Port MacDonnell: Ron marvels at the Petrified Forest on the towns coast on the Limestone Coast in the South East region of South Australia
Today it's a sleepy little fishing town but in it's day Port MacDonnell, about 40 kilometres south of Mount Gambier, was a bustling port. The original Cape Northumberland Lighthouse was built here so that shipping would give a wide berth to one of the most treacherous stretches of coastline in South Australia. From the Cape you can take in some of the best vantage points with views back to the town and its rock lobster fleet, the largest in South Australia.
When you come to the district make sure you explore all of the Cape Northumberland Heritage Walk because it takes you to some amazing coastal scenery where you can let the imagination run wild.
The locals certainly have giving all kinds of names to rock formations carved over millennia. There’s the ‘Rhino’ and in another bay, the ‘Big Camel’ and ‘Little Camel’.
The coast is part of a shipwreck trail which extends along the Victorian coast on the Great Ocean Road. At Port MacDonnell the locals went to extraordinary lengths to build the first lighthouse station. Today only the remains of its foundations are left to tell the story of buildings which were slowly being undermined by the elements. It was enough to scare the keepers into moving several hundred metres inland where they had a birdseye view of another Port McDonnell landmark – a bay full of strange rock formations the locals call the Petrified Forest.
The strange curiosities dot the shoreline and certainly catch the eye when the tide is out. Wade in around Port Mac's so-called Petrified Forest and you'll be intrigued by the large pod-like structures dotted along the tidal strip. Most have been hollowed out. By what no-one knows. Each one creating its own micro environment. And according to some locals there are plenty more, further out in much deeper water.
Jill Cutting, Port Mac Donnell Visitor Centre: “A local diver has seen much bigger ones out in the ocean just past the reef out there. It’s about eight feet in diameter and he could actually dive inside, get the abalones out and come out again. It's that big. He reckons it's a petrified forest. He's quite sure of that because he says they are all round and they are all hollow.”
Why not speculate yourself and let the imagination run wild. Just head to Port MacDonnell and strike out on the Cape Northumberland Heritage Walk which will take you to the Petrified Forest and plenty more along this majestic coastline. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
Petrified Forest
Cape Northumberland Heritage Walk
Port Mac Donnell 40 ks south of Mount GambierPublished 18th April 2010
