Getting there can be pricey, but once on the island you will be treated to a seemingly endless number of wildlife encounters and gorgeous natural beauty. You haven't seen cute until you've watched Annette try to slowly approach a kangaroo standing in a field, as it looks at her apparently thinking, "I could hop over you and kick you in the back of the head before you could get even one photo, if I wanted to." The natural stuff that doesn't move (or jump, or kick) is amazing too. The island is Australia's third largest, at 93 miles long and up to 35 miles wide. Its size means that Kangaroo Island has several different types of landscapes and
climates. Rolling hills and uber green farms gave the Northern end a very distinct look from that of the South, which is covered in expansive, flat eucalyptus forests. The entire island has awesome beaches that were not only undeveloped, but also usually empty. We stayed at one camp site in a valley between hills filled with sheep, a peaceful creek, and a sweet little beach/cove, and we were the only people there. A few of our other sites had one or two other vehicles, and most of the beaches and coves we checked out during the day had only one or two other people, if anyone at all. There are vacation homes on a few of the longer beaches, but no beach-side resorts and no big developments on the island to speak of.
We continued what we started in Adelaide by eating some of the best fish (most fresh) we have had in a long, long while, snacking on sheep's cheese and fresh, island-made honey, tasting wine, and cooking gourmet dinners in our fancy Apollo camper van (which had a fridge, microwave, toaster, electric kettle, and easy to set-up dining table).Apollo proved itself as a trusty travel mate as we took it off the sealed roads (don't tell the rental company) and found it a quick convert from day-mode to night-mode, with a decently comfortable bed. We drove all around Kangaroo Island on a mission to see wild animals, magnificent beaches, and taste fresh food made with rural love. We accomplished all missions, though we saw only one koala in a tree. We had anticipated more, but getting even just one was something special. We really enjoyed an up-close experience with a hopping seal pup, hiking with flocks of sheep, and inspecting a glass-walled bee hive. The kangaroos did not disappoint either, as we saw several alive and well as we drove from place to place. Wallabies too!
The island's most famous geological feature is something called the Remarkable Rocks. And they were, well, remarkable. We couldn't stop remarking on how easy it was to comment on their beauty. We just kept saying to each other, "These rocks are truly neat," or, "Wow! Check out that rock over there." We spent an hour walking in, around, under, and through the so-called remarkable rocks. The whole time we were just chatting away about them. That's how noteworthy they were.We capped off our last night on Kangaroo Island with a visit to a blue penguin colony. We didn't see many, but the penguins we did see (several chicks and a few adults) made us glad we saw these in a low-key group of six with a truly passionate ranger, as opposed to the tourist-crowded grandstand option on Oprah-recommended Philip Island. The penguins we spotted were hard faught-for, as we had to scan certain patched of the hills above the ocean with torches fitted with red penguin-friendly filters. Every penguin sighted was a victory. Anyway, just one was enough cute for an entire year!
Kangaroo Island can get mobbed by visitors, but we came at just the perfect time. Especially since we didn't think we would go there until three or four days before we were standing on it trying to keep our mouths closed, taking in the pristine scenery. Spring was just around the corner so it was getting warmer and things were pretty green, but tourist season hadn't kicked into gear yet. We often felt like we had the island's best sights/areas to ourselves. If we did share a camp site or beach with someone, they were usually as into talking with us as we were with them. People can wait when nature is as pure and as beautiful as it is on Kangaroo Island!
No comments:
Post a Comment