Another short clip I have put together.  This time of our travels along the southern coastline of WA, from Cape Le Grand National Park near Esperance right through to Margaret River.

Click the link below & enjoy the most delicious coloured waters you’ve ever seen! 🙂

Rottnest Island (aka Rotto).  Is an island made of limestone, roughly 10 kilometers in length located about half an hours boat ride off the coast of Fremantle.  This beauty offers a vast number of gorgeous beaches, coral reefs, waves, cycling routes, boats, food & tourists.  Emphasis on the tourists!!

 

Home to the quirky quokka, Rottnest is also a car-free island.  Don’t know what a quokka is?  Neither did I.  It’s basically a small Australian marsupial that looks like a cross between a wallaby & a mouse, (see picture below!).  They are very cute & located everywhere on the island, most prominently under the table at your feet at dinnertime waiting for a crumb!!  With the no car policy on Rotto & also a no dog policy, we left Perry the Patrol, The Clam & Barney boy behind, boarded the Rottnest Express with just our bikes & dive gear & had 3 amazing days on the island.

 

Dog Owners: Anyone needing to put their fur baby into a kennel while they’re in or around Perth – Auspet Boarding Kennels located at Southern River, half an hour out of Freo, is absolutely fantastic!!  The best we have come across during our travels around the country so far.  The owner is lovely.  She really will love & look after your dog.  The kennels themselves are large, & during the day the dogs are put out into a large fenced yard with a few other dogs to play.  Barney had a blast.  We hate leaving him, but it’s just a reality of travelling this country with a dog if you don’t wanna miss out.  Auspets definitely takes the cake!!

 

There are a few main roads on Rotto, but basically there is just one that circumnavigates the whole island with a few smaller trails leading off the main drag to all the different little nooks.  Like I said there are no cars on the island, everyone rides pushys.  It’s roughly 22k’s to cut a lap of the island, but that’s without adding in all the extra little detours.  Basically it wouldn’t take you that long to ride a lap, what adds on time are all the stops & activities you can do along the way.

It had been a while since we rode our bikes.  They were brand new this year when we left for our ‘Big Trip’.  Nowadays they aren’t looking so flash hot… But what’s a bit of rust & squealing brakes if not character!?  It was such a pleasant change playing the tourist game on bicycles, slowing down the pace.  There is a continuous number of gradual rolling hills on the island.  Sore bums & tired legs were compulsory.  We really earned our dinners, which was lucky because we were eating out & not holding back!!

 

Snorkeling at Little Salmon Bay was definitely the highlight for both of us.  With a hefty amount of colourful reef, fish, crayfish, beautiful kelp & so many small caves to dive through & explore we were truly surprised.   We spent hours out there on the first day.  And after riding around the whole island on our second day visiting & diving other locations, we went back there to snorkel the area a second time. Whenever Fred & I are snorkeling there is a 99% chance you’ll find Fred waist deep, upside down jamming himself into a tiny crevasse or cave on the hunt for crayfish (see below).  Me on the other hand you’ll find gawking at all the pretty coral, chasing the vibrant fishies, swimming through tunnels & searching for turtles!!  It is my favourite activity to do together.  We both get so excited when we find a cool cave or critter to look at.  Under the sea in another world.

 

There were more waves than we could keep count of on the island, we were pretty bummed we didn’t bring our surfboards – though it would most likely have proved a bit impractical with the waves being so far from the Hotel & our only means of transport being bikes.  We noted that the majority of surfers seemed to have come over to Rotto in their boats from Fremantle.  The island does have a bus service – I think you pay $20 & you can jump on / jump off wherever you like, but we just stuck to the bikes.

 

At Strickland Bay we saw a pod of dolphins feeding about 100m offshore.  Jumping out of the water doing little flips here & there.  As I have mentioned before, swimming with dolphins & whales is what my dreams are made of (in the wild of course!!).  And so off with the clothes & on with the dive kit it was.  In anticipation for them to swim in a bit closer to shore, we were standing knee deep in the sea at the ready.  Unfortunately they didn’t come in any closer, & the bay was looking a little dreary on the overcast morning.  Not wanting to be Bruce’s lunch we didn’t swim out to meet them.  Instead we just got wet bums & chafe.  Next time Flipper, next time!!

Simmo’s ice cream (main shop is in Dunsborough but they have a shop on Rotto too) has taken the number one ranking of best ice cream in Australia (so far) – according to the extremely experienced & accurate ‘Fred & Bear tasting scale’.  A record previously held by Dooley’s Icecream at Apollo Bay, we are extremely eager to see if any future contenders can match the beyond delicious creamy flavours of Simmo’s.

We filled in our late afternoons by watching the sunset on the north west of the island, only a short ride from the hotel.  See below!

 

Altogether it is not a cheap trip coming to Rottnest. The ferry ride, hotel stay & food were all a bit pricy $$. But it was definitely money well spent.  Apparently there are 63 beaches on the island, meaning despite the tourists there is always a peaceful spot you can find to chill out & enjoy as we did.  Nothing short of beautiful, we would reccommend not missing Rottnest.  This is what we live for right, exploring new places & having a good time!!

Now it’s time for us to start heading north – toward warmer waters, long left hand point breaks, coral reefs & better fishing!! Yew.

 

 

What a month it has been, traveling the great south west of this country in Western Australia!  From breathtaking Esperance & it’s surrounding National Parks, through Bremer Bay, Albany, Denmark, right along to Margaret River – has been one nice & ridiculously turquoise ride.

Every new place seems to blow us further away than the last.  As of yet I haven’t managed to put any fun new language in the brain bank, I’ve been too busy relaxing!  So in aid of keeping all these blog entries from sounding the same; in between my usual banter I’m gonna give it a crack!  Here’s me hoping you don’t get bored & truly do believe me when I tell you that this beach or that place really did feel like the most ridiculously beautiful place I had ever been in that moment.

This coast, the southern coast of WA has kept on giving.  The water colour & clarity in this region is beyond me.  It’s post card material.  Like the kind that makes you want to dive right in, soak it all up & never leave because you have found paradise.  The water temp around this time of year has been pleasant enough, warmer than SA for sure but still a bit nippy at times.  (A bit nippy, though we still manage to swim everyday in just togz & surf in spring suits!).  Autumn also seems to be good for wind, as there hasn’t been too much of it around, meaning lots of still sunny days.

For the doggie owners: WA has loads of National Parks with the dangerous bonus of 1080 poison.  Goes without saying, they are a no go zone for your pooch.  Unlike our remote & isolated travels through SA (where we may or may not have taken Barney into all or none of the National Parks), WA parks have been a different story.  With a constant stream of other tourists along the way, as well as the parks rangers & “Camp Site Hosts”, it’s best to pop your furry friend into a kennel while exploring these striking National Parks.  IN SAYING THAT – The National Parks seem to pop up everywhere along this coast, one minute you’re inside a National Park & the next you are not.  So there have been times when we have gone into a park for a few hours to explore, & left the pup set up inside his section of the canopy on the back of Perry the Patrol, no worries!

Cape Arid National Park, a couple hours east of Esperance, has left vivid highlights in both Fred’s & my memory.  It is a National Park devoted to untouched pristine beaches & snow-white sand.  A 4×4 is a must have for this place, as majority of roads & beach access is via off road tracks.  This was prefect as it thinned out the crowd.  Well, there was no crowd.  We enjoyed some surfing, fishing & hiking in the area.  As well as marveled in having some of the best photographic scenery we have ever experienced.  Some serious wall art gained from our photos taken here!!

We got into a bit of a cheeky breakfast habit this month.  Fred has utterly nailed the egg, bacon, hashie, cheese & sauce sanga.  And what better place to enjoy such a brekky than parked up in the corner of one of Australia’s most infamous & stunning beaches Lucky Bay, inside of Cape Le Grand National Park!!  This park is VERY touristy, but also extremely stunning.  We explored the majority of it & included a hike up Frenchman’s Peak all in a day.  Missed out on seeing the famous kangaroos lazing on the beach though, they must have been busy!!

Bremer Bay & its surrounds was another highpoint for us.  It’s beaches some of the most unsurpassed along this stretch of coast, with a number of places to surf & fish.  I have to tell you about Short Beach – it was magnificent.  If you’re ever in this area go there!!  I wasn’t panning on going swimming as it was a chili day, but the water was just that insane we couldn’t not dive in.  By insane I mean turquoise & clear.

