Kangaroo Island


We went to Kangaroo Island with Gerald's folks (Ruth & Graham) for five days.  The island is about a 45 minute ferry ride from Cape Jervis, at the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula (about 2 hours from Adelaide), and is about 150 km (90 miles) wide (trivia: it's about 7 times the size of Singapore!).   A good portion of the island - most of the western part - is made up of wilderness protection areas, while most of the rest of the island is forest and pasture land.  There are wallabies, kangaroos, seals, sea lions, echnidnas (though we didn't see any THIS time), goannas, koalas and lots of birds.  It has spectacular beaches and coastline views and great hiking; a very peaceful, beautiful place to visit.  



CAPE DE COUEDIC

When we arrived, we drove along the northern route (past Stokes Bay) and then down into Flinders Chase National Park.  We stayed in a cottage at one of three lighthouses on the island (the rough seas around the island clearly warrant many lighthouses!) - at Cape du Couedic (pronounced like cootie, much to the amusement of Elyse!) in the southwestern corner.  The cottage had been used by the head lighthouse keeper since the early 1900's until the lighthouse was automated in 1957.  Below are pictures of the lighthouse and "our" cottage.  There were two other almost identical cottages (used by the lightkeeper's assistants) just across the path from us.  There were great hiking trails just outside the cottage: great for early morning and evening strolls! The lighthouse and cottages are actually IN the Flinders Chase National Park, so we were surrounded by glorious forests and visited by many animals!  As pictured below, we had a resident family of Tammar wallabies, as well as regular visits by goannas (some unexpected visits during hikes causing heart rates to skyrocket).  We had brought all of our provisions, including dinners (cooked and then frozen) as well as cards, books and Mahjong, so the isolation and quiet suited us fine.

 

Since the lighthouse site was inaccessible by land during construction, materials and provisions were brought by boat into Weirs Cove (below, left) about a mile north of the lighthouse.  They were then hoisted by a "Flying Fox" up to the top of the cliff.  Visitors also came up that way (!) rather than hiking the 300 foot/92 metre path that zig-zagged up the coast.  There was a storehouse near the cove and they would carry things to the cottages as they were needed. They actually kept two horses at the lighthouse for a while (who actually "powered" the flying fox), but it was a lot of extra food, etc. to transfer!  The right two pictures are an old and present-day view of the jetty and flying fox (or what's left of them).  Not an easy life....
     

ADMIRAL'S ARCH

As you can see on the map, the lighthouse/cottages are right near Admiral's Arch.  Admiral's Arch is a dramatic tunnel through the end of the cape, with stalactites on the "ceiling", and is home to a colony of about 7,000 fur seals.  The boardwalks and viewing platforms gave us ample opportunity to watch these guys swim, surf, play and sleep.  There were many pups (how cute are they!?).  Apparently there is about a one-year gestation period and then the females often get pregnant within days of their pups being born.  Oy!  One of the nights had VERY rough seas and it was fascinating to watch how well the seals could handle the surf - and what fun they had surfing in the pools made up on the rocks high above the waterline. At a nearby lookout Elyse finally got to see some dolphins, as we saw a pod of about 7 dolphins swimming and jumping, and finally surfing in a wave towards the shore. An amazing sight! And then on the ferry ride home, we saw another two playing in the wake of the ferry.
 

REMARKABLE ROCKS

The other highlight right near us was Remarkable Rocks.  They got it right when they gave them that name!  As you can see from the picture on the left, the rocks are located on the top of a high, barren cliff (looking across from Weirs Cove).  They look as though they have been transported by aliens and dropped on the end of this smooth promontory. In fact, they are a testament to the power of erosion. The shapes and colors, especially in the evening light, are truly breathtaking. Hopefully the picture of the four of us in front of one of the rocks gives you a sense of scale for their size. It is a photographer's (and kid's) paradise.
 

HIKING

In addition to our walks to Admiral's Arch and Remarkable Rocks (and to the lighthouse/Weirs Cove), we took some beautiful, longer walks - through spectacular eucalypt forests (like the one pictured below), along coastal cliffs, in a platypus haven (although we weren't lucky enough to spot any of these shy, strange creatures), and one "killer" hike past Snake Lagoon.
 
SNAKE LAGOON HIKE

This hike was longer and more strenuous than the trail guide had led us to believe, and the sun was very strong that day.  The views were beautiful - especially when we caught sight of the ocean (see below). We even saw a feral goat and her baby walking across the beach!  Gerald was hot and brave (?) enough to take a dip (he's that half-purple "dot" in the picture on the right). If you look carefully at the sand in that picture, you can see how far up the beach the waves would come.  Apparently the waves were coming from three directions and were creating riptides and freak waves galore!  Gerald was working hard to stay upright. Elyse went to take a picture from the "dry" rocks on the right and seconds later found herself in water up to her shorts!  It was a not-so-subtle reminder of the power of water/nature, but it was spectacular to see.  It was a glorious hike, but hard work and we were all VERY grateful for the thermos of tea waiting for us in the car!  And the Ginger Nuts, of course....
 

BEACHES

One of the most spectacular features of Kangaroo Island is its beaches.  Each seems more beautiful than the last and looks like a postcard.  The first beach we stopped at is at Pennington Bay (on the northern side of the isthmus above d'Estrees Bay).  There were some (crazy) people surfing that day despite the fact that there are sheets of rock along the shoreline. According to the guide book information, this is the beginners' surfing beach!? Stokes Bay (below, middle) is accessed through a maze of rocks and includes a kids' pool created from a breakwater. On the southern side, we took a dip in Hanson's Bay (below, right - located at the end of the yellow line on the map west of Kelly Hill Caves): the water was pretty cold (it's the Southern Ocean - next landmass is Antarctica!), but refreshing and fun to play in.   We stopped at Vivonne Bay (bottom, left), which was voted the best beach in Australia for 2006 (not sure of the criteria; it WAS beautiful, but how could one choose??) and then took a quick look at Bales Beach (bottom, middle) just on the other side of Seal Bay (bottom, right).  Seal Bay is home to a colony of Australian Sea Lions (those blobs on the sand are sea lions resting after a hard day's fishing expedition).  
 

  
The entire week was wonderful.  It was super to have that kind of time (and adventures!) with Ruth and Graham and fantastic to see such spectacular sights.  Kangaroo Island used to be the butt of jokes among South Australians who thought it boring, but now it is being discovered for the treasure that it is.  We're hoping that it will keep its "wild" flavor ... although we don't miss the drives on the gravel roads!


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