15 October 2015
Kangaroo Island (KI), another bucket list item, was never on our radar for this trip but everything has worked in our favour to allow us to take the opportunity to see it. Along the way I will include snippets of information that you might find useful if you intend coming here.
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| Queueing to load onto ferry to KI |
We decided to take our van across as, on balance, the cost of having our own accommodation and cooking facilities for nine nights seems justified. It is not cheap though as you pay per passenger plus per car plus per metre for the caravan. If taking a van across it is recommended to book, which we did, and you have to prepay. At $780 return for a 45 minute return ferry trip as I said it is not cheap. In 10 days time we will know if it was worth it. Sealink provides the ferry service to the island and if you book a van site for one of your nights on the Island through them you get a discount. So we booked our last night at Penneshaw (where the ferry leaves from) and the ferry price went down about $50 but included the cost of the van park at $30. So that's all pretty clear isn't it.
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| Cape Jervis Farmstay overlooking Kangaroo Island |
Staying the night before crossing to KI at Cape Jervis Farmstay and Caravan Park was just perfect. Our ferry leaves at 9am on the morning of the 15 October. The Farmstay is just 4klm from the ferry terminal and offers basic caravan sites with water (bore) and power (boring) and wonderful views (not boring) over to Kangaroo Island. The place has a lovely cafe/restaurant and accommodation in the original shearer's' quarters. We checked into the caravan park side of things and booked for dinner at the restaurant. Dinner was excellent, a nice homecooked informal style with our 'waiter' being the owner who would have been far more comfortable shearing a sheep than fleecing customers. The 'missus' cooked dinner to recipes supplied by the chef who comes down on weekends to do the cooking. It was really great and very well priced. Julie loved the two large King George Whiting fillets with a caper sauce for less than $30.
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| Another photo of our site as I feel a photo is warranted here and this is all I have |
We met a couple, who were the only others in the restaurant, due to visit her sister for five nights on KI. They were good company and were staying in the farmstay accommodation which they said was fine. The whole place is under constant improvement so in a couple of years it should be fantastic. After such a nice dinner we retired to our little House on the Prairie. The awning was rolled up and everything was packed away. At 11pm the wind blew. At 11.30pm the cyclonic winds followed the original winds. All night the wind howled and the van shook. We just pulled the doona up a little higher and enjoyed the free rocking. Nearby the deep rumble of the distant wind farm could be faintly heard.
In the morning, five minutes before the alarm was due to go off, Julie woke and said "the alarm will go off in five minutes" and promptly got out of bed. After breakfast, which was held five minutes early, we packed up and left at 8:15am for the 4klm steep descent into Cape Jervis where our ferry awaited. Pulling up in the loading lanes we checked in and waited our call to load. If you are coming to KI make sure you pre-book your passage as the ferry is busy. There is a standby lane for the lucky few. A couple in front of me at the check in queue had to wait three days before they could get a booking to get across.
Passengers have to board the ferry separate from their vehicle. So I sat comfortably in the car while Julie toddled off on to the boat clearly suffering from separation anxiety. As It turned out she ran into the couple we had met in the restaurant the previous night and spent a lovely time selecting the best seat for all of us. For me, however, I slowly started to realise that I was to be one of the last on the ferry and that like all those before me I had to reverse on. Unlike all those before me they were already on and their success or otherwise in reversing on their piddly little car did not in any way directly visibly impact the timetable of the ferry departure time and all those on board. However the car and caravan being the last long vehicle combination to reverse on did - it was all up to my performance. What could possibly go wrong. I'd reversed the van into tight spots 100's of time before. Then the phone rang - it was my favourite brother calling from the mines who wanted to chat! Bugger - there goes all the mental preparation.
Anyway being the experienced professional I am, I nailed the loading. Did I mention that an experienced loadmaster was at my window going "left hand down, little more, right hand down, good, stop when the man in your mirrors says stop... and ... you're done".
