South Australia is a pretty stunning place, generally, but after a short vacation on Kangaroo Island, I think I've discovered the jewel in SA's crown.
We stayed here, in a 100-year-old light-keeper's cottage, maintained and prepared by Parks SA. There was no television, but there was Jenga, Mahjong, and numerous visitor's books to keep oneself occupied during the cold, windy evenings.
In four days we managed to traverse 800km of an island that, at its longest point, is barely 200km across. We saw the lighthouses (of which there are a few!), Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch, Flinders Chase National Park, as well as West, Stokes, Emu and Vivonne Bays.
We got up close and personal with Australian sea-lions, New Zealand fur seals, KI kangaroos, Tammar wallabies, and a couple echidnas - all in the wild. (We were not lucky enough this trip to see koalas or platypus, but that will keep for another time).
K.I. is a truly awe-inspiring place, a bucket-list kind of place to visit. Nothing disappoints, not even the wintery weather (which is, on average, ten degrees warmer overnight than the Flinders Ranges, and a couple degrees warmer during the day - even with the "roaring 40s" raging in!).
1) Cape Willoughby. 2) Snuggling Australian sea-lions at Seal Bay. 3) Seal Bay.
4) Cape du Couedic. 5) New Zealand fur seal (scratches an itch). 6) Cape Borda coastline.
7) West Bay as dusk. 8) Stokes Bay. 9) Silhouettes at Vivonne Bay. 10) Remarkable Rocks.
11) Sunbathing K.I. kangaroos. 12) The only platypus we saw! 13) Karatta Cottage, Flinders Chase NP.
14) Inside Karatta Cottage (entrance hall). 15) Inside Karatta Cottage (bedroom).
16) One of the many visitor's books. 17) Weir's Cove. 18) Admirals Arch.
