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Hi everyone,
So on Friday 4th we headed to Kangaroo island for a couple of days and got the ferry over there from Cape Jarvis (a couple hours drive from Adelaide). We stayed in another YHA on the island (in Penneshaw), this one wasn't quite as nice as the one before, but it was OK, had a ensuite to our dorm but it was a bit manky!
Attached to our keys were free drinks vouchers at one of the local restaurant/ bars, so we went there and had a free glass of local Kangaroo Island False Cape Sauvingnon Blanc which was very nice, and also shared an ice cream sundae! The bar manager got chatting to us as he was English and had been living out in Australia for many years. Because he was in a good mood, as people had brought Happy Meals from the mainland for his kids, he kept refilling our glasses for the evening! It was brilliant, sampled a couple different types of wine! :) Then we stumbled back to the hostel a little tipsy!
On Saturday we got up early as we had our Kangaroo Islands Highlights day tour. Firstly we headed to Seal Bay, home of the Australian sealion and the 2nd largest breeding colony in Australia. There were so many seals all sleeping on the beach, and we got to get pretty close to them, it was really nice! :) But so chilly and windy down by the sea. We then had some lunch at Vivonne Bay bistro. Next we went a couple of minutes down the road to watch a birds of prey presentation by Dave Irwin, where we saw many different birds including a kestral, barnowl, kookaburas and an eagle, as well as a frogbird thing (can't remember actual name)! The barn owl was very friendly and Dave let it jump around everyone in the front rows laps (including us) and we could stroke it.
We then drove into Flinders Chase National Park and stopped at Remarkable Rocks. These are a cluster of granite boulders which have been sculpted by the weather. On to Cape du Couedic lighthouse which was built in 1906 and then Admirals Arch (as shown in pic above). This is an arch which has been formed by erosion. Before reaching the arch, we saw many New Zealand fur seals on the rocks and then again under the arch. Back on the coach and as we were driving along someone said they'd seen a koala in the trees, so our coach driver reversed back along the road and we could all get out to see it! It was sooo cute! Then popped to the visitor centre for a look around briefly. During the day at some point we saw a few kangaroos along the side of the road and someone joked about them being tomorrows dinner, they were still live though!
That evening we had signed up for the Penguin walk at the local centre, and we first learnt about the fairy penguins which are about 33cm and are steel-blue in colour. On the walk down to the beach we saw lots of baby penguins waiting for their parents to return with food, and then at the bottom saw the adults climbing out of the water and making there way back to their nests. It was really nice, and when we headed back up the pathway, we even had to follow a few up the path!
On Sunday we originally planned to cycle around the island but after seeing how big the island is we soon changed our minds! Instead we caught the shuttle bus to the "largest" town Kingscote, but as it was sunday there wasn't really much open. We had a look around the visitor information/ giftshop, grabbed lunch from the supermarket and went to the beach where we saw some pelicans! Then walked along the coastal road for quite a while. It was nice, but so annoying as there were hundreds of flies everywhere! Then after getting back to the town we chilled out for the afternoon. Before getting back on the bus we headed down to the coast and saw many many pelicans all on the rocks. Arriving back in Penneshaw we got some chips and then got the ferry back to Cape Jarvis and the got the bus to Adelaide.
Love Fran....and Becky
xxx
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Laura and James Thanks for the update, lots of love from a boggy Forest Edge! x