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What an action packed day! We set out early with packed lunches Onboard, courtesy of Queenie (me), who woke up feeling surprisingly spritely! We headed to the far south west of the island, stooping at the general store in Vivonne Bay for and egg and bacon butty and a good old pot of tea. The three ladies working there were a hoot and we felt very welcomed indeed.
Our first port of call was at the Flinders Chase Visitors Centre where there was an excellent gift shop (as promised in their brochure and much to Lesley's delight) and we purchased our entry ticket into the park.
After a short drive we arrived at the carpark above Admirals Arch and had excellent views of the two 'islets' which have already broken free of the mainland. We followed the boardwalk down to the headland stopping to watch the seals and sealions frolicking in the large rock pools and bays. The arch itself was quite picturesque and provided more good views of the wildlife.
I chose to walk up to the Cape de Couedic lighthouse, whilst Donks drove Tilda up there. I had a proper orthodontic moment over the national trust sign, which had been stuck slightly off centre. Amazing how you can do that on a huge structure built years ago with perfect symmetry. I will be writing to the National Trust to let them know ;)
I filled my water bottle up before I realised it was not drinking water. I was too busy reading a sign warning of bees, who are attracted to water in the hot weather! Hey ho, I'm still alive! I walked up again, whilst Donks drive to the old lighthouse keepers house and looked down the cliff to see where they used to haul all of their goods up.
Our next stop was the Remarkable Rocks. The name really speaks for itself. A large pile of big rocks just casually sitting on the edge of some domed cliffs. Another boardwalk led us to the rocks and allowed us to walk around these rocks, with some very aesthetic shapes and interesting erosion patterns, and some covered in an orange lichen. I was quite impressed.
Having seen all of the main sites in the national park we had our lunch in the car under a koala in a eucalyptus tree, then headed back along the south coast stopping first at the idyllic Hanson Bay. Then at Vivonne Jetty, where there was an intertidal reef full of fishes. Vivonne Bay was rated the best beach in Australia by some professor of an Australian Uni- good job if you can get it! We didn't agree with him, Hanson and Island beaches are both much nicer.
Our last stop was at Little Sahara. I decided against sand boarding or tabboganing as I would enjoy it more with someone else and I couldn't convince Donks it would be fun. She sat and soaked up some sun whilst I walked up the tallest dune to see what was on the other side! To my surprise there was an extensive area covered in sand dunes, it was so much bigger than I had expected. I spotted a patch of sand with some really interesting wind patterns and walked to take photos. I was alone and the isolation was great, but soon broken by a persistent bee. I ended up running a long way to escape it before I headed back to join Donks.
We crashed once at home, it was a good day!
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