Today's port of call found us in a unique location of Australia…….Kangaroo Island. Located 13 km off the coast of South Australia, Kangaroo Island is 155 km long and 55km wide. It consists of 8 regions connected by a sealed highway. At least 4000 square km are dedicated to National Parklands, with the remainder agricultural hubs, wine makers, wool growers, and a eucalyptus oil distillery. Some of the rarest honey is created here with special Ligurian bees, seen nowhere else in the world. Sadly, there was a devastating fire in 2020, where many of the eucalyptus trees were destroyed. It was these trees that the bees fed on the blossoms. They expect it to take 7 years for the forests to re-generate. On our first visit here many years ago, we took a tour to see each of these industries. It also included a dairy stop at the time.
Each region has something to offer such as beaches, sea lions, giant rock formations, rivers, and even snorkeling the cool waters. Hiking is king here as well. Fishing can be done through local tour guides. Speaking of tours, some of them offered today were an island tour in a day for $210, koalas, birds, and nature for $240, seal bay for $130, an ocean safari for $210, or the one we did….tempting taste of honey, eucalyptus oil distillery, and a stop at a lavender and dairy farm for $200.
Ferries come here from Cape Jarvis, south of Adelaide and the ride takes about 45 minutes. They drop locals off at the town Penneshaw, located on the north tip of Penneshaw and Dudley Peninsula, where our tender boats took the guests today. We waited until the tours were off and the tickets were no longer required. That was 9:10am. By 9:30am, the boats were not crowded, and that's the way we prefer it. The ride was smooth as we entered Hog Bay and the ferry terminal. We were greeted by local information girls, who handed us a map of this region. Even though we have been here before, we were not sure where the trail began for the hike up to Baudin Conservation Park. She pointed to the road, said to turn left, and follow the signs. She also added that the hike would be 90 minutes one way. We sort of remembered that. It is worth mentioning that the day had begun rather gray and cool, but later on, the clouds left and the sun came out. Lucky for everyone.
We passed by Penneshaw Beach walking on Frenchman's Terrace, one of main roads. The sculpture trail was across the road, a 1.5 km walking trail with scenic lookouts, old vegetation, and ravine walls. It is possible there were a few roaming kangaroos there too. We had done this short hike several years ago, but did not need to repeat it. Our destination was Ironstone Hill where we could see spectacular coastal views as well as freeing-ranging kangaroos. These kangaroos are unique to the island and are smaller and darker than the Western Greys. There is another type of wallaby here named Tammar which are about extinct everywhere else but here. We knew if we were quiet and looked deeply into the trees and brush, we may have a chance to see some.
Not many guests from the ship attempted this hike, as it is steep and seems to go on forever. As we began to gain altitude, we had terrific views of the shoreline below the cliffs. The water was several shades of green to turquoise – blue. It was here that we first spotted some pods of dolphins, lazily making their way along the sunken boulders. We could hear them blowing and making noises even as high up as we were. Considering the sighting, we felt we may be as lucky to see some of the roos and wallabies. As we got deeper into the wildlands, we did spot some wallabies and got many pictures of them as they were grazing under the trees. Keeping in the brush and branches, they did not seem alarmed, as they are used to hikers up here. The better time to see many of them would be at dawn and dusk, when the day is cooler.
Other animals on this island are echidnas, platypus, goannas, snakes, and glossy black cockatoos. The only birds we spotted here were some large gulls, and some Australian magpies. The koalas are found in the eucalyptus trees, but there are none on this part of the island. We heard that many of them perished in the fire as they were too slow to escape the flames and smoke. The Australian sea lions and long-nose fur seals are on the opposite end of the island, so we did not see any of these.
We walked up steep slopes and down to rocky ravines until we thought our legs may fall off…. Well maybe one of us. No benches up here. Eventually we reached the summit where a man named Bates had a family farm back in the 1800's. It must have been a tough life to survive the elements and farm the slopes of the mountain top. We believe he raised sheep, and the remains of his cabin are still here, along with a well and farm equipment left to rust over time. It is all part of the park these days. Sitting on some rocks, we talked to some other folks that had made their way here. One younger couple told us this was their first world cruise, and found that some of the passengers were "cliquey", sticking to their own groups. That's funny, as we told them that's how we felt several years ago. But in time, we got to know some of these repeat guests and have been friends like forever. They were feeling intimidated if they dined with anyone that was a 4 star Mariner. Anyway, it was interesting to listen to their take on this cruise so far. It seems that they had the same concerns we have as far as changes over the years, since they had gone on many short trips. They confessed they have not been overly-impressed with the food so far. Many of us have said the same thing. Other than that, they are happy campers and consider themselves lucky to be on a long cruise after the Covid virus hit. So are we…..
We began the descent downhill, and ran into Chantall and a group of crew from the ship. They had also taken this hike. On the way back, Chantall offered to take our photos together, and we said yes, thanks. She snapped a good one with the ship in the backround. Needless to say, they continued back ahead of us, and made much better time. That's youth for you. One of us was being most careful coming down the steep dirt trail. One slip, and the cruise could be over. While we are on the subject, last night we were due to leave the port by 10:30pm. However, we were still tied up after 11pm. It seems that two guests had to be taken off in ambulances. Why that late, we do not know. Eventually we may hear the story through the grapevine.
Back to the town, we ran across Greg who sat with us for a bit at a picnic table. Heo is still not feeling 100%, so he went back to the ship after their private tour. Greg pointed out the restaurant and pub area, and that's where we headed next. The nicest venue we saw was the Penneshaw Hotel with a restaurant and pub. Since it was after 2pm by now, we had to place our lunch order before the kitchen closed at 2:30pm. We took seats on the outside patio with views that overlooked the ocean. Beers were the first thing we needed, and they had a draft called Bounty Bay. We had to get our drinks and pay for them at the bar, then order our food, and it would be delivered to our table. The best sandwich to split was their burger with fries. Very good, we may add, with the addition of a beetroot jam. Greg says that is typical Australian. After two more beers, we went back to the tender landing, and got the next boat back to the ship. Exhausted after a 6 hour day, we relaxed gladly in our room and veranda. The ship left after 6pm.
Dinner time found Heo missing once again. He has developed a nagging cough…not bad, but it would make him uncomfortable at be at dinner. Dinner choices were odd, but seemed OK until we found the salmon under-cooked, and the buttermilk fried chicken over-cooked and warm…not hot. Barb usually loves the KFC chicken, but left most of it on her plate. Good thing they had a dessert she liked. Oscar, the new assistant maitre'd, came by to check on us all. We had a nice conversation with him, since he remembers much of who and what we all know over the years. He is one of the good guys.
Jim Short was the comedian on the stage tonight, and Greg said he was truly funny. It is possible he was on our N. Statendam cruise last year, as well as the Tales in the fall. The better news was the clocks were set back ½ hour to make the full hour now. We will take it no matter what the increment.
Bill & Mary Ann
