Boarding and on-loading of luggage should be comfortably achieved so departure from Adelaide by 8:00AM does begin the Trip. You are encouraged to limit your luggage to what can be accommodated in one suitcase of not too large proportions. These will be conveyed in a hard canopy covered Trailer.
The first day, (a Monday) will be primarily consumed getting to Mount Gambier, though it is only about Four Hundred and Fifty km., but by the time we enjoy a Morning-tea respite at Tailem Bend, and a pause for Lunch between noon and 1:00PM at either Meningie, (if we go via. the Coorong) or Bordertown, (if we go via. the Duke's Highway), we can reasonably expect to get into the "Mount" by around 4:00PM. That might be extended out, if the consensus were to visit, say, Tantanoola Caves or the Mary McKillop Interpretive Centre in Penola on the way. There really are numerous choices available. Probably a good strategy is to proceed out-bound one way, and return by the other at week's end.
Day Two: After rising and Breakfast we can concentrate on some of the local natural wonders; the "must first" stop has to be the "Lady Nelson" Visitor and Discovery Centre, where we'll meet Christina Smith, her ghostly figure stepping out of a photograph so she can recount her experiences, and hear Lt. Grant tell the story of his discoveries in the area; an informative conducted Tour of the Blue Lake Local Area Water Reticulation Pump Station; and perhaps after Lunch in the Town Centre we could explore the Engelbrecht Cave, where divers enter the water to dive under the City.
Day Three: Still so much to see! Maybe we ought head West toward Nelson, visiting Princess Margaret Rose Cave on the way and later on, take Lunch in Nelson, either on the banks of the Glenelg River somewhere in the Lower Glenelg National Park, or some might want to negotiate a Cruise aboard either the Nelson Endeavour or the newer Nelson Explorer. We should return to Town via. Port MacDonnell, affording us the chance to visit Piccaninnie Ponds, coastal dairy farms, one of which boasts the largest rotary milking machine in the Southern Hemisphere, the "Rock Lobster Capital" itself, Grant's Monument and "Dingley Dell" the one-time home of Adam Lindsay Gordon, a regular "wild colonial boy" if ever there was one. There should still be time enough to see the "Cottage Cave" right in the centre of Town before returning to the motel for our evening meal.
Day Four: Our last full day in the Mount! It's difficult to know whether the Umpherstone Sinkhole is seen to best advantage during the day or at night. But first thing after Breakfast, we ought go visit the Valley Lakes area, where we might tread the Boardwalk across the Lake at virtually water-level, enjoy the sight of children playing in the Adventure Playground or others engaged in various Water Sports. We might even be there still come lunch-time, and so we could take advantage of the free BBQ's on which to cook our fare. After lunch we could climb to the summit of The Mount to survey the country-side from the vantage point of considerable elevation, as well as walk off some of the calories provided by the lunch. That leaves Mount Schank to be climbed later in the afternoon, and that should sharpen our appetite for the last evening meal of the Trip.
Day Five: Well all good things must come to an end, and that applies equally to a great excursion, so today we set out on the return journey after breakfast and check-out from the Motel. On the way home, if we go through Penola and Naracoorte, we can make time to visit the Mary MacKillop Interpretive Centre, which is dedicated to explaining a very interesting period in the History of the South-East of South Australia, a story with a strong focus on the life of Blessed, (hopefully soon to be Saint) Mary MacKillop. Probably lunch-on-the-run somewhere along the way, (Naracoorte or Keith) should see us back in Adelaide easily by 5:30PM.