Kayaking around Robe: Ron takes to te waters of the Limestone Coast in the South East of South Australia

Nestled on Guichen Bay on the Limestone Coast about three hundred and fifty kilometres South West of Adelaide, Robe charms are obvious. It's a heritage jewel with an impressive assortment of late nineteenth century buildings.

But if you want to explore a little more deeply the secrets of this limestone coast gem head inland with Garth Gallagher of Robe Adventure Tours for a cruise through the canals and backwaters.

Soon we're gliding through the waters of Lake Batty, just one of many lakes scattered along the limestone coast. They are part of a much bigger system that harks back to the days when a retreating sea created the Coorong.

At first it's all smooth kayaking as we head to the perimeter of Lake Batty and then ease into the first of the narrows. Limestone reminders of the 'big dig" mark our progress down what was rather unromantically dubbed drain "L". It was just one part of a massive drainage scheme aimed at increasing the amount of dry arable land.

Garth Gallagher, Robe Adventure Tours: "Back in 1912 the locals began a massive engineering project designed to connect four lakes - Lake Batty, Lake Noonan, the Fox Lake and the Pub Lake. The idea was to drain them out to sea. On this two hour kayak trip we follow a series of canals and ultimately make our way to the Fox Outlet."

We enter Lake Noonan and eventually get into deeper water and head under one of the town's main bridges. For most of us the tea-tree forest and wetland system that skirts Robe is glimpsed from the window of a speeding car but Garth's combination of canals, lakes and paddle-power brings to life one of the town's hidden secrets.

The Fox Outlet eventually meets the sea and soon we're out into the deeper water of Guichen Bay, past kelp beds and rocky headlands and the great expanse of Long Bay stretches before us.

After two hours paddling we're chuffed with our achievement and keen to reach our ultimate goal. Robe's Chinese Monument and its little beach. It was here more than a hundred and fifty years ago that the first of some 16 thousand Chinese diggers came ashore before heading off to the Victorian goldfields. Jumping off at Robe meant they could avoid a head tax imposed on the Chinese by the Victorian Government.

Garth reckons they were the first backpackers. Today its overseas backpackers and plenty of locals who sign up at the Bayside Backpackers Hostel for one of Garth's Robe Adventure Tours. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

Robe Adventure Tours
Bayside Backpackers Hostel
Contact 0419 158 279

Published 12th April 2009