We left Victoria and the erratic weather (ok, we did have some sun, but not enough) and headed for Robe - not famous for robes (ref: Bega Cheese commercial), across the border into South Australia. We stopped on the way at Mt Gambier, to check out the ‘blue lake’, yep, it’s certainly blue!! An amazing deep rich ‘blue-bottle’ blue , formed from a volcanic crater and limestone deposits.
With some practice at this now, we have learnt to research ahead on the internet and pick a park on the beach or in a national park (much nicer, less ferrel and often quite beautiful). In Robe, we landed the most spectacular piece of real estate overlooking the beach, and parked ‘Tilli’ right on the point. The girls were in another wonderland playing on the rocks around the beach, more riding of bikes and beautiful sunsets. Robe has an ‘obelisk’ that looks like ‘The Cat in the Hat‘, painted such, as originally it was all white and the sailors couldn’t see it against the limestone cliffs, so they added in the red striping. This was also the first week of our Sydney Distance Education Primary School work – a shock to all but Saskia!! We are learning to juggle the challenge of schoolwork , days on the road and always so many tempting things to see and do.
More Robe pictures
We passed the big lobster on the way Port Elliot, the first of our ‘bigs’ on this trip. It was the ANZAC Day long weekend. We arrived on Thursday to an amazingly quiet and well situated caravan park…..then on Friday over 150 groups arrived. Victorian weather chased us down – sun, wind, rain, sun….this time no hail. Amazing bike rides along the coast. A bakery with the biggest selection of pies – Sas is growing and knocked down two…they were good. Danielle hunted down another farmers market and we enjoyed a beautiful seafood dinner right on the beach at Flying Fish – still no KFC or Maccas…..I think we are safe from that. The South Australian coast is littered with beautiful historic port towns and has a multitude of heritage buildings that seem to be lost in Australia’s bigger cities.
Next, we headed over to Kangaroo Island – what an amazing place. From Cape Jervis, you catch a huge ferry across, caravan and all. It was a bumpy ride. Bella and Dan felt a little queasy and needed to go out the back for fresh air. It was a six o’clock ferry, so a setup in the dark and off to the Penneshaw pub for a local seafood dinner (and the Waratah/Brumbies game). This was the girls’ first pub experience and they were wide eyed…….. exposure to the raw, local characters in the pub has left them with an expanded vocabulary!
We visited Cape Willoughby (how could we not!) - an old light house on the eastern side of the island, then onto Clifford’s Honey Farm. The Island has its own breed of honey bees - LIGURIAN bees, originally from Liguria in northern Italy. They are the only Ligurian bees left in the world and there are strong quarantine restrictions. No honey products are allowed to be brought onto the island in order to prevent contamination and disease being introduced to this precious colony. We learnt about honey production and how they produce different flavours by moving the hives around to different species of flowers. We sampled honey ice cream, honey comb and bought some jars of local honey.
Then it was onto the ‘Island Pure’ Sheep Dairy. We loved doing the tour of this cute, boutique dairy that produces delicious cheeses and yoghurts and we were allowed to sample along the way, before watching the sheep file into their milking bays. We bought some cheese and yoghurt and have to say we are converts. They are truly yummy and so much more nutritious than cows milk products.
At Seal bay , we were able to walk right down to the edge of the beach on timber walkways to observe a fascinating colony of Australian sea lions in their natural habitat. There is something so beautiful about these creatures, who come in to the bay to rest on the beach and the sand dunes after fishing at sea for 3 days with no sleep. We saw them sleeping like big slugs under the walkways and some on the shore, as well as young teenagers playing in the waves. It is very special to see them in their own environment and out of a zoo. The girls were treated to a talk from one of the rangers and were able to touch and feel the furs, skeletons and models on the “hands on” table in the learning centre. They learnt that the sea lions are in the seal family and that they were related to dogs, with their hind legs evolving over time into flippers. They also learnt the difference between fur seals and sea lions and that we NO LONGER wear fur seal pelts as fashion items!
Bella is horse obsessed and Dan loves them too. So, we hunted out a trail ride in the centre of the island at Tiger Trails and met two delightful ladies who took us on a very picturesque meander through the hills and by the creek. It was action packed, as some of the horses in the lead were spooked by some surprise kangaroos. The guide, David and Saskia were all thrown from their horses. Dan watched in horror, from behind, seeing everything happen in slow motion as they went down like dominoes . They were both shaken and bruised but otherwise OK……..thank goodness. I think we will stick to patting them over a fence for a while until we all get over it…..
After 2 days, we moved west on the island to Western KI Park & Wildlife Reserve - another little gem, brimming with free wildlife all around the caravan. Free ranging ducks and turkeys (we had to resist the temptation to throw one on the webber!) and kangaroos galore. We met some ‘Grey nomads’ (over 60’s!) from Mosman (small world) in their amazing off road camper trailer who were travelling together in a small group. It is refreshing to see all types of people from all walks of life choosing to get out of their comfort zones.
We have to say, the highlight of the island was an outing to Paul’s Place. Kangaroo Island really deserves its own posting and Paul’s Place could also warrant its own post. Paul was one of those unique, quirky and extraordinary human beings with a passion for wildlife, like Steve Irwin, that you can only HOPE to spend time with. Paul has been collecting orphaned baby animals around the island since he was a little boy feeding and taking care of them. Over the years, his refuge has grown into what can only be described as a mini hands on interactive zoo – only it all takes place in his ‘backyard’. His passion has grown into a little sideline business and he has been opening to the public for the past 28 years, only opening every second day from 12 to 2 (this restriction for the animals benefit) for an animal encounter never experienced by city….or country kids!!
We were amazed, delighted, enthralled and even a little confronted by our intimate handling of – koalas, kangaroos, an echidna called cactus, a river python, baby possums, marsupial mice, emus, lamas, sheep, a camel, a laughing kookaburra called giggles, a huge variety of birds, a gorgeous gentle baby deer, a ram, a marran (like a lobster) and a crazy cattle dog called Jenna who was busy rounding all and sundry up. A small group of us spent two hours with Paul, who guided us through his menagerie of animals (whom he knows all by name and has a unique voice for calling them). We were constantly entertained by his antics. David was one of the men selected (quietly volunteered by his wife), to have emus eat grains off the top of his head and Danielle was chosen to wear the woolly hat and coat fashioned from the fleece of a sheep sheered by Paul. We’ll let the pictures tell the rest of this amazing story....
Finally it was onto “Remarkable Rocks”- the photos sum it all up. They are truly remarkable formations and are thankfully eroding slowly because they are formed from granite.
More Kangaroo Island pictures
We are heading up to Adelaide, then into the South Australia’s wine country to stock up on some good Riesling and Shiraz, before heading over to Streaky Bay and across the Nullarbor into WA…..bring on some balmy weather.
Over and out. Love to all xxxxxx
