Early wake-up call due to the cold again, but since
I had covered so much ground already and because the things on today’s list
mostly required entrance fees (=opening hours), I watched the sun rise at Shoal
Bay in Kingscote and got to watch the seals again at what seems to be their
morning ritual. Just in time for my departure, the showers stopped; and a cold
day is better than a cold, rainy day. The first big thing on today’s agenda was
Seal Bay, where a guide takes you for a walk on the beach where the Australian
seals hang out. It’s very expensive ($32 for about half an hour), but it was
worth it for me. At first it looked like we might be disappointed: the seals
were mostly snuggled up in the dunes because of the cold, or out fishing. But
it turned out a lot better in the end. When the moms go fishing, they leave
their pups on the beach, and pups happen to be very curious and playful. So we
got really close to several pups on the boardwalk and on the beach. Some even
came close enough to sniff our feet. After the tour, I walked another boardwalk,
taking you to another part of the colony. I saw several more seals and it was
wonderful watching them interact with each other in their natural habitat.
There is also the skeleton of a humpback whale on display in the dunes that was
washed ashore during a winter storm some time back. And I saw another Echidna.
I am a magnet for those. The bay itself was another one of those really rough,
but insanely beautiful ones, especially when the sun hit the ocean just right,
turning it bright turquoise.
After this incredible wildlife experience, it was
time to focus on landscape as I went to Little Sahara. Those are square
kilometers of dunes inland, and it was a stunning contrast to Seal Bay. It
truly looks like a proper desert, though it was still cold and the sand was wet
from last night’s rain. There were colorful little flowers and I found several
animal footprints in the sand. After that it was the long drive back to the
Dudley Peninsula where Penneshaw is located. As planned, I stopped at
Pennington Bay. Wow. Just Wow! It was really good to go there towards the end
of my trip. So rewarding. It was sunny, the tide was rising, which prevented me
from walking on the beach and climb the lower rock formations, but still!
Seeing the waves swallow more and more of the beach and the rocks. The many
shades of blue of the ocean (“I never saw blue like this before” crept into my
mind). And the waves! I have never seen bigger waves (they were probably bigger
during the ferry crossing, but it was dark so I didn’t see those).
I stopped at another beach, Baudin Beach, a little
later, which was nice but its charm was lost on me a little after what I had
just seen at Pennington Bay. Back in Penneshaw, I walked around for a bit, then
started writing my KI-diary and grabbed a bite to eat. I’m back on the ferry now,
and so far I’m doing alright. The only annoying thing is the American group
sitting next to me. They are really noisy and the stereotype of the American
tourist. I had to laugh a little.
* I will add photos to this blog later, they are on
my cell and I didn’t bring the right cable with me.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen