We never would have believed that an arrival to Kangaroo Island was possible yesterday. The sea swells and high winds were surely going to make tendering today an impossibility. And due to decreasing the ship’s speed over the last couple of days, our arrival time had been delayed to 12pm, with a departure at 6pm. Nothing was in our favor.
However, this morning, as we neared the coast, it was like waking up on a different planet. That’s exactly what Captain Jonathon said at his early morning talk ship wide. Things were looking up, and it appeared that it was “a go” for today. With that, we inquired with Christel about getting down to deck A for priority tendering. She said it was fine, as she was escorting a few folks around 10:30am. When we went down the stairs, this group of passengers that we know, were not there as of yet. But we did get to watch the set-up for the exit out of the tender platform. It’s a complicated process, involving a lot of crew and staff. Security has to set up their station, xray and keycard kiosk, as well as the beverage table. Then the helpers from the wait staff lined up to go over on the first tender boat. The land station had to be set up as well. As there was so much stuff to go over, we were on the next empty boat. This process took up to 45 minutes. Our group and the start of the tour groups were loaded and on our way by 11:30am.
The ride was smooth and short. Our friend Cathy was the first one off of the boat, as she and her sister Ann were with a group that rented a car to drive the island independently today. Nice that we all do something different, and share our stories later on.
So, here’s a little info on Kangaroo Island. Located very close to Adelaide on the southern coast of Australia, this island is the third largest of the country. It consists of 1750 square miles with 4500 locals. The jetty where we were headed is in the seaside village of Penneshaw, with a population of 400 people. We shared the jetty with the Sealink Ferry, which comes from the mainland at Cape Jervis, a two hour drive from Adelaide.
Discovered by British Captain Flinders in 1802, the deserted island provided food and water for the sailors. There has been evidence that aboriginal people did live here, but it was thousands of years ago. By 1803, sealers and whalers stopped here, and eventually settlers from Europe arrived. Some may have included escaped convicts. They all farmed here in one form or another. Farming is still done here today.
In 2013, we visited some of the industries here. One such place was Clifford’s Honey Farm, where we saw native bee hives made of glass, so we could see how the hives operate. The next stop was at Pure Sheep Dairy, which opened in 1992. The best part of that tour was sampling fried cheese there. The last place we visited was the Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Distillery, where they manufactured the oil and put it into many useful products. We think we read it is one of the few distilleries still operating.
The largest city or town is Kingscote with a population of 1800 people. The sleepy hamlet of Baudin Beach is called millionaire’s row with the most desirable and expensive homes. The west end of the island has Flinders Chase National Park, where you can find the Remarkable Rocks, huge weather- hewn formations on a granite outcropping. On the south coast, you can see the Australian sea lions and long nosed fur seals.
Some of the other animals that can be seen on this unique island are a sub-species of the western grey kangaroos (smaller and darker), koalas, echidnas, goannas (lizards), possums, and bandicoots. Some of the other critters include six species of bats, and six types of frogs. A smaller type of wallaby exists here in large numbers. They are called tammar wallabies, a smaller size, and are mostly extinct in the mainland of Australia, except for some parts of Western Australia. About all of these animals are nocturnal, so spotting some of them is a plus. More alarming would be seeing the black tiger snakes or the pygmy copperhead snakes. Neither of us like snakes all that much, especially the extremely poisonous ones.
There were 11 tours offered here. Some of the longer ones had to be shortened, for obvious reasons….we were getting here much later than planned. Most of the tours ran from a couple of hours to a 9 hour one. Prices were adjusted accordingly, but still remained expensive.
Once we debarked the boat, we were greeted by volunteers from town, who handed out excellent island booklets and maps for Penneshaw. They could not have been more helpful, especially for the folks like us, that were on our own today. One of the fellows recommended that we hike the east end, mostly for the scenery and the chance to see dolphins and wallabies. Absolutely, that was our idea in the first place.
We turned left, following the road that took us along Hog Bay. The beach down below is clean sand and safe to swim. Bet the water is cold. It sure was picturesque. The guide had told us to keep an eye out for bottlenose dolphins, since they frequently come into this bay to fish. It was thrilling when we did spot these dolphins in a couple of tight groups of four or five. Swimming slowly, they followed the coastline, fairly close to the shore. Seeing them from above, we could spot their behavior of tail slapping and diving. Just about the same time, we came across two local ladies that had hiked the direction we were headed. They explained the dolphin’s technique of fishing, and continued to give us directions to the Ironstone Hill Hike. What luck that we encountered them, as they saved us an impossible steep vertical walk from a parking lot off of the road we were following.
Going off road, we found the narrow graveled trail that paralleled the coastline. It went into the brush and tree-lined hillsides, and shortly became quite challenging. Up a canyon, then down to a riverbed, we trudged on seeing sign posts all the way. We came upon a shoe-cleaning station, where it was recommended that we brush our shoes for possible foreign soil, weed seeds, and insects. Only one of us did it, since our shoes were really clean. It was more for a photo to show where we were on the trail.
As we proceeded on this trail, there were signs depicting the history of this area, complete with old photos. Centuries ago, this part of the island was used for farming potatoes and barley for cereal. It has been turned into Baudin Conservation Park these days. It was named after Captain Nicolas Baudin, a French explorer who anchored in Hog Bay in 1803. He also sent men ashore to hunt for fresh meat and water.
We had hoped to see more bird life here. Besides the greeting from the jetty shags, we saw only a few more of them, some silver and herring gulls, Australian magpies, one glossy black parrot, and a hawk on the very top of the hill. The most numerous creatures were different sizes of ants, frantically running underfoot over the trails. You could not stand too long in one place, or they would crawl right up your shoes. By the way, the remainder of this island houses thousands of sheep.
As we got deeper into the trees, we spotted a wallaby just a couple of dozen feet away from us. Knowing they are never alone, we began to see several more, hiding in the grass and brush. Not a large kangaroo, these must be the tammar wallabies we read about. Obviously, they were used to seeing people close up, since they did not bolt right away. To see these critters in the wild is so much better than in a zoo….worth the hike up here. That’s the beauty of not taking a tour sometimes. On our last visit here, we only saw the kangaroos that had become road kill the previous night.
Eventually we reached the summit, which was located at the end of the Ironstone Hill Hike. According to the map, we had traveled 4 kilometers from Penneshaw. The ruins of Harry Bate’s and Martha Davidson’s cottage stood up here, showing signs of deterioration over the centuries. This settler had farmed potatoes and barley grain for cereal. A stone-threshing floor remains, as well as some farm equipment, now rusted severely. We could see a locked gate where this property would have been accessed from the main road. We came the scenic, but hard way.
While we were here reading the plaques, two of our hosts, Steve and Wendy, and one friend of theirs, were on a special geo-caching expedition. Armed with their GPS and pre-printed clues, they showed us how they arrived at the spot where the actual cache is hidden. Only it wasn’t working that easily today, despite their collective efforts to uncover the treasure. While we continued to take photos and explore the farm site, they were looking under trees, around the fence line, and under the discarded equipment. Nothing. Running into Steve and Wendy before dinner, they were so excited to tell us they did discover the cache, but it was hidden in a place we had all passed on the way up. The clue was “SPOR”, which they finally de-coded as Small Pile Of Rocks, which oddly enough, we had tripped over leaving to go back. This find was special, since it was recently set up, and they were the first in the world to find it. (Konnie and Dell will appreciate this.)
As always, the hike back was much easier, since it was mostly downhill all the way. The wallabies were still foraging about, so we made some folks happy when asked for directions, we told them which way to go. Suggesting to watch for dolphins and wallabies, they were glad to report they did see them.
This time, we went down the hillside to Frenchman’s Rock, a small white-domed shelter that houses a rock with carvings from the 1800’s. Except it is not the original one. The trail to the sandy beach began from here, so we took our time beach-combing back to the pier. A convenient restroom was located here too.
One of the guides was still there at the jetty, giving directions to the passengers. We asked her where we could find beers and food. There were restaurants and cafes, but since it was already 3pm, she doubted too many of them would still be opened. So she suggested we go uphill, and check across the street from the Penneshaw Hotel. There we did locate an Italian café that was still opened. Pizza would not be available until after 5pm, but they did have many Italian entrees and burgers. The closest they came to pizza, was a small loaf of bread, filled with ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Toasted and cut in half, it was great. Adding a couple of cold Heinekens was even better. Sharing a dessert of chocolate brownies with ice cream was a treat.
On the tender ride back, we learned that sometime during the afternoon, swells appeared and suspended the tendering process for a few hours. Even worse, we heard from good friends, that they had pre-booked an expensive tour here, but were unable to get off of the ship. That’s always a gamble when doing independent excursions. Especially in tender ports. This stop had been amended because of getting here late, and almost scrapped due to sea conditions. Sure hope they can negotiate some of their money back.
Chinese New Year Dinner was held in the Lido tonight. We had to make a visit to see it decorated with lanterns and posters. The servers looked great in their Chinese costumes, while serving traditional Chinese cuisine, most of it in paper boxes. We took only photos, although we searched for fortune cookies and found them. First time we got a few before they ran out.
There was no sail away, since the Captain was waiting for the last tour group to get back after 6pm. From studying the map, we could see that Adelaide was fairly close to here. But we knew the ship would be required to go out to sea to do some required dumping, before returning back to the mainland.
Our dinner had many items that were Chinese, but the dining room was not decorated at all. Later on this month, we will have a Pan/Asian gala evening, we hope will be like tonight’s theme. People we know love dressing in the Oriental clothes.
So, instead of arriving to Adelaide tomorrow morning, the ship eventually docked in Adelaide by 11:30pm. There was no shore leave for anyone until tomorrow. Actually it was nice to have no movement for a night…only the glare of the dock’s bright night lights shining in our windows.
Had a great day in Kangaroo Island, but it was sure nice to crawl between those sheets last night.
Bill & Mary Ann
One of the lighthouses of Kangaroo Island
Built in either 18th or 19th centuries
A smaller lighthouse
The island is long and narrow
Steep cliffs
The skies cleared and the waters calmed down
Going to be a nice day
Lighthouse on the cliff
Isolated from the mainland
There have been 60 shipwrecks since 1847
Open fields good for sheep grazing
Only a few sail boats
Lighthouse sits hill on a cliff
Unidentified bird
Hope these clouds stay away today
Gentle rolling slopes
Rocky shores
Small lighthouse
Looking or dolphins
Rugged country
Land ho……
Filled with wildlife
Although it looks deserted, 4500 people live here
Good vacation spot for Aussies
Small boat
Circling the island
Pasture land
Summertime is dry
Cape Jervis is the nearest point on the mainland
A 45 minute ferry ride to Kangaroo Island
Quiet place
We see civilization
Houses in Penneshaw
Martin, our room steward
These clouds look interesting
If we miss the ship, land is fairly close
The first boat to the island
Don’t be late
Sealink Ferry was just leaving
No, these are not penguins, but shags
A small colony of shags greeted us
Ferry carried people and vehicles
The jetty
Walk to the shore
Fish measuring station
Welcome
Sealink jetty building
Here comes another tender
Sheltered cove
Hog Bay Jetty in the old days
Hog Bay Beach
You bet we will be careful
Clean sand and safe swimming
The road heads east
The story of water in this area
These roads are considered “sealed”
Ship anchored
Unsealed road
A pretty setting for the ship
The road stayed flat for a bit
The old well
How the well operated
A view of Hog Bay from these windows
Hog Bay and the Amsterdam
We will walk the beach on the way back
Looked like rain
Frenchmans Rock
Norfolk Island pine
Climbing higher
The scenery increased
We had a great view of the bay
Hillside homes
Bates was a farmer & this is how he transported grain
Bottlenose dolphins
Swimming slowly
Fishing in a pod
Diving
Working as a group
Feeding close to shore
Very rocky shoreline
