Little Dip Conservation Park: On the Limestone Coast region in the South East of South Australia

It's little wonder that Robe is such a popular holiday destination. There's plenty of history and heritage accommodation and numerous boating options come the finer weather. But virtually any time of the year you can venture into what's called Little Dip Conservation Park on the Limestone Coast.

With local ranger Don Mount as our guide, the Postcards team set out to explore the pocket sized parcel of magic. We began with a stroll along a walkway through the melalueca that led us to Lake Robe, which, like many of the lakes in Little Dip Conservation Park, is hidden from the bitumen. It’s a pretty little lake that may not be known to many tourists, but is certainly a hit with the birdlife.

Lake Robe is incredibly saline, yet certain microbes, brine shrimp and water plants abound.

“At certain times such as November and December as the water temperature increases - it becomes almost like soup. And that draws lot of birds.”

The lake is also a graveyard for ancient shell life. Scattered thoughout the salty crust are reminders of what thrived in the water thousands of years ago when many of the lakes were part of a massive estuary which was open to the Southern Ocean.

“This is a remnant of a mud oyster which used to occur in this water body but, of course, you won’t find them in this area now due to the changed water regimes. You will find them at the Murray Mouth near the Goolwa Barrages.

Many shells are perfectly preserved - almost pickled you might say in a salty brew. Take to the nearby four wheel drive tracks in Little Dip and you pick your way through lush stands of tea-tree which need fresh water to survive.

“This is a beautiful spot. What we have here is an avenue of vegetation of old man tea tree or dryland tea tree as it's called. It's very close to Lake Robe and one might wonder why you've got such a freshwater tree growing so close to a salt lake. The reason is that there's underground water in the forms of soaks running underneath this area.”

It's a unique and fragile combination of fresh and saltwater environments, which makes for a stunning drive. Little Dip was first declared a conservation park in 1975 and over the years other fragments of coastal vegetation have been added.

For a long narrow strip that extends just thirteen kilometres along the south east coast the park offers amazing diversity and most of the time you can hear the roar of the nearby sea.

“This is Domeshon’s Beach. It's a really spectacular little spot midway down Little Dip Conservation Park. It’s very popular in the summer months with family groups and is relatively sheltered when the weather is calm.”

Don took us to some sand dunes near The Bishop's Pate. A little more than two hundred years ago, navigator like Matthew Flinders spotted the dunes from the sea. At the time they were much bigger and stood out as one massive bald hill - hence the name. Today, it's a popular area for four-wheel drivers but you need to be careful because it can be an unforgiving place.

“If you're going to go through you really need your tyre pressure down to say fourteen and it'll reach the point in certain weather conditions where you've got to decide whether it wise to even go onto the beach. You could lose the vehicle or have a lot of trouble.”

Just minutes from the surging power of the sea and more picture postcard images of the southeast await. The windmill and water troughs tell us that more freshwater is nearby and at the close of day we call in at Freshwater Lake. At the end of a pleasant walk through sword sedge and the flowering tea tree we come across native Koots making the most of the serenity in Little Dip Conservation Park.

“In Spring it's absolute music to sit and listen to the Banjo Frogs calling. It’s a tremendous place.”

Little Dip is on the outskirts of Robe and it follows the coast towards Beachport. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards.sa.com.au