Meeting up with Julie and the other couple we sat down for the crossing to KI. 50 minutes later we were driving off at Penneshaw to travel 2klm to the Tourist Information Station. Here we picked up some maps and purchased a pass for the National Parks and the guided tours provided by National Parks. The KI Pass is $70 per adult, less if you're older or on a pension. The Pass is worth it particularly if you spend several nights or more on the Island.
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| Morning tea stop day one - somewhere on the north coast of KI |
With no plans but a belief that the western side of KI is more to our liking we headed west stopping off for morning tea on the way then checking in at KI Western Caravan Park and Wilderness Reserve (the best caravan park on KI by far) for three nights, soon to be extended to four nights after we realised how much there is to see in the west and how nice the park is. Suffice to say, we really enjoyed our 4 nights stay in the west.
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| Western KI Van Park site |
16 Oct - after last night's exhausting planning session we settled on a plan for our time here - see everything, start early, then leave. So this morning we set off early for the KI special sights: Remarkable Rocks, Admirals Arch and Cape du Couedic Lighthouse.
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| Another relative tracked down on KI at Remarkable Rocks |
Kangaroo Island is mostly formed from the sediments washed down from the once imposing mountains that ran across South Australia and Victoria. Remarkable Rocks however were formed by molten lava being forced up from below. On only a tiny outcrop of this granite rock have inselbergs been formed then eroded away by high winds and seas to create KI's iconic Remarkable Rocks over the last 250 million years. These beautiful natural creations were lit up in the distance as we drove towards them. A group of professional photographers were just leaving as we arrived. They soon left and we had the place to ourselves - aah, the benefits of being early - good planning.
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| Remarkable Rocks on headland in distance then many images of them in photos below |
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| Cape du Couedic Ligthouse store |
Next we drove to a carpark and to the original storerooms for the three lighthouse families that tended the lighthouse at Cape du Couedic from the early 1800's. Stores were brought from sailing ships, that arrived every three months or so, up a near vertical incline carved out of the rocky cliffs. Provisions were stored at the top with separate rooms for each family and larger ones for the lighthouse.
The impressive Admirals Arch was next on the list and once again we had this to ourselves. NZ Fur Seals were coming ashore at the time to rest under the Arch so we were able to watch them stumble their way over smooth boulders to find a sunny spot to rest for the day. Nearby large rockpools were like a pup seal creche with several of them swimming and leaping into the air in the wave fed pools. Mother seals kept a watchful eye on them while sunning themselves on the rocks nearby.
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| Admiral's Arch |
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| Walk to Admiral's Arch |
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| A Lighthouse |
All of a sudden there was another human with us watching the scene below, then another and another - time to go for a walk through the low scrub to the high cliffs and a little lookout rarely visited. As more cars arrived we left in ours in search of lunch. A marron (yabby) farm with attached cafe sounded enticing. A platter of marron and assorted other local seafood was a pretty good introduction to the KI seafood industry.
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| A bird |
Next we went to Seal Bay which unsurprisingly is filled with breeding seals - Australian Sea Lions in fact. A boardwalk takes the visitor to a lookout just above the beach where mothers and their pups can be easily seen. The use of the KI Pass takes the visitor onto the beach with a guide where we were able to get a real appreciation as to just how much these cute faced, up to 400kg creatures, truly stink. Strolling along the beach within 10 metres of the seal lions we watched as numerous pups came ashore, bleated for their mothers like lambs then, once hearing their mother call back, raced along the sand as only a seal pup can get away with to be happily reunited.
With a full day behind us we returned to camp for a relaxing afternoon.
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| Yep - slippers |
Next day we were up and away early for another big day exploring the north-west part of KI. Driving out of the van park I thought that my shoes felt a little different. I still had my slippers on! It was just 4.1 degrees this morning so there was a reason but I'm starting to worry about the increasing age related signs I am exhibiting. With a change of shoes we once again waved to everyone in the van park as we re-exited.
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| Cape Borda cemetery |
Cape Borda Lightstation was our target for the day.Travelling the back dirt roads dodging wallabies, kangaroos and goannas all the way, we first came across Cape Borda's cemetery some three kilometres from the lighthouse. We wondered why so far away from the lighthouse. The answer we later discovered was that the first to be buried here was the original lighthouse keeper who, after just a couple of months, tripped and fell on a stick that ended up going through his eye.
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| Lookout near Cape Borda |
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| Cape Borda Lighthouse with canon still fired every day at 1pm |
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| Cape Borda lookout |
He died from the subsequent infection, they dug a shallow grave in the limestone rock near the lighthouse, put him in, filled it in, said goodbye and had a sad wake that evening under heavy rain falling from above. Next morning the recently departed was seen floating around the rocky cemetery. So they moved the cemetery three kilometres down the road to a place where tall gums grew which meant there was deep soil below. The recently departed is now long departed in his second plot. Others who died at the lighthouse are also buried there.
A walk to the nearby cliff lookout was followed by a guided tour of the stubby Cape Bouda Lighthouse. The National Parks guide, Mick, was hilarious in delivering the history of the place and his reasons why his lighthouse was square and just so much shorter yet better than all the other lighthouses on KI (or South Australia, or Australia).
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| The walk/climb/scramble down Harvey's Return |
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| Harvey's Return - Lighthouse supply beach |
Like all lighthouses they need to be provisioned. For this one, a kilometre or so down the road another race, called Harvey's Return, was carved through rock down a steep cliff to a little beach where the supply ship anchored every three months or so and sounded its horn on arrival and again as goodbye when it was leaving. Horses would help winch supplies up the steep rail for three days. They had two horses, a smart one and a dumb one. The smart one learnt that the ships horn meant work so it took off when it heard it only to return when the second horn sounded as the ship left. Eventually the keepers worked around this by getting the ship to sound the second horn the next day so the horse would return, be captured and put to work giving the other one a rest. Anyway we walked down this steep race to the beach below. Then climbed back up again clearly understanding why the smart horse did what he did.
Travelling the dusty dirt back roads once again, we visited West Bay for 'lunch' overlooking the pristine West Bay.
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| West Bay lunch spot |
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| Snake Lagoon walk |
Then we set off to do the lovely Snake Lagoon hike. For us, this was a highlight walk on KI - just stunning. Although the 4 klm walk was marked as easy, it did become more difficult and undulating with scrambling required as it got closer to the beautiful azure coloured bay although it was the rock formations that were most impressive. Returning home I put my slippers back on and we sat under the awning watching the Cape Barren Geese graze with the Tammar wallabies and KI kangaroos.
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| Snake Lagoon walk |
Platypus were introduced to KI in the 1940's amid fears of extinction on the South Australian mainland. In Flinders-Chase NP there are several lagoons where around 200 of them are thriving.
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| A "Patapus" |
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| Platypus spotter |
A lovely walk is available to these ponds and lookouts are built over them so the visitor may watch them. The best time to see them is early morning and late afternoon. Off early we arrived at the walk and had the place to ourselves. Literally to ourselves as there were no platypus to be seen.
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| Platypus Ponds reflections |
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| Tate's grass trees common on KI |
Caves were introduced to KI 500000 years ago amid fears that no one would visit the island if there weren't any here. There are many of them on the limestone rich coast on the southern part of the island most of which haven't been discovered. If they were discovered there would be a lot more. A lovely walk is available to some of these caves, one with a guide to show you around. The best time to see them is when the guide opens the locked door to the stairs below. Off straight after lunch we arrived and did the nearby circuit walk before gathering at the entrance of the Kelly Hill Show Cave. We nearly had the tour to ourselves but another couple arrived. The cave was relatively small and young but still interesting enough. Again the cave tour was included in the KI Pass we purchased on arrival.
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| Inside Kelly Hill caves |
In our van park are also koalas. A Koala Walk through old plantings of eucalypts is marked out and guests are encouraged to search for them. We did and came across a couple of Koalas perched high up in the trees feeding away. At night we would be awoken by the loud grunts the males make.
19 October - Moving Day - After four nights in the 'west' we packed up and under cloudy skies left Western KI tourist park and headed a bit east and a bit north to Stokes Bay. At $10 per night, no power or water, we had the place almost to ourselves and views of the Bay.
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| Stokes Bay campsite |
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| Sign to beach |
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| Walking to beach |
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| Still walking to beach |
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| Still walking to beach |
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| Beach |
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| Walking back from Beach |
The only other couple there were in a motorhome and were from Harvey Bay, Qld. The unique thing at Stokes Bay is its access to the beach. Out front is a rocky foreshore with headlands as bookends. A sign on the right headland has "Beach" on it and an arrow pointing to the cliffs. A tiny path leads through caves formed between fallen boulders until eventually leading to a beautiful sandy beach.
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| Watching the rain and the view - Stokes Bay |
Again a resident male Koala made its presence known and with little effort he could be found hanging around high up a tree. The campground is overseen by a collocated and very popular fish and chip cafe. The weather turned foul late in the afternoon with strong winds and regular light showers. Fortunately we were well enough protected so we could sit outside under the awning listening to the rain on the roof looking out over the bay. Unfortunately at 4:30am the next morning the wind either changed directions or intensified or both and, once again, it was my turn to get up and roll the awning in.
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| A "Castle" in the middle of nowhere - no signs or anything and still a mystery |
With a cloudy and light showery day forecast we left our little van, with the rolled up awning, and set off for a day trip out of Stokes Bay north to Kingscote, east to Prospect Hill and south to Pennington Bay and in some direction to American River. All were quite good.
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| Prospect Hill steps |
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| Top of Prospect Hill |
Prospect Hill was scaled by Matthew Flinders in 1802 to find out where he was and to see what he could see. He didn't have the luxury of the 512 steps that we did to get to the top but he would have had the great spectacular 360 degree views. From the top we spied a little track heading towards a pretty bay so after climbing down the 512 stairs we visited the beautiful Pennington Bay. The sun came out, the breeze was light and a surfer had the most perfect waves all to himself as we both watched on.
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| Pennington Bay |
Dinner tonight was held in the little cafe beside the campground. The weather remained unfortunately cloudy, windy and showery. The chef at the cafe had just turned all his cookers off as we wandered over to order and early dinner. He said he had something to do that night and needed to leave early. He kindly agreed to cook us dinner and it was just beautiful.
21 October - Moving Day. Just like the awning at 4:30am it continues to be my turn to turn on the gas for the hot water system so Her Majesty on the other side of the bed can have hot water when she arises. Unusually the heater wouldn't fire up. Nothing worked off the batteries except the fridge. I discovered that with the three days of cloudy showery weather the van batteries had depleted enough for the battery management system to cut power to all but the fridge. Out came the generator for the first time this trip and all was restored. I made sure the batteries were well charged given the continuing forecast was for cloudy weather and given we were headed for another couple of days of bush camping.
We waited until after morning tea to head off to our next camp on the eastern side of KI. The Chef from the Cafe was in early so I went over and started talking to him. His 'thing' he had to do last night was to cook dinner for the family of a mate of his who was killed on KI in a car accident just two days prior. The family came over to the island for a wake for their son. Very sad. Julie then joined us with steaming cups of coffee as we talked for about an hour. The guy must be a very talented chef as this year he was invited to spend three days with one of the Iron Chefs from the Japanese TV show. He showed the Iron Chef around KI and did a number cooking exhibitions together. He used to get flown all around Australia to cook and here he is managing a cafe in the middle of nowhere on KI as his seachange.
After packing up we headed east for a 2 night remote bush camp at Chapman River North on the Dudley Peninsula. We had a go at trying to fit into a site and got horribly caught by overhanging trees, tree stumps and dropoffs.
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| Chapman River North campsite |
Eventually, after cutting off a large trunk growing out of some mallee I was able to maneuver everything so that we could get out, but not without getting a few more scratches on the van. We finally set up in a more suitable site with views to the distant mainland.
A walk to the beach was rewarded with a protracted sighting of an echidna feeding along the path. We were the only ones in the campground for the first night.
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Beach in front of camp
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| Cape Willoughby Lighthouse |
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| Atop Cape Willoughby Lighthouse (very windy) |
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| Lunch with great views - Cape Willoughby Lighthouse |
The next day we headed to Cape Willoughby Lighthouse and a guided tour included in the KI Pass I talked about earlier. The tour was informative and was followed by a lovely lunch at Zest and Lime Cafe nearby. Both the lighthouse and the cafe had great views.
When KI was first settled, where the ferries now come in at Penneshaw, there lived a man Charlie (Henry) Bates, who was the local farmer, postman and breeder. He had three children with his wife and nine more with his wife's niece.
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| Fly-blown Bullock Track walk |
A bullock track that served the early settlement now forms part of an historic walk that we set out on. Clearly all the flies from the bullocks bred just as prolifically as Henry. We didn't even finish the walk due to the very annoying flies.
To cheer us up we called into Dudley's Winery and to cheer Julie up we picked up a half dozen of their award winning Sav Blanc. So all was not lost. Arriving back at camp we were pleased to discover that we had neighbours camped where we first unsuccessfully tried to fit in. They had a much smaller rig so were able to enjoy the improved views from my earlier tree clearing activities. The weather was on the improve so we were able to enjoy a few hours outside under the awning before nightfall.
23 October - Moving Day We are booked on the 8:30am ferry on Saturday so are booked into the Penneshaw Van Park tonight (Friday). With the morning to fill in we walked the beach out front and pottered around camp. Our neighbours left so we had the place to ourselves once again. We pulled out at 12 noon and drove the grand total of 18 klm to Penneshaw, set up camp, and got stuck into doing washing and cleaning the car and van. From our site we have great views over Backstairs Passage to mainland Australia.
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| Campsite at Penneshaw |
Dinner tonight is at the local pub in their restaurant. Julie was able to book a window table with the same spectacular views as our van park.
Summary on how to do KI - heading into our ninth night on the island and after seeing most of the sights we would recommend spending at least seven nights here - three nights in the west, two nights around Kingscote in the middle and two nights around Penneshaw in the east. There are various sorts of accommodation available from cabins to luxury retreats all over the island. Distances aren't huge and the roads, even the unsealed roads, are good so it's easy to poke around in the various bays and headlands.
To maximise your stay catch an early morning ferry after staying at Cape Jervis Farmstay and catch a late ferry off the island again staying at Cape Jervis Farmstay (just 4klm from the ferry terminal). Cars can be hired on the island but, if coming from Adelaide, bus transport to Cape Jervis would be required. Hiring a car in Adelaide seems the most convenient.
For us bringing the van over (although expensive) easily paid for itself with much cheaper accommodation costs and the ability to cook our own meals. Cabin hire is $150 per night at KI Western Van Park.
Best time to come - after talking to the locals - October right after school holidays. Worst time to come - after Christmas - 200000+ people come over and the place is crazy. May to August is wet and cold. KI locals go on holidays to warmer climates. And it's often very windy.
It is definitely worth visiting but don't expect any huge infrastructure, shops and the like. Kingscote has good facilities but everything costs as it all has to come across by ferry. Local produce is excellent but a little pricey. Fuel is available across the Island but outside the main centres of Kingscote and Penneshaw is pricy on pricey. Fuel is over 25 cents a litre dearer than the mainland.
So there you go. We hope you enjoy this post and always look forward to feedback.
We are both well and planning to visit Yorke Peninsula before turning the horses and heading slowly towards home.
Bye for now from the Grey Gonads
JeffnJulie
Then we set off to do the lovely Snake Lagoon hike. For us, this was a highlight walk on KI - just stunning. Although the 4 klm walk was marked as easy, it did become more difficult and undulating with scrambling required as it got closer to the beautiful azure coloured bay although it was the rock formations that were most impressive. Returning home I put my slippers back on and we sat under the awning watching the Cape Barren Geese graze with the Tammar wallabies and KI kangaroos.
