South Australia - Part 1 - Kangaroo Island

Sorry we’ve been lax about posting on our trip to South Australia! It’s been a bit daunting sorting through all the photos and stories, so we are going to blog in sections to keep it straight forward.

For clarification, South Australia is actually a state (albeit with a boring name) – not just a region. We started by flying into Adelaide, which is the state capital (unlike in the US, the capitals of Aussie states are the largest cities in those states). We rented a car and spent one night in Adelaide before heading on to Kangaroo Island – a large scenic island about 12 miles off the coast.

They say Kangaroo Island is like a zoo without fences. We did see a fair amount of wildlife, including a handful of kangaroos, a couple of echidnas, lots of pelicans, several bush-tailed possums and one peacock (we’re not sure about the peacock, but it liked the front porch of our cabin).

   

The more interesting thing about the island was how laid back the whole place was. Most of the island is a national park and most of the rest is unpopulated. The remainder is sheep farms. The majority of the roads were dirt (which tested the off-road prowess of our small Nissan Tiida). The slow pace reminded us a little of a Hawaiian island.

The weird part of the island was that there was hardly anyone around. Maybe it is a product of living in the middle of a busy city, but it felt a bit strange.

The place we stayed in was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The nearest eatery to our cabin was about 45 minutes away by dirt road. It was only open from 6pm to 7:30pm and catered primarily the local sheep shearers. When we arrived, it was “schnitzel night” – gravy $3 extra.

The only grocery store within an hour of our cabin was more like a well stocked pantry – they didn’t use barcodes and most items were covered in dust. It was here that we decided that although country life has always sounded appealing, we’re not sure we are cut out for it. We like our city conveniences.

We did see some great sights though. We toured around the “remarkable rocks” (not to be confused with “The Remarkables” - a mountain range in New Zealand). They were fascinating, as you can see in the pictures below.

 

The views were gorgeous along the coastline.

 

We saw a ton of fur seals at “The Arch”. It was hard to see them at first because they blended in with the rocks…can you spot them?

There was a beautiful lookout up 512 steps. It was well worth the trip up!

The highlight of the island for us was a sheep dairy where they use the sheep’s milk to make cheeses and yoghurt. We are now the biggest fans of sheep’s milk products. It tastes better than