in the merry old land of aus: kangaroo island

One of the first things that I knew I wanted to do while I was in Australia was go to Kangaroo Island. I didn't really know anything about it except the name. I thought it would be a cool place to see kangaroos in the wild and in mass populations or something. So I started looking into trips from Cape Jervis over Investigator Strait and to Kangaroo Island. I realized pretty quickly that the small little island I thought was KI was actually a very big island with a lot to see! So Alison, Steve, and I planned a two day guided trip so that we could make it to all the sights. We were also told that driving at night on KI is a bad idea because there aren't lights and there is a lot more wildlife than on the mainland.

So, our trip begins at 6:00am in Adelaide City where we get on our mini bus and pick everyone else up in the city. We drive for about an hour and a half to Cape Jervis, where we get on the Sea Link and ferry over to Penneshaw, KI. This is the biggest city on Kangaroo Island and this is where we can buy our snacks for the rest of the trip. So we stop and stock up and get back on our bus on our way to Prospect Hill. This area of the island is called the bottleneck because it is the narrowest part of the island. Because of this, and because this was the highest point on the island, we could see water on both sides of the land. The story goes that Captain Matthew Flinders thought he discovered mainland Australia, but he was really on Kangaroo Island. He didn't realize this until he climbed up Prospect Hill and could see the large mass of land that was really Australia in the distance. Tough luck for Captain Flinders, I'd say. But hey, he at least has a National Park named after him. Next stop, Little Sahara for some sand boarding! This wasn't reallllly sand boarding because it had sort of rained earlier so the sand was a lot stickier than normal. Apparently! We rode the boards down like toboggans to make the most of it, and it was still very exciting. It was also very good exercise running up that hill so many times! Speaking of which, when we got to the top of the hill, we were all surprised to find no water near us. This giant sand dune and no water? .. crazy! Anyway, now we are all really hungry and find ourselves at The Woolshed next. This is our little farm stay, where we are going to be staying tonight. We drop off our bags and have lunch as a group and get ready to go to the Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch, which are both in Flinders Chase National Park. This is when I really notice for the first time just how crazy our driver is, how fast he goes on these bumpy red dirt roads.

The Remarkable Rocks are really cool and really big! They have been sculpted naturally into their cool formations, and there is this orange lichen all over them, which makes them even better looking! The lichen plus the rain equals a very slippery place. On the other side of the rocks, it just sort of slopes down almost 100 metres to the ocean waters. We had some time to take pictures and explore the rocks and surrounding vegetation. By the way, the vegetation on Kangaroo Island is a lot different than on mainland Australia in that it is generally lower to the ground. For some areas, the guide mentioned a fire, but in others along the coast it is because of the thin layer of soil and the windy conditions. After we see the Remarkables, we head further into Flinders Chase National Park to the New Zealand Fur Seal colony and Admirals Arch. The coast line here is very rugged and has slowly been eroding to create small islands off of Kangaroo Island. Admirals Arch is apparently going to be the next breaking point. It is also the home to many NZ Fur Seals. We were at the arch to see the seals and to see the sun set through the arch. It was a cloudy night though, so we couldn't see it through the arch, but we saw some beautiful colours out on the coast. Later tonight we go to see the Little Penguins down a side road and at a small rocky beach. It was pitch black out, so we used a flash light and saw the cutest little penguin family sitting in a circle. It was a cold night and so we got back to The Woolshed and had a bonfire with the group before bed.

Steve and I at Prospect Hill

Alison and Steve sand-tobogganing at Little Sahara

some nice vegetation/scenery on the way to the Remarkable Rocks

Alison and I celebrating life

Alison and I on one of the vibrant (lichen covered) rocks

are you thinking what Steve and I were? .. I AM IRONNN MAN!!

the Remarkable Rocks

Steve and I walking to Admirals Arch

Admirals Arch

Alison and I watching the sun set by Admirals Arch

coast line sun set at Admirals Arch

The second day of our trip was cut a little short, but I'll get to that soon. We started the day with breakfast and packing up. We are on our way to Seal Bay to see some wild Australian Sea Lions. When we get there, we are guided by a park leader and told not to get within ten metres of the sea lions because they are actually very fast and if they get spooked, they will chase you off! Hm, so I didn't know that before. We also learned that the sea lions have hips which gives them something like four legs, and that they are descendants of the dog family. They are also named because of their distinct markings around their necks, which makes them look like lions from the sea. The next stop on our trip was the birds of prey show. This was something I hadn't seen in a long time and was very happy with. Our guide told us that it was being taken out of the itinerary for next year, which is kind of sad. There was a barn owl, a 'screaming woman owl', a wedge tail eagle, falcons, and even a couple kookaburras. After the show was over, we had some lunch (sausages and kangaroo meat) and got back on the bus, which was taking us to Stokes Bay.

Stokes Bay is beautiful. It is on the northern shore of Kangaroo Island and is a lot calmer and more beach-like than the other places we have been so far. The interesting things about this place is that when explorers were here, there was no access to the beach. You could only see the beach from the top of the cliffs that surround it unless you waited for the tides to be perfectly low, that is until somebody deemed this unacceptable. The explorers decided that dynamite in the part of the cliff that was blocking the beach was the best option. And so they blew it up. Now there is a (claustrophobic) tunnel and pathway that leads to the beach. Look at the picture I have of it, and find the sign that says 'Beach ->'. It was definitely a unique experience, but once we got on the beach it was great! There were rocks along the beach with the same lichen that was on the Remarkable Rocks, and the sand was nice. Alison, Steve, and I wondered around taking pictures and doing cartwheels for about an hour or so until we noticed that the group was leaving. Hm, I guess it's time to go we thought and so ran after them and got back in our seats at the back. I wonder if they think now that all Canadians are slow or late or something. That would not be ideal. We were off to Penneshaw again to have dinner and take the Sea Link back to the mainland. All I can say is that it's a good thing the group left early because we had an unexpected mishap on our way...

Remember that time when I said the driver was a little dare-devil-ish. Well he was driving down these bump ridden dirt roads and taking corners WAY too fast so I think it was only a matter of time until part of the bus broke off. I laugh now, but at the time we were all .. okay we were laughing then too. All I remember is fish-tailing down the road a little lower than normal.

Steve: Hm, flat tire?

Alison: NO TIRE!!!!

Alison had seen the tire fly off and bounce down the road. Sure enough, once we finally, and I say finally because we lost the brakes with the tire, got stopped, the tire rolled by my window! It was strange but also unfortunate because it took about an hour to get a spare bus to us and so we had to miss out on the emu farm tour. It's okay thought because we were all safe back in Adelaide and nobody got hurt. Well, that's more than I can say for our poor old bus.