Southend is a small fishing village about 75km from Mount Gambier. We went there today for a swim at the beach.
It was the hottest day of the summer so far (38 degrees) and only the second day over 30.
Unfortunately, it was also very windy.
The beach at Southend has clean, firm white sand. Cars are allowed to drive on the beach.
I’m not a greenie, but I don’t really like cars driving on beaches. It just seems wrong. We parked in the car park and walked down.
If we had stayed at Kalgoorlie, we would have been on holiday at Mandurah now. The previous two years we spent 2-3 weeks at a holiday house there. It was idyllic.
Every day was warm enough to swim and the Indian Ocean water is much warmer than here.
Even on a hot day, with the water so inviting, the Southern Ocean is freezing.
Women readers probably don’t appreciate how difficult it is for a man to get waist deep in cold water; never mind the full plunge!
Once in the sea it was lovely, just a gentle swell, much to young Michael’s disappointment with his boogie board.
There were no amenities at the beach and after a while we packed up and moved to the Millicent swimming lake (pictured below).
I’ve seen it described as “probably the best swimming pool of any town in Australia” and I tend to agree.
It’s larger than an Olympic pool, has sandy edges, lawns and natural shade. We liked it more than Naracoorte, which we visited recently, and it’s closer.
There are toilets, lifeguards and a kiosk. And the water was less cold than the beach.
The unique Millicent swimming lake is popular in summer.
