My Kangaroo Island trip, or shall I say Odyssey,
started last night when some fellow German backpackers told me that ferry
services won’t run on Thursday due to weather conditions. I ran over to Central
Bus Station which, thankfully, is right next door to the hostel. And sure
enough, they told me that one of their ferries was damaged in last night’s
storm and the other one was in Port Adelaide for inspection and unable to leave
for Cape Jarvis because of the storm. What followed was a nervous breakdown on
my part, because the trip was already paid for and a car on the island hired. I
had visions of just being “robbed” of over $300 because of things that are out
of my control. Nevertheless, I got everything ready for the trip, deciding to
simply ignore the odds.
The world looked a lot better this morning because the
weather had improved (at least in Adelaide). When I got to the bus station
counter, they were super nice and helpful. They said they didn’t have any news
yet as to whether the ferry had left Port Adelaide already, but that it is
expected to do the Cape Jarvies-Penneshaw trip this afternoon and in that case,
I’m going to be on it. They let me store my big, heavy backpack in a room of
theirs and I was free to go to town and just check in with them every now and
then for news. At first I decided to just hang out in the waiting area, get
some writing done and get any news right away. Because as soon as I know when I’m
going to leave for KI, I’ll have to call the rental car people and let them
know when I’ll pick up the car (obviously, I had sent them two panicky emails
last night).
° ° °
Went to get a hot chocolate at Central Market and
only just realized that what I believed to be 2-cent-coins are actually
2-dollar-coins. I’m rich!!!
° ° °
It’s 3.45pm now and I’m on the coach on my way to
Cape Jarvis where the ferry starts its crossing to Penneshaw on Kangaroo
Island. It’s the first ferry to do the crossing in more than 36 hours and the
rental car guy told me to get ginger pills to help with motion sickness, as it
is still pretty rough out there. Of course I didn’t. If I get sick, I’ll just
throw up. If not, then that’s great. Once I get to Penneshaw it will be almost
dark, so I’ll just pick up my car, have a quick look around the village and
then start my tour around the island at the first light of day. The program is
a bit more crammed, because I have to squeeze three days into two, but I’ll
make it work. Weather forecast for the next two days is good, light rain in the
mornings but sunshine for the rest of the day and around 15°C. Today, the weather
is still crappy, so I guess it’ll turn into an advantage to only do Friday and
Saturday, as opposed to getting soaked on the first day of the tour.
° ° °
The last part of the coach transfer was
breathtaking. Hills and farmland to one side, cliffs, beaches, and the ocean on
the other. It didn’t even matter that it was grey and rainy. Just so beautiful!
We got to the ferry terminal on time, but the ferry ran late and we left at 7pm
instead of 6pm. The captain warned us that it might be a bit bumpy, but I don’t
usually mind as long as I can see where I’m going. I bought a veggie pasty
because I hadn’t eaten enough and my blood sugar level was rather low (this
will be important in a nano-second). I got around to eating half of it before
we finally took off. From the get-go, it was a nightmare. Waves crashed over
the front of the ferry, it was a constant up-down-left-right and you had to
hold on to your seat to keep from falling off. My first problem was that because
of the delay, it was dark outside, i.e. I was not able to see where we
were going. My second was the blood sugar level. Combined with rollercoaster
motion, it made me really dizzy and had me black out for short moments. And the
third was a guy sitting near me with a puke bag, who looked like he would have
t use it soon, which would have pushed me over the edge as well. So I fought my
way to the top deck and rear end of the ferry for cold, fresh air and less
violent movement. I almost had to crawl, the going was so rough. I spent the
rest of the crossing freezing on deck, slumped in a chair, legs propped up on a
table, and breath-counting 4-4-8 (in 4 counts, hold 4 counts, out 8 counts). I
wish someone had given me a dollar for every 4-4-8 I completed. But it got me
to Penneshaw without passing out or throwing up. My first thought when I left
the ferry: “Never! Again!” And then the instant realization that I’ll have to
get back on in 48 hours.
The next challenge was finding the rental car guy.
After looking for ten minutes and not finding him, I asked someone of the ferry
staff and she pointed him out for me. It was the guy I had noticed first thing
getting on land because he wore an “Ambulance” jacket. I wasn’t able to make
the connection between ambulance and Budget cars. Still not able to ;)
Anyway, we got everything sorted out and I took the
cute little Micra out of its parking space. Or rather, I tried. I had never
driven an automatic before and was so overwhelmed (or still shaken from the
ferry ride) that I forgot the parking brake and the lights. After a hundred
meters of screeching and killing the engine I noticed…
Because I’m cheap I decided to sleep in the car; it
was only for two nights after all. I paid for that because it was very cold and
uncomfortable. But I’m good at forgetting things like that very quickly, so don’t
expect me to have learned my lesson here.
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