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Published: February 17th 2010
1st December 09 - 3rd December 09
Kangaroo Island - PART 1
Driving down towards Cape Jervis with Kangaroo Island, or KI to the locals, looming in the background, I must say I was really looking forward to this. The drive down to Cape Jervis with the yellow rolling hills around you is just spectacular, truly some of the nicest countryside I have ever seen. The weather was perfect with calm seas and the gorgeous blue waters of Backstairs Passage that separate KI from the mainland. It was really a fun experience and one I was so happy to get to share with my mum.
We drove down to the ferry terminal where there are 5 lanes to choose from to park and wait to be loaded onto the ferry. When the ferry arrived and the massive back ramp was lower I started to get abit nervous about driving onto the ferry. Now I know it's driving onto a ferry, not exactly the world's hardest thing to do. But everyone was watching and some vans were told they had to reverse on! When I saw the van ahead of me reversing I just thought 'please God don't make
Here we go...
Cape Jervis boarding the KI ferryme reverse'! It was a rather narrow gap to reverse into, not alot of room for error. Actually there was zero room for error, those cars, vans, trucks were so tightly packed into that ferry that you could bearly open the door and get out of your vehicle! Thankfully I got to drive on forwards and it was quite fun. You drive in and around till you are facing back out again for when you get to KI you can just drive right on out of there. It's amazing how much they can get on that ferry. Trucks, trailers, boats, one farmer from the Island was returning with a trailer load of sheep, there were dogs in cars and on the back of trucks. It's really a credit to those ferry workers how they manage to sort it all out so everyone fits on.
No passengers are allowed to go on in the vehicles they have to walk on up over the passenger ramps so I headed upstairs to the lounge area and met up with mum. The Sealink ferry is very comfortable inside with lounges, tables and chairs, there is a bar and coffee lounge as well. You
can go up to the top deck outside and enjoy the views and the wind in your hair. Ofcourse I dragged mum up there and we sat and watched as the wind turbines of Cape Jervis got smaller and KI drew closer. It's really not that far, about a 45 minute ferry ride. The ferry heads for the very eastern tip of KI and the town of Penneshaw. We caught the last ferry over to the Island and arrival time was 7.45pm but as it's summer and day light savings it doesn't get dark till around 8.30-9pm. The sun was just setting and the light was lovely along the coastline.
And once again the hive of activity begins. "Drivers please return to your vehicles" came over the PA and I was off back downstairs. Everyone had to squeeze into their vehicles as there was not much of a gap between cars. One guy went in through his passenger door! Start your engines..... everyone fired up and the ramp dropped and in an ordered chaos one by one we drove off up the hill (stopping to pick mum up on the way ofcourse) and everyone disappeared off into the great
wilderness of KI. Mum and I drove around in circles to find somewhere to stay the night which turned out to be a backpacker hostel where we had a 12 bed dorm room all to ourselves. Pick a bed! It wasn't the nicest place to stay but it was late and so we settled in and went up to the Penneshaw Hotel for a drink and a meal. It was a full moon tonight and it looked lovely out over the water looking back towards the mainland.
First day on KI, how exciting! We went into the Information Centre in Penneshaw to pick up maps etc and to get an overview of the Island. You have to purchase a National Park Pass at the cost of $59. It's either that or pay as you go but by buying the Pass you save like $5 (tight arse traveller that I am, we got the passes). The Pass not only covers your entry fee into the different Parks of KI but some have guided tours that are also covered, so it works out to be good value for money if you can manage to get to all the places during your
Packed in!
On the ferry to KI stay on the Island! It was at this time mum and I realised we hadn't given ourselves enough time on the Island. We were originally going to head back on the Friday night which would have given us 2 full days and one three quarter day on the Island. This is just not enough time to see the Island so we extended another full day but even with that we were going to have to really be moving to see and do it all.
