World Australia South Australia Kingscote

Hong Kong, Australia and Fiji - November 2006

Kangaroo island...and other animals 15 Nov 2006

Kangaroo Island is off the tip of South Australia, about 150km from Adelaide, and reached by Sealink Ferry. It's about 140km long, by 40km wide, and apart from a couple of small towns virtually uninhabited. Much of it is a national park, and we all wanted to visit because of the wildlife and scenery. So it was another early start - and we woke up to howling gales, and forecasts of rain. Not what we had expected of Aus! From Adelaide, it was 2 hours on the coach, and then a ferry. The seas were up, and we all felt rather queasy. Arriving in Penneshawe, on the east of the island, we collected our hire car and dropped our bags at the small motel we were staying at. The weather was FREEZING (think Buxton in April). We really hoped the effort was worth it. We drove to Finders Chase national park, on the south west of the island, expectantly looking for "Roos". After stopping for lunch - where Anne and Angie both bought additional items of warm clothing, it was that cold, we drove the short leg down to Admirals Arch, on the south coast. Admirals Arch is a natural archway on the coast, formed where the wind and waves have worn away the rock over centuries. It was fantastically impressive, made more so by the strong winds whipping up the sea into powerful, white foamy waves. We were very lucky to see seals playing on the rocks, oblivious to the wind and cold weather. After a "bracing" 30 minutes in the fresh air, it was back to the car and heater on full, for a short drive along the coast road to Remarkable Rocks- which really look remarkable. Again, fashioned through wind and wave power, the rocks are huge and a reddish colour - they could be from the surface on Mars. But still no roos! However, we finally saw one while driving along to Koala Walk when it ran across the road in front of us, so close that I had to swerve to avoid it. Tim (sitting in the passenger seat) was so engrossed in his map didn't even see it. Koala walk was just that - a small nature park where you could see Koalas in their natural habitat. I want to be a Koala. They really have the right idea - all they seem to do is sleep. When they're not sleeping, they're eating! We also managed to see some more roos at the park, Tim pretending to be David Attenborough (see picture). Our final animal to spot today was the Fairy Penguin, which is native to the island. You can only see them after dark (hence the lack of the decent photos) when they come ashore after feeding all day. We went to the penguin centre, which carries out conservation work and organises evening walks, and you literally walk through the penguins habitat not more than a couple of feet from them - although a couple of the birds seemed to think that Anne's trainers were their mothers, and kept coming and pecking at them! The penguins are about 30-45cm tall, and have blue fur. They're also very noisy, calling to their young, and they are cute! So, seals, penguins, roos, koala and some remarkable, unspoiled landscapes. What more could we ask for from a holiday? (would asking for warm weather be greedy?)

Advertisement