The weather was a bit meh in the beginning, overcast
and showers, but not too cold. I drove out of Penneshaw at 6am and stopped at
the first lookout opportunity to get a couple of (rather dark) photos of this
little village. The original plan was to have my first stop at Pennington Bay,
but I drove right past it because they tend to put up the sign for the sight
right next to the road that you have to take off the highway. We don’t do it
like that in good old Germany, so I was taken by surprise the first time (and a
couple more times when I didn’t pay attention). But since I knew I was going to
take the same road back tomorrow, I decided to just do it then. Instead, I
stopped at Prospect Hill and climbed what felt like five hundred steps (it
probably are that many) to a lookout with an impeccable view. My next stop was
the village American River, which is even smaller than Penneshaw. But they’ve
got a beautiful bay there and a great variety of birs. To be honest, I just
stopped because it was more or less on the way to Kingscote and it was rather
dull. Picturesque, but dull.
Kingscote, the island’s only town (or biggest
village?) was really exciting. I parked near the jetty and watched seals
swimming upside down, warming their bellies in the morning sun. Then I went over
to the pelicans and was able to get really close to take photos. These birds
are huge! After the pelicans I spent some more time watching the seals and then
went on a “scenic walk” along the bay. And scenic it was. Stunning, rough,
beautiful. After Kingscote, I drove on to Emu Bay, which was nice, but, like
American River, a bit dull. I walked on the beach for a while and found some
gorgeous shells. Next stop: Stokes Bay. It was a longer drive through the
Heartland area of the island. Bush and farmland, woods and lagoons, I loved it.
The road was a mess because of the weather of the previous days, but I got there
in one piece and was rewarded by one of the most beautiful bays. It was stormy
and still overcast, but one of the most Romantic landscapes I have ever seen.
Wordsworth would have loved it. It wasn’t just the bay or the beach, but most
of all the rocks that you can walk through on tiny paths. I had a quick vision
of ending up “127 hours” style, but chased that thought away immediately. On
the other end of the rock path you ended up on a hidden beach but I had to
retreat very quickly as the tide was rising and coming to get me.
Even though the rental car guy had warned me that
the gravel roads would be a mess, I opted for the “Kangaroo Island Experience”,
aka North Coast Road, gravel, wild, at times almost too much for the little
Micra as we were crawling up and down steep hills, around and over branches and
even whole trees. What I got in return was something you won’t see when you do
one of the pre-booked tours that take you to the main tourist attractions only.
I’d like to say that I saw the “real” Kangaroo Island. The few other cars I saw
were all locals; it seemed like I had the whole coast to myself. I kept taking
photos out of the car and saw lots of kangaroos, both dead and alive. Kangaroo
Island is like one gigantic “Body Farm”, kangaroo style. You can see their
bodies in all stages of decomposition.
The next thing on my agenda was Snelling Beach. Not
as awesome as Stokes Bay, but still so very lovely. Another walk on the beach.
I found a gigantic dead fish and then watched the tide rise on this beach, too.
The next part on that gravel road I thought I was going to die. The car got so
many scratches because the storm had blown so much rubble on the road. But
again, I was in for a treat as I saw and photographed a gigantic eagle perched
on a tree. The reason I left civilization and proper roads behind was the
Western River Cove. Lots of rare birds, calm, quiet scenery, no other people
around for miles. Unfortunately, after enjoying the view, I had to get out of
there again somehow. I knew I didn’t want to take the same road back because it
was so nasty, but the only other road out, which I ended up taking, was not
much better. It was here that I think the car took the most hits, because at
one point, there were big branches on the road that were too heavy for me to
move. Since there was no way in hell I was going to go all the way back, the
car basically had to crawl over a tree. Not a healthy thing to do for little
cars. But hey, the dude said the car is insured on sealed and unsealed roads!
I had planned to go look at some waterfalls but
decided against it because it would have been another fifty miles of gravel
roads, and they were getting worse the further I went. So instead, I slowly
made my way back to a sealed road and went straight to Flinders Chase National
Park, to make the most of the beautiful (and dry!) weather. It’s a long drive
through bush land and you have to stop at the Visitor’s Centre to pay a $10
entry fee, but it was so worth it. The first big sight is the lighthouse at
Cape du Couedic and the marvelous coast there. Then you walk down for about 15
minutes to see Admirals Arch, an unbelievable rock formation, and home to one
of the biggest New Zealand fur seal colonies (they smell very bad, by the way).
The ocean is incredibly wild down there, I cannot put it in words. Even the
photos won’t be enough (it was here that the batteries died and I had to use my
cell for the rest of the trip – boo!). I spent quite a long time there, it
makes you feel so alive to witness forces that great.
After that it was back onto gravel. Only for a short
way, but extra thrilling because you were basically driving on the edge of the
cliff. But it’s the only (land) way to get to Weirs Cove and the ruins of one
of the first houses on the island. When you look down the cliff, you can still
see the steep path/stairway leading to an old jetty where ships used to land to
supply the inhabitants with food. Seeing that, I cannot start to imagine how
anyone survived that. The ocean is so rough here. But apparently, some did. I
drove another quarter of an hour (sealed road) to see Remarkable Rocks, another
rock formation that will take your breath away. So will the wind. The best
thing here is that you can actually walk along/through the formation almost to
the edge, where signs warn you that you will die if you go on. I didn’t put it
to the test. This was another sport where I spent some extra time because it
changes you (I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true). On the drive through
Flinders Chase I also stopped at some lookouts to enjoy the vastness of the
bush lands. And I even got to stop and let a funny little Echidna cross the
road.
I had thought about parking the car somewhere around
here for the night (to sleep) but I just found it a bit too lonely, especially
without cell reception and no way to contact someone in case of an emergency. I
drove all the way back to Kingscote before it got dark (for insurance and
kangaroo safety reasons) but had time and daylight enough to stop at yet
another beautiful, quiet beach, Vivonne Bay. The second night in the car was
about as bad as the first, so I’ll spare you the details. But let me tell you
one thing I learned the hard way during this “camping” experience: when it says
“no drinking water”, don’t use it to brush your teeth. The result seems to be
the same.
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