Blogs from Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Australia, Oceania

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 ... read more

This morning we headed back to the Dudley Peninsula at the eastern end of KI to visit the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse. Yes, another lighthouse! This lighthouse also has a tour available so we timed our arrival to coincide with the 11.30am tour. Although this is not a REAL lighthouse (according to Mick) it is taller than the Cape Borda Lighthouse and more traditional in stature, being tall and circular rather than short and square. Ranger, Megan, explained that lighthouses were built having regard to the local terrain and materials. Her lighthouse is tall and round and built from granite because Cape Willoughby is a granite outcrop that is not as elevated at Cape Borda therefore granite is the building material that is available and it has to be tall so that the light projects far enough ... read more

This morning we set out reasonably early to drive to Flinders Chase National Park on the western end of Flinders Island. On our way we saw a Koala on the roadside but, where were all the cameras? In the back of the car, unfortunately. We tried to take some snaps with our mobile phones, but the quality was very poor. The koala photo did make an appearance on Facebook, but was deemed to be not blog-worthy. We arrived at Rocky river and checked in at the visitor’s centre. Although we were already paid up we had to obtain a sticker for the windscreen to confirm that we had paid our fees. Cathy dropped Steve, Bernie and I at about the halfway point of the Rocky River Hike. We had been advised that this was a reasonably ... read more

Up with the larks again! 5.30am alarm so we can shower and have some cereal (that we bought in the local Coles yesterday) before being at the bus station across the road at 6.15am!! This touristing is a hard gig! We were put on a huge coach with 54 people for the drive down to Cape Jarvis, which takes a couple of hours. The scenery reminded of the New England area of NSW, golden yellow in colour rather than green, although the vineyards in the McLaren Vale area were green. They had some of their vines covered in netting to keep the grapes ? safe - must cost a fortune to do that, and taking them on and off would be such a hassle. I didn’t cover my vines this year and I only have five! ... read more

Our Kangaroo Island adventure finally arrived. Our guide Tim made it a very memorable day!... read more