Maps, Passes, extended ferry booking sorted out and we were set to head off into the great unknown. KI is pretty big, it's 155km long with beaches, cliffs, wetlands, sand dunes and farming lands. There is really just so much to see and do here. We started to head west first stop the very picturesque beach of Pennington Bay. The sand is pure white and the water is a magnificent aquamarine. There was a small wave breaking off the beach and local boardriders were having fun in the playful surf. Mum and I took a walk along the beach and dipped our toes in the water. It looked like the perfect day for a swim
but that water was freezing. Honestly, you need a 5mm wetsuit to go in there! We walked along the beach instead and poked out noses in the rockpools. It was really just gorgeous. There was a really really old dog that was up in the car park barking, well more like howling, for his owner to come back in from the surf. Apparently he does this everytime, the dog that is! Oh he sounded so sad, I don't think I would be able to leave him!
Much to mum's dislike, we stopped at Prospect Hill to climb the 512 steps up to the lookout. Mum is such a good sport, she made it up there and it really was worth it. Well done Mum! Captain Matthew Flinders was the first explorer to climb this hill and used it as a point to survey the Island. The view is outstanding.
We decided to head west along the southern road and then we would loop back up and around to Kingscote (the main town on the Island) for our last day. So we headed for Seal Bay where we would ofcourse see the Australian Sea-lions that snooze on the beach.
The Seal Bay Visitor Centre has guided beach tours that take you as close as your allowed to get to the seals. No one is allowed on the beach unless you are with a guide but you can still view the seals from the viewing decks up on the hill. But if you want to get up close and personal with these delightful animals, it's on the beach. As we were making our way up to the Visitor Centre I went to use the bathroom and as I was coming out I heard someone say "now don't move, he's coming in". What? Who the hell is coming in? George the Goanna was coming in that's who! Shit! I managed to escape and George realised that the bush was a better place for him to go instead of the ladies bathroom!
We had to wait 15 minutes for our tour to start so Mum and I headed off to the viewing decks over the beach. There were so many seals on the beach, all just crashed out and sunning themselves. Lazy buggers! The Australian Sea-lion (named after the male sea-lions lion-like yellow mane of hair growing around its neck) were
once slaughtered on KI for their skins and oils, with up to 500 sealers living on the Island in the 1850s. The overhunting of the sea-lions led to their numbers becoming so low that they were almost in danger of being wiped out and today they are still declared as endangered. There are only about 10,000 Australian Sea-lions in the world and are considered a rare species. Our tour guide arrived and took us down onto the beach where we got to sit and watch these beautiful peaceful animals. They are often out at sea fishing for up to 3 days so when they come back to shore they are buggered and hence the reason they don't move much when they are on the beach. They are sleeping and regaining their energy to head back out. The colony here at Seal Bay numbers about 700 they said, and they will often live, breed and die on the same beach that they were born. They rest for about 3 days before heading back out to sea to fish. It was really a pure joy to just sit and watch them.
Today was quite a hot day with temperatures up around
the 40 degree mark. We headed to Vivonne Bay for a swim before checking into the Western KI Caravan Park late afternoon. We had a lovely cabin and the campground was really wonderful. On dusk we were treated to out first look at the KI Kangaroos. These kangaroos are unique to KI as they have evolved slightly different to mainland Kangaroos due to the Island's isolation. KI kangaroos are a sub-species of the Western Grey Kangaroos, with the KI Kangaroos being smaller, darker and with slightly longer fur than their mainland counterparts. They are really sweet looking animals and not afraid to come close to you. We had one happily chewing on the nice green grass around our cabin. Mum and I were also happy to find out that we have a resident duck who has his (or her) nest under a tree just outside our cabin. Talk about living with nature. It was such a peaceful stay here and we loved it so much we stayed for another night. I kept on thinking that it really must be something special for foreigners to come to Australia and be surrounded by all this wildlife! We really are lucky!
The
next day we were off again, slightly backtracking, to head to the Little Sahara. Time for some sandboarding!!! I brought a cheap body board when I was in Port Augusta at the BigW especially for this. Today was much cooler and perfect sandboarding conditions. With the place to ourselves for the most part, Mum and I struggled to get to the top of the biggest sand hill. I kid you not it is seriously hard work climbing those sand hills. It was really windy too so we both ended up with mouths full of sand. Actually we had sand in our hair, teeth, eyes, everywhere! But boy did I have some fun. I went up and down 9 times, I even got Mum on the board and pushed her down the hill (nicely ofcourse). It was great fun.
Covered in sand, we headed back to the Rustic Blue Gallery. This art gallery is on a beautiful property on the southern coast. The owners are lovely and were happy to show us their 'nightmare' photo album of how they renovated the property and made it into what it is today. The gallery which showcases a collection of artwork, photography and
Rockpools
Pennington Bay, KI jewelry by the owners is actually an old shearing shed they renovated. The garden area is peaceful and serene and a great place to enjoy a freshly brewed plunger coffee (the best coffee I have had in a long time) and soak up the beautiful surrounds. The gallery has some interesting pieces that the owners have picked up on their travels. One was the lightning stick and the other is the big 'gong'. Oh and the signs for the bathrooms are pretty funny as well. It was really a lovely place to visit.
After almost half a litre of strong plunger coffee, we buzzed along to the Kelly Hill Caves and the afternoon tour. What a wonderful surprise this place was. Here we found an amazing underground world of sinkholes and caverns thought to extend to the coast some 9kms away. The caves are just beautiful with ornate stalactite and stalagmite formations. The funny story here is how these caves were first discovered. Apparently old Kelly was riding his horse along one day and both Kelly and his horse fell into one of these sinkholes (you can actually see the hole that they fell into). Now poor Kelly and
He left me!
Old dog waiting for his owner to come back in from the surf
Pennington Bay, KI his horse were both un-injured and Kelly managed to climb his way out of the sinkhole, unfortunately having to leave his poor horse behind in the hole. When Kelly returned with a rescue party the horse was gone! Now there is a maze of caves, tunnels and passages underground and it is right to think well the horse probably just went off to look for a way out, why wait around. But these caves etc have been extremely well explored and mapped now and no horse bones or no way out has ever been found. What happened to the horse? Arh the mystery continues. On the tour you hear this story and then they turn all the lights out and I reckon the horse's ghost is wondering around down there. Scared the shit out of me!
It was late afternoon by the time we left Kelly Hill Caves, perfect time to head down to Flinders Chase National Park at the very western end of the Island. After a quick stop at the Visitor Centre before they closed, we headed down to the Remarkable Rocks. What a jaw-droppingly beautiful bit of coastline. Honestly it is absoluately breathtaking. The Remarkable Rocks
were, well, remarkable to say the least. The Rocks are made of granite and have been weathered and sculpted by the wind and sea for over 500 million years. There are warning signs everywhere not to get too close to the water's edge, as the rocks slope gently down. Someone was washed into the water here not too long ago and two people tried to save that person and in the end they drowned and the person who got too close was rescued. How would you feel? It was the perfect time of day to be here with the setting sun and the lovely light. I couldn't help but take a million photos.
A short drive back and we arrived at Cape Du Couedic and Admiral Arch. There is a lighthouse here (but not a real lighthouse as I am soon to find out) that is built from over 2000 chiselled blocks of local sandstone. A short walk down a wooden boardwalk takes you to Admiral Arch, a beautiful archway formed by weathering. It is also here that you can see the New Zealand fur seals (different to the Australian sealions) swimming in the ocean and basking on the
rock platforms. The only bad thing about being so close to NZ fur seals is the smell! Seal urine all over the rocks I have learnt is bloody strong smelling, but I won't hold that against them.
With the wind still bitterly cold we watched as the sun set over Maupertuis Bay. This is a very harsh and remote piece of coastline, with strong southerly winds and big surf pondering it's coastline. A dangerous stretch for ships to have to navigate through back in the day with many not so lucky. Numerous ships rest now on the seafloor just off this coast. It's a humble reminder of the true power of the sea.
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