So yesterday we were up and ready to leave Adelaide behind us. I had seen a coastal area of Adelaide (Glenelg) advertised in a local 'things to do' brochure in the hotel room and thought it would be worth dragging everyone there for a visit. We were pleasantly surprised to find a very nice area of coastal shops and a few grand looking buildings. We took a walk along the pier in the baking sun and watched two fishermen catching squid. They were catching their second fish as we arrived...it was bizarre to see them squirting ink at the fishermen in an angry protest at being caught. We strolled along the water front and envied the view of the houses that overlooked the ocean with uninterrupted views.
Back in the car and Gaz carried on the long drive down to Cape Jervis to catch the ferry to kangaroo island. We encountered a slight problem an hour from the ferry port when the sat nav kept trying to take us on a road that was closed. Matters were made worse by the fact we had left the sat nav holder back in Brisbane and i therefore had to hold the sat nav for gaz to see. I thought i would be clever and try and jam the satnav between the windscreen and the dashboard however the plan backfired and i ended up breaking the charger which was fixed in to the phone. It meant we would have no sat nav within a few minutes. Gaz took a turning and luckily enough, it led us to an autobahn shop where we could 1. buy a new sat nav charger and 2. a holder for the sat nav. We asked the woman in the shop and she gave us directions to a new road that would take us the same way as the closed road. Success. We were back on the road and heading in the right direction...stress over! Dad has bought a new map though 'just in case' which is a good thing to have in the car anyway.
On the way we stopped off for lunch in a town that i 'researched'...i actually just looked up on google maps for the nearest on route seaside town and it took us to Aldinga. It was a fantastic place to stop...we picked up cold drinks from the seafront newsagents and walked over to a bench overlooking a spectacular beach. The view was great and mum made friends with the local seaguls. At first there was one...then two...then three....then loads!
Back on the road and we got to the ferry terminal in good time. We paid the extra money and caught the earlier ferry just so that we werent hanging around for too long. The ferry took 45mins to get from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw (Kangaroo Island). On the other side it was still light and Gaz drove us safely to the hotel we are staying in. When i booked kangaroo island there werent many places to stay (turns out there was a big wedding on last night) but mum and dad seem pleased with where we have rocked up at. They have the 'executive' room...no it isnt really as posh as it sounds...the motel needs updating but it does have a flat screen tv, a spa bath (that looks a little stained and uninviting) but they have the best view! Their balcony overlooks the ocean and they have 2 comfy chairs on the inside of the balcony that they can swivel around to look out the window.
As we didnt check in till after 8pm, we went in search of food up the road at the Aurora Hotel. The food was very nice and we sat at a table with a great sea view.
Today we were up and Gaz drove us to 'seal bay' Again, the weather was hot and sunny...but not too hot..the weather is bearable. We couldnt believe how many seals were on the beach! We did a tour that took us right down on to the beach, standing around 10metres away from the wild seal colony. It was lovely to see the mums and their seal pups. Apparently it is mating season so we saw the occasional raucous between the male seals and the attempts of the males to woo the females... and failing. Typical!
Our next stop was for lunch at Vivonne bay. We enjoyed a picnic on a deserted beach. The sea here was so blue it was like something photo shopped on a postcard. Again we were joined by a seagul, begging for scraps.
We carried on to Flinders chase national park and drove to admirals arch...here there was another seal colony - these were different seals to the one at seal bay. these were new zealand fur seals...there was a walk down to the archway in the rock (called admirals arch) and along the walkway you could peer down to see the wild seals playing on the rocks and sleeping. The waves were crashing against the rocks and the wind was blowing a gale, masking the heat from the sun.
Our next stopw as to 'remarkable rocks'. Gaz was feeling a little tired as he has done all the driving (and is doing a great job) so he stayed in the car and had a nap whilst the rest of us took a stroll over to the rocks. These rocks have been formed at the top of a cliff by weathering...the shapes of the rocks really were 'remarkable' and dad has rated this as his favourite thing of the day so far (and he wasnt being sarcastic).
Gaz wants me to add at this point that all the drivers on the road wave to each other even though no one knows each other.
Finally we went back to Flinders Chase visitors centre and took a very very long walk (30 minutes each way) to find a platypus...not surprisingly, we didnt see one. The water was dark and muggy...We did however spot a few crayfish which gaz says is the biggest cray fish he has ever seen. You therefore officially have more chance of seeing a crayfish than seeing a platypus on the platypus trail.
We got back to the hotel and headed to an italian restaurant where we had an excellent meal. Tomorrow we are leaving the island and making our way to Victor Harbour.
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