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Published: July 21st 2019
The first thing we noticed in Adelaide was the cold weather and the news is it will get worse with a cold front approaching. I’d booked us into a beach front apartment in Glenelg for the next few nights before we drive down to Cape Jervis to catch the ferry to Kangaroo Island.
The apartment was right on the boardwalk not far from the wharf. This is Mums first time staying in Glenelg, thankfully she got to see the wonderful sunset over the water our first night as I didn’t think we’d get the chance to see it with the weather expected.
Mum and I both love a good Zoo and Adelaide Zoo has two big attractions - Wang Wang and Fu Ni. The only live Panda Bears in Australia. I was fortunate enough to do the Panda Experience a number of years ago and recommended it to mum. The experience had changed slightly but was still worth doing. We got to tour the Bamboo Forest before the zoo opened, see the Red Pandas eat their breakfast and watch the Giant Pandas start the day exploring their environment... OK eat we watched them eat. Once the zoo opened we were
guided around to see most of the other animals. The one constant was every animal we were introduced to peed ... not at us thankfully but it made for some interesting conversations. The dark clouds started rolling in mid afternoon and we had a pretty wild night in. Lucky we had the State of Origin to watch.
We were back on the road again this morning we could see there was a bit of damage caused by the strong winds of the night before. After a spot of shopping we started the drive down the coast. I'd booked us into the Cape Jervis Accommodation and Caravan Park. As we had an early ferry to Kangaroo Island I did not want to have to drive too far in the morning. While we were driving I received a message saying that gale force winds were forecast again for the next day and that they will assess the weather in the morning and will let us know if the ferries will be running as they'd cancelled the afternoon ferries. After a few moments of stressing what we'll do if the ferry is canceled I realised there was nothing I could do until
they made that decision in the morning and keep driving, admiring the beautiful countryside. We went in between mountains that had sheep all over them. I couldn't believe they didn't roll down the mountains they were so steep and the sheep were fatties.
Thankfully the weather had eased overnight and the ferries were running. After a quick game of Tetris with all the vehicles going on the ferry I went in search of mum. The crossing was a bit rough but I still went outside in the hope that I would see a passing whale or some dolphins. Unfortunately all I saw was the weather we were coming into.
The crossing took 45 minutes, Kangaroo Island is 155kms long (East to West) and is 57kms at its widest point and 1kms wide at the narrowest point. Major roads are sealed but most are unsealed as I had a Hire car I had to stick to the sealed roads as much as I could. After checking into our hotel in American River we set off for Kingscote. It was easy driving as the countryside was beautiful and going around every corner I was saying wow look at that. Our
first stop was to the Kangaroo Island Brewery for a late lunch we washed it down with a tasting plate. I was really disappointed in their Ginger Beer but enjoyed the sparkling and IPA. After checking out town we needed a coffee and stopped in to the Island Beehive for a honeycomb Latte with a Apple and Cinnamon Scone.
This morning we were driving the length of the Island to see the Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch in the Flinders Chase National Park. We stopped at the visitor centre to pay our park entry fees and were blown away to see 2 Koalas sleeping in the trees of the car park .... I'll confess we didn't notice them on our way into the visitor centre. We were still getting showers and as we headed towards the Remarkable Rocks we could see a rainbow heading our way. Mum and I were in a group huddled under the rocks as the shower passed by. It was amazing to see the different colours of the Rocks once the shower had passed. While we were walking to the Arch we came across a herd of New Zealand fur-seals ... actually we smelt them.
I could have stood there for hours watching them. As we had to drive back through the visitor centre I decided to do one of their walks to see more Koalas. I only managed to find 2 but spotted a few other natives along the walk.
I spotted a fantastic mail box design on our way back to the hotel and was doing a u-turn to get a photo for a friend when mum startled me as she tried to point out a Koala in the tree right in front of me. I thought I'd run off the road. We pulled over and I took so many photos. The Koala was trying to eat and just stared at me. Thank goodness it couldn't speak as I'm sure it would have told me off.
For our last day on the island we wanted to see some more wildlife and headed for Seal Bay to see the Australian Sea Lions. We got treated to one coming into the beach then posing for photos. After all the fresh cold air it was time to check out the eating and drinking options on Kangaroo Island
We'd been recommended Emu Bay Lavender
from the lady we stayed with in Quorn as it was her Aunties place and it was fantastic. Not only did we enjoy the lavender scones they also sold the Kangaroo Island Cider tasting paddles. After lunch we headed into Emu Bay for a look around and found another Koala sitting in the tree across the road from houses. Our next stop Kangaroo Island Spirits specialised in Gin. I'm not much of a gin drinker so didn't attempt the tasting as there was too many to try but we decided to try a cocktail. Its a lovely place to have lunch or dinner if you are ever on the island. They also have tasting experiences that would be great if there's a few of you.
Unfortunately it was our last night on the island and we have only seen a small section. On our way to the ferry the next morning I stopped at Prospect Hill Lookout. I have no idea why I thought I'd be ok walking up all those stairs and why they didn't have a defibrillator at the top. I must say the views were spectacular until I saw the rain closing in and no where
to shelter. Mum waited patiently for me in the car .... I wonder how long she would have waited before she worried I wasn't coming back. The ferry trip back to Cape Jervis was smoother than going to the Island. Still no sightings of any whales
It's hard to believe our Aussie Outback Adventure is coming to an end. It's been fantastic and we've covered some miles. I hope you have enjoyed reading about our trip. Now to get back home and start planning the next one ........till next time, take care xox
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