diverse variety of fossils, of particular interest are the fossils of the so-called Megafauna (giant marsupials).
Address: Naracoorte Caves National Park, Hynam-Caves Road, Naracoorte, SA 5271, Australia
Hours:
9:30am-4pm
Tips: Tours available between listed hours. Prices and times vary.
Pinnaroo (pop. 750) has a museum of agricultural machinery and a research institute concerned among other things with developing resistant and productive cereal strains.
Address: Southern Mallee District Council, Day Street, Pinnaroo, SA 5304, Australia