At Albany the whale museum ‘Whale World’ was pretty cool.  It’s about the history of whaling in the town.  We enjoyed it; especially seeing the gigantic old skeletons of a Blue Whale, Humpback Whale & others hung up in one of their display sheds.  Obviously we are stoked that whaling isn’t allowed anymore, but it’s a good place to get a different sort of appreciation of that whole whaling era & what was involved.

We snagged a humble little surf on the mini mals at Ocean Beach in Denmark, again in magnificently clear waters.  We were so wrapped up in catching party waves & being stupid we didn’t even notice the huge pod of dolphins dancing around the other surfers only 50-100m away.  It wasn’t until we came in that a local guy said to me “Well you don’t get that everyday!!” “What, you don’t get what every day?!”  And he pointed back out to the surf at all the dolphins jumping alongside surfers sharing their waves.  I paddled my little heart as fast as I could straight back out there to say hello.  Seeing dolphins so close up, & any marine life like that (whales, turtles, rays) reverts you back to the excitement you used to feel as a child.  There truly aren’t many other things in this world that can instantly make me as happy as seeing ocean creatures up close.

A local hot spot around Denmark is the blissful swimming & snorkeling location Greens Pool.  It’s completely protected from the outer surf & wind chop by large granite rocks.  The rocks providing an idyllic location to sun bake & drink beer after a dip!

I met a guy when I was walking back to the car after a surf session in Esperance.  He stopped me dead in my tracks to ask if I was from Tasmania (he had noted the plates on Perry).  I watched the biggest smile light his face as I nodded yes.  This guy, a fellow Tasmanian I was to discover, has been travelling intermittently between Australia & The United States with his entire family (4 adult children & his mrs), in a decked out bus for 8 YEARS!!!  8 years of continuous nomad life on the road.  I mean, wow!!!  And by crikey did he have some hot tips & stories.  He was a frother, an extremely laid back & happy frother.  It was one of those totally unexpected conversations you have with a complete stranger that leaves you walking away with a huge smile & a feeling of deep satisfaction.  I love these moments!

One of the places this Tassie nomad legend said we couldn’t miss was ‘Gloucester Tree’ at Pemberton.  He wasn’t wrong.  This tree is 53 meters high with 1ft long steel pegs sticking out of it the whole way up – a winding ladder around the entire trunk of the tree.  There is a wire (like the really thin & flimsy kind you see most farm fences or chicken coops made out of) that circles the outside of the pegs.  In truth this wire does sweet f*%# all.  So you climb up this big beauty of a tree, & it’s epic!!! And you don’t fumble or fall, because if you do you would die.  It both shocked & surprised us that such an unsafe adrenaline kick can still be allowed (in a good way that is).  IT IS SO RAD!!!! If you are ever in the area, go climb the tree!!!!!

And finally there’s Margaret River.  Every beer, wine, food & surf lovers dream location (as long as you packed your jumper, she gets a little chilly around here!).   With countless amounts of wineries & breweries scattered along the coast from Augusta to Yallingup & beyond, there was definitely no shortage in treating the taste buds.  The scenery of luscious greenery matched with a roaring Indian Ocean is also very easy on the eyes.  The area does have a lot of tourists / people around though.  We managed a couple of surfs in at Gracetown, sharing the waves with quite a few others, though this I didn’t mind at all – with the salmon running at this time of year it usually means there are more apex predators out there too (sharks).  So having company when you’re bobbing around out there like bait is always comforting, lowers your chance I guess!!!  When the surf is big (I’m talking 10ft plus), Surfers Point is an epic place to perch yourself & watch the local chargers paddle out & tackle the monstrous waves.  They are barking mad!!  But it’s such a good show, & gives you a true appreciation of the balls of big wave surfers.

All in all we have had another kowabunga trip. Looking forward to start heading north, into the warmer climates & escaping winter.

Chasing that endless summer!!!

Enjoy the photos & see the ridiculous beaches for yourself below!

Xo

Living every second month with just my fur child Barney in a new town where I don’t know anyone isn’t always peaches & cream. But I’m not going to lie, it generally is!! 😉

While Fred works his four weeks ‘on’ he leaves me & Barney set up with the Clam & Perry (aka the caravan & the car) in a caravan park. We take the boat off the roof, we take a lot of the unnecessary ‘crap’ out of the car, I drop Fred to the airport & hey presto I have four weeks to entertain myself.

I am very comfortable in my own company.  I have to be.  And for the first week, especially here in Esperance, I was completely tied up exploring the dozens of beautifully epic beaches.  I have been blessed with fun surf almost every day.  I go for at least one swim everyday.  And having ol’ Barney boy around means going for a couple of beach walks per day, cuddles & the general ordinary chitchat you have with your K9.  You know, asking him how he is, if he wants a bone today or which beach he’d like to go to.  Most days Barney is literally the only one (I would say person but he isn’t a person, he’s a dog) who I speak to.  When Fred is too busy or tired from work to chat it can be really tough, but I never want to burden him by saying much, so Barney is my no. 1 man while Fred’s at sea.  He is VERY good at puppy dog eyes.  And as you could guess he plays me pretty well, always scoring those extra snuggles on the couch or the last bite of whatever it is I’m eating.  Don’t worry he can be a right shit too!  He is one of those dogs that has selective hearing & when I’m mad at him he just runs away & thinks it’s a game.  SO infuriating.  Buuut then I remember he is what makes being away from Fred (& everyone else I know for that matter), that little bit easier.

The plan was for me to try & find some nursing work here & there as we travelled – work for the four weeks that Fred is away to increase the cash flow, gain some great professional experience & keep me busy.  In saying that though I spent the entire of 2016 saving my ass off so that I wouldn’t have to work if I didn’t / couldn’t.  And so far I am loving having the extra time, not working.  Instead I am exploring new places, learning new things & finally having the time to do all those things you wish you could, & be that person you always knew you were but were too busy or stressed or whatever.  It is fantastic.  And what the hell – I am young, I have worked hard to be able to do this, it’s a once in a lifetime trip that I want to make the most of AND why the f*%# do I even need an excuse.  I think society puts these pressures on you, of all the things we ‘should’ be doing with our time & money when we are in our mid 20’s – and the thoughts do creep into my mind.  But I am learning to tell them to shove off.

Esperance is an amazing place.  It’s a small town of about 15000, surrounded by an endless number of beaches with the whitest of white sand & crystal clear waters. There are a couple of National Parks close by.  I have made it to one of them so far; Cape Le Grand, to the famous Lucky Bay & it’s surrounds.  Of any place we have been throughout this journey I have found Esperance to be the easiest to live in – there are just so many beaches, so many beautiful sheltered lagoons for swimming (the reefs block the waves from coming in all the way to the shore, creating perfect natural ocean swimming pools).  The foreshore of the town itself is beautiful & easily accessible.  Plus there are a great number of places to surf, dive & fish.  If you don’t love the ocean, & shopping or a happening town is more what you’re after – then this is not your place, & nor is (in my opinion) 99% of Australia for that matter!!  Out off shore you can see the numerous large green islands, I haven’t made it out there yet – not too keen on the solo mish in the tinny!  It kind of reminds me of the Whitsundays – with all the islands & the picturesque beaches, just a tad chillier.

So besides my daily surfs, swims & beach walks with Barney I try to fill in the gaps with a strength workout here & there, jogging, some yoga, reading, attempting to play guitar, staring at the enormous map of Australia on our ceiling…  I take a sh*t load of photos & footage & make rather mediocre video edits…  And I play on social media as I am doing right now!  Also there’s food. I love food & I am absolutely loving having the use of the ‘camp kitchen’ oven at this caravan park.  We don’t have an oven in the Clam, which means I miss out on my beloved roast veggies – not this month!!!

It’s a tough gig I know. Of course I also try & use this time to chat with close friends & family, though this doesn’t always work out as they are all still living their fast paced lives & are understandably busy a lot of the time.

Altogether I just try to keep a positive mindset.  And busy, I have found if I have lazy days – they’re the days I can begin feeling a little low.  Sometimes I almost have to force myself to jump in the car & just drive somewhere, anywhere!  Fortunately for me going to the beach & even just sitting there with Barney looking at the horizon, never fails to snap me back to where I need to be.  When I start to feel lonely or down, I remember where I am, what opportunities are in front of me today & how bloody lucky I am to be here.  It is unfortunate that the climate of Fred’s profession at the moment is too sketchy for him to take considerable amounts of time off – but we deal with it.  We are both itching for his return back from work to continue on the road.  And having this down time, it really gives us a chance to research where we want to explore & get ridiculously excited about it.  PLUS we never get that “oh but won’t you get sick of each other being only in each others company ALL of the time” thing going on.  Because having a month away from the person you love reeeeally makes you miss them, love them & appreciate them all that much more.

Here’s to all the folk out there who understand what it’s like living in a relationship where one partner has a FIFO job.  And here’s to Fred’s return & continuing our journey through Southern Western Australia!!

Until then I’ll just continue visiting & playing on some of the most stunning beaches this planet has to offer. 😉

Some of my snaps of Esperance below.

Peace.

Xo

Here’s a short-ish clip of our journey along the Eyre Peninsula.  Just putting it out there, this coastline was the highlight of our travels through South Australia.

Hope you enjoy!

Xo

Yes they keep coming!!  Another short clip we have made, this time of our trip to Kangaroo Island.  Scroll down further to see the write up & full story in the initial Kangaroo Island blog post.

Click the link below.  Enjoy. XO

Click the link below to have the next 56 seconds of your life taken away by some of the most adorably beautiful little creatures in existence!

See the link below for a peep at a short movie I have made of our time travelling from the Victorian border, all the way to Adelaide along the beautiful Limestone Coast.

Scroll down through past posts for the full entire picture of our travels around the country so far since departing in January 2017.

Xo

I have to start by saying that this coastline has blown us away. From Port Lincoln to the Head of The Bight, it has been an endless stream of epic cliff tops that overlook empty beaches. With a horizon of the seemingly endless Southern Ocean on one side & an infinite dry, baron landscape on the other; we have felt as though we’ve had the whole country to ourselves.

There have been no shortages of camping venues, with the majority being either in the dunes a golly rocket from the beach, or atop a cliff with panoramic views of the sea & a drop down that might give your Granny a coronary (or me when my fur baby gets too close!). Some camps have had toilets, but the majority have had diddily squat in terms of anything other than dirt & nature itself! Exactly our style. Everywhere we have stayed has been dog friendly & there has been no sign of 1080 poison on this coast – thanking the powers that be for that! Additionally, we have been loving not having to share the environment with too many other people, never feeling crowded & a lot of the time having places all to ourselves.

Coles Point provided a scenic camp on the cliffs above the beach. Along with hot, hot sand we had to high tail it down to get to the beach for a swim. The water is not warm in South Australia. I think it averages 18-21 degrees this time of year & that is the same if not a little cooler than home right now, (home being the east coast of Tasmania!). So every time we go for a dip, at least once a day, there are always the moans & groans that come with throwing ourselves into unpleasantly chilly waters. But that feeling ALWAYS goes away after you have dived under. It must be a law that you resurface after that first dive into the ocean feeling refreshed & quite simply, better. Especially when it’s cold in & warm out! If you have experienced this yourself, you know what I’m on about.

INSECTS TIP: There have been a few march flies around on this coast, some places more so than others, with the occasional sand fly & mozi thrown in the mix. And these march flies seriously have needles for stinging you with!! So don’t forget the insect repellent, especially if you are an insect magnet like me. They LOVE my flesh – anyone who tells you insects won’t go for olive skin is a LIAR. The only thing that works for me is ‘Bushman’s Insect Repellent’ (basically anything with loads of deet in it) or wearing clothes!

The tinny came off the top of Perry the Patrol a number of times along this section of coast. At Drummond Point we even got a sneaky hello from a couple of Bottlenose Dolphins playing at the bow. The Eyre Peninsula is a renowned home for the Bottlenose Dolphin. We have been graced with spotting them a fair number of times, from the tinny, the beach & also from our camp chairs just outside camp at Point Brown! Venus Bay came through with the goods, with us hooking some King Gorge Whiting in the shallow bay. Fred being the great man that he is had the fish cleaned, filleted & ready to eat for lunch within the hour! Using his simple but trusty mix of flour & oil – easy, delicious & ready to eat as soon as it leaves the pan. This fresh catch lunch was a regular favourite, whenever we caught it or whenever Fred speared it. Sustainable fishing at its finest – catching it yourself, & only bringing in what you can eat!!!

