Day 21: Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island, Australia, Aug 21, 2009
Just kidding, no puke bags were needed, not by us any way. The crossing was indeed a bumpy one and the occasional yelp from a passenger could be heard as the boat was bouncing up and down on the big waves. We arrived at Kangaroo Island around 10:00am…. in sunshine and a blue sky! Fingers crossed it stayed like that for the duration of the day!
After we got off the boat, we went to our tour bus and met the driver, who was also the guide for the day. Everyone was in the bus and we drove off to our first stop of the tour: Seal Bay. This is the place where a colony of Australian Sealions live. And we were going to see them, by going onto the beach. At the souvenir/visitor center we got a small briefing about the possible dangers. Apparently the creatures were sleeping and they will sleep pretty much anywhere they like. Including the pathway we had to walk on.
We had to be quiet if we were close to the animals, certainly don’t make any sudden move and listen to the tourguide that would take us to the sealions. We started walking and soon saw a small sealion laying on the pavement of the path in the sun, sleeping. We had to walk one by one passed the animal and not stopping to get a close up with our camera. The sealion looked at us as we passed, wondering what we were doing or something. Then we walked further and saw more sealions laying in the dunes, some laying alone, others in pairs including a mom and her young one. The staircase was unaccessable, as 2 sealions were sleeping at the bottom of the stairs. So no entry onto the beach.
We stayed around for about 30 minutes, with good opportunities to take pictures of the sleeping animals, as well as gathering some information from the tourguide, before we headed back towards the bus. We got back on for the drive towards Vivonne Bay Eco Adventures – Bistro & Function Centre for our lunch. It was a preset meal with a soup and a choice between fish or meat. The cold salads in the end where the best dishes.
After lunch we drove further across the island for the “Bird of Prey” show. This show lasted about 45 minutes and we were shown several birds of prey, including a barn owl, 2 laughing kookaburras and a wedge tailed eagle. We even got the chance to get our picture taken with one of the kookaburras, as they would land on the special glove which was passed around. Martin decided to give it a try, as I was hoping to get the chance to have the wedge tailed eagle land on my hand. That was not the case, as the bird was kept on a line for safety. We did however watched it being fed, as well seeing the other birds getting fed and made to work to get their food.
After the birdshow was wover, we got back on the bus and drove towards Flinders Chase National Park for a tour along several sights. The first one were the Remarkable Rocks. These rocks have been shaped by wind and weather throughout hundreds of years and have taken all kinds of weird shapes, hence the name. Due to the strong winds, we were advisied to be very careful when climbing to them and make sure not to get too close to the edge of the cliff. From this point, we had a good view of Hanson Bay and Admirals Arch.
Admirals Arch was the next visit on the tour through Flinder Chase National Park. From here we also got a good view of the Cape De Couedic Lighthouse. A steap walk down, led us to a colony of New Zealand Fur Seals. The sea was quite rough and some seals had a hard time getting onto the rocks. Most of them however where sleeping in the caves or under the boardwalks.
Then we got back on the bus and made a brief stop at the Flinders Chase Visitor Centre to get something to eat and/or drink. Because we had some time left before we had to get back to the ferry, the driver suggested we would go to a farm, where the owners allow wild kangaroos and koalas roam around and let visitors get a look at the animals. This would be our first chance to see a wild koala. And we did spot 4 wild koalas, all high up in the trees and sleeping or eating. The wild kangaroos were eating in the distance.
Then we headed back to the ferry, which would leave around 7:30pm. We had about 30 minutes to get some food, either fish & chips or pizza. Another option was to see a guided walk towards penguins who would come onto the shore at night. But Martin and I decided to skip that, as it was dark already and we were hungry. So pizza it was, which we ate on the bus. At 7:30pm, we got on the ferry and 1 hour later we had crossed back to the mainland, where a small bus was waiting to take us back to Adelaide. The ride this time was not as fast as during the morning, so it gave me time to call home and talk to some people at work and family.
Around 10:15pm, we got back to our hotel and we immediately went to bed, tired but happy on a great day. And it’s true: Kangaroo Island is a definitive must see when you’re in Adelaide!
- Distance travelled: 12 miles or 19 kilometers (ferry crossing)
Written by Vacations MAX for Jamaica Tours