Tuesday, Feb 16, 2016
I have mixed feelings about today. It was a very interesting and enjoyable day but there was also sadness.
I had been looking forward to my trip to Kangaroo Island because I wanted to see the unique scenery and animals in the wild and today was the day I was scheduled to go there.
It had rained occasionally during the night and it was quite cool and windy. The cool windy temperatures, coupled with sleeping on the ground, made it difficult to sleep for any length of time, but I managed relatively well. I got up at 7 am, packed, had a light breakfast at the campground and by 8:15 I was at the Ferry Landing, waiting to leave.
The ride across the channel took about 45 minutes and we were met at the Penneshaw Landing, by a bus that would take us on our journey to see the highlights of Kangaroo Island.
Our first stop was Seal Bay to see the Australian Seals. This is a picture of an adult male seal. Notice the white patch on the top of his head. They can grow up to 400 kg ( 880 lbs ).
These two young males are practicing to fight so that when they become mature after they are 7 years old, they will be able to compete for the females.
After we left Seal Bay, we had a nice lunch and then drove to the Hanson Bay Koala Walk. We were allowed to wander through the Eucalyptus trees to search for koalas. The smell of eucalyptus was very strong and it didn’t take long to find several koalas sleeping in the trees.
They look cuddly, but from this next picture you can see the long claws that they have.
As we left, we also saw these kangaroos. We ended up seeing a lot of kangaroos, before we left the island, hence the name Kangaroo Island.
After leaving the Koala Walk we drove to the ” Remarkable Rocks ” and they were truly remarkable rocks covered with lichen and shaped by the water, wind and sand. This is a view from a distance.
I took a lot of pictures of the different shapes but this one captures a lot of the different shapes.
From the Remarkable Rocks we went to ” Admiral’s Arch “. This next picture is a view to the right as we walked over the arch.
This is a view in front of us standing on top of the arch looking out to the ocean. At this point I didn’t know where the arch was because the bus driver was pre-occupied.
As I continued down the walkway and steps to the left I finally saw the arch. This is the arch looking back in the same direction as the first picture.
We were told that the jagged rock hanging down are not stalactites. They are actually fossilized roots of trees.
This area is also populated by New Zealand seals.
Now I said earlier that it was also a sad day. As it turned out, just before our bus arrived, the driver had been informed that someone had collapsed on the walkway and that he needed to help attend to the situation. He asked us to go down the walkway to see the arch while he checked out the situation. When we got close to the spot where the man had collapsed, we were asked to keep our distance from the situation out of respect for the family, since they were very distraught. As we drove away from the area afterwards, we were informed that the man had passed away. My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends who are probably still in shock.
As the bus quietly continued on its way, we stopped at the Flinders Chase Visitors Centre for a break before heading back to the the Ferry Landing. While we were waiting, one of the passengers noticed this Wallaby, mostly hidden, eating the leaves from a bush. I took several pictures of him before we scared him away.
As we drove back to the Penneshaw Landing, we saw some more animals along the way before getting back to the ferry. After the short ride back across the channel we reached Cape Jervis. It was only a 2 minute drive back to the campground, where I would stay for the night, before starting my journey back to Melbourne.
Ralf Hamm 