A mega highlight of this coast for me was watching & learning about the endangered Australian Sea Lion. We saw a number of colonies throughout our journey of the Eyre Peninsula. The coast of South Australia & southern Western Australia is the only place on earth these beautiful mischievous creatures live. After being nearly hunted to extinction in the 1800’s & early 1900’s they have not been able to recover. Together with their slow breeding habits, commercial fishing nets & the increasing amount of plastic in the ocean they are fighting an uphill battle. We were lucky enough to be able to swim with these guys in a shallow, sheltered bay off Port Lincoln. We went with one of the only tour companies that allow this – Calypso Star Charters. It was meant to be a swim with the Sea Lions & dive with The Great White Shark combination tour, but unfortunately there were no Great Whites around that day (cage diving with the sharks that is – we don’t have a death wish!). I was a bit reluctant to go on the tour, not wanting to burden or add to harming the animals or their natural environments. But after reading up on the company & finding out more about the research they help conduct, including Great White research & conservation, as well as the company being ‘Eco Certified’ & very educational, I was reassured. The tour guides were really knowledgeable in the field of Great Whites. It was fantastic to hear from the captain who had lived through the cruel (in my eyes) hunting era of Great Whites, to when the protection of The White Pointer was implemented in 1997 & how attitudes have changed. He was so passionate about educating people about this magnificent, highly misunderstood animal. This made it a really nice experience. Diving with the Sea Lions was incredible. They are SUCH playful creatures. Swimming up to us copying whatever we were doing. You did a summersault – they did a summersault, you waved your hand – they waved their flipper right back at you. They are so inquisitive. It was an experience we will never forget & will always cherish.

My mum joined us for a few days in Port Lincoln; shout out to her for taking the time to spend with us!! It’s always so nice having visitors along the way. An extra thank you for helping me stealthily organise Fred’s birthday dinner & cake! I have never sung solo, out loud to anyone in the history of the universe, & for you to have made it through my Happy Birthday ditty – well all I can say is well done, to the both of you!!

There has been a fair amount of surf along this coast, & when the wind is light or blowing off shore it gets really good. (This has been about 50% of the time). Though our biggest set back has been that a lot of these breaks are very far out from shore. Coupled with the fact there has been no one else around, & everyone we speak to about surfing always brings up the apparent increasing number of sharks – we get a little psyched out. (I should point out that during our whole time in SA we have only seen one shark, a Bronze Whaler & that was on a shark dive tour). Point Sinclair has definitely been the surfing highlight. With quite a gathering of other keen surfers camped in the dunes, it brought the ‘psych yourself out levels’ way down. Having others around to share the stoke, as well as riding some of the best waves in our lives, the thought of sharks totally disappeared. This was our last stop before crossing the Nullarbor Plain. And a lovely place to turn 26!! Thanking Fred, for nailing my favourite breakfast of banana pancakes, & excelling way beyond bush camping birthday expectations by delivering me a caramel white chocolate camp oven mud cake. And yes, it was ridiculously delicious in case you needed clarification on the matter!!!!

We are a little sad to be saying goodbye to South Australia. The past month here has been wonderful, even a bit surprising. We did not have many expectations, in that we didn’t really know what to expect. But we are leaving most certainly satisfied that we have experienced with juicy detail, a stunningly unique & beautiful part of this country.

TIP: For anyone travelling across the Nullarbor – At the quarantine border into WA, they WILL take the majority of your fresh fruit & vegetables. They took everything except our carrots & sweet potato (everything as in lettuce, spinach, ALL berries, onions, tomatoes, bananas, beans, peas, honey!). We couldn’t find an exact list on the government website, but basically they take the whole cake. The roadhouses along the way are SUPER expensive as you can imagine, so stock up on basic packaged food. And if you don’t like the idea of paying $1.70 for fuel, we’d advise filling up your sub-tank & / or as many jerry cans as you can carry at Ceduna!

Once again, thanks for reading. I hope you have enjoyed our tales so far. Now I think my hair is going to snap right off it is so salt crusted, Fred told me yesterday he worked out he had only taken 2 showers this whole past month!!!! LOL. So time to take the longest shower of our lives.

Western Australia we are coming in hot!! 😉

Some snaps below of our journey across the Eyre Peninsula. Enjoy   Xo

As all the pictures, brochures & websites will tell you; Kangaroo Island (KI) simply is a little gem.  Surrounded by beautiful beaches, breathtaking cliff tops & rock formations, not to mention the absolute abundance in Australian wild life – it really is a true blue magical destination.

Though being the third biggest island in Australia it actually isn’t that little!  We managed to clock up almost 600 k’s circumnavigating the island in only 2 ½ days! With a wealth of different roads covering KI, it made it easy for us to hop, skip & jump around to wherever we pleased.  A warning that the majority of the roads are dirt / gravel & so ensuring all belongings are secure & as dust proof as possible before you set off is a good tip.

We were a little pushed for time, as we had booked as an after thought.  This proved somewhat challenging.  Our plans were rather ambitious for the short time frame we had given ourselves.  Wanting to see the whole island, we were two big kids on a mission!  There were some beaches where we literally ran down, did a little dance & were like “right, seen that. Next one!”.  NOT ideal & not our usual style!!  If we had our time again we would spend a whole week – allowing for enough time to add in some hikes & truly experience KI.

After disembarking the ferry we drove clockwise around the island.  There are loads of camping grounds, making it easy to just pull up along the way without driving too far off our planned route.  Lots inside the national parks, but also enough that allowed dogs so we didn’t miss out 😉

We used the freebee map they gave out from the ferry terminal as our main guide; together with wiki-camps we were set!  We have been using wiki-camps throughout the whole trip.  It is invaluable with the amount of information & details it provides. Leaving the caravan behind was great too. Sleeping under the stars in the swag instead was blisssss.  It was a lot cooler on KI than it had been on the mainland, by about 5-10 degrees.  Around 23-25 each day & really cooled off at night – so don’t forget your trackies, flanny & jacket!!

I LOVED the amount of wild life we saw while on the island.  Kangaroos, wedge tailed eagles & sea eagles seemed to permanently coat the sky, wombats, rosellas, Australian sea lions, New Zealand fur seals, peacocks… the list goes on!!  It really was a challenge for Fred to pull me away from any locations where we found kangaroos or sea lions – I have a bit of a thing for photography, & can get quite carried away.  Easily snapping 100 photos in no time.  Or maybe it wasn’t ‘no time’, as Fred would be literally pulling my arm for us to move on.  LOL #sorrynotsorry.

A highlight for both of us was visiting the Raptor Bird Rehabilitation Centre on the south side of the island.  They had a range of predator birds that had been rescued and were either in rehabilitation preparing to be released back into the wild, or who were in permanent care after being injured or abused by humans.  They had trained some of them, & they put on a really good show with the birds flying around you while the wildlife workers gave talks about the different species.  Seeing the wedge tailed & sea eagles up close really gave us an appreciation for how large, strong & beautiful they really are.  The cost of the show goes towards the rescue & rehabilitation of the birds, so we figured it was well worth it.

KI is covered in amazingly picturesque beaches.  But our personal favourite had to be Western River Cove.  It was a tiny beach, completely sheltered from the SE winds with the camp area about 100m from the beach.  Fishing off the rocks in the evening, being woken by huge grazing kangaroos in the morning & a swim in crystal clear waters really made it extra special.

We drove along most of the beaches on the Northern side of the island, (you need a 4×4 for these sections) always good for beating the crowds.  Not that there were many!! The whole time driving KI we were asking ourselves ‘where are all the people..?!’

Fred managed to squeeze a kite surf in at Bay of Shoals.  The island provides a number of good locations for kite surfing.  It is amazing to watch him, flying through the sky throwing his body in all manner of directions.  It would have been the perfect end to the trip (and was in our minds until we got off the island & back near Adelaide) – until we realized Fred left his kite board behind in the dunes!!!!  Some lucky bugga is going to have a field day.

Perhaps the most amusing thing for me about our visit to Kangaroo Island was the way in which cars were made to embark the ferry.  I have never been on a ferry that only has ONE way for the cars to enter & exit.  It is really some system they have – with the cars having to reverse onto the ferry.  All part of mixing things up & making life entertaining I guess, isn’t it!?

Once again, thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy the photos below.

Xo