This morning we set out to explore the island.
Kangaroo Island is 100 miles long and 35 miles wide. 4,000 people live there, mostly in the north-east. It’s got about the same climate as California so it felt like a late October morning. The Southern Ocean Lodge is in the south west which is quite remote. The plan was to explore this part of the Island.
While we had seen a variety of animals in the park in Adelaide, here we could see them in the wild. Within a few minutes we had spotted Wallabies as well as a Koala and plenty of Kangaroos.
We went to Flinders Chase National Park. First stop was Cape du Couedic Lighthouse
Then the Admirals Arch
Followed by Remarkable Rocks (yes, that’s what they call it), interesting granite boulders.
This all took several hours so it was now time to return to the Lodge for lunch.
In the afternoon we took a hike along the cliffs near the Lodge.
With a very knowledgable botanist guide, Sam.
Finally, we visited a herd of wild kangaroos, chased them around trying to photograph them, finally gave up and had a glass of wine and a snack. They called it “Kangaroos and canapés”. Fun, but it had been an active day and we were ready for dinner.
Tomorrow, we would leave Kangaroo Island and move on to Sri Lanka. This would be the end of cool weather. I’d have to say that this is a magical place and I’d love to come back. This is real “native” Australia combined with the luxury of the Southern Ocean Lodge, fed with great food and lubricated with fabulous Austarlian wines. The local guides, who have lived on the island all their lives were enthusiastic about their environment and it was infectious. Sorry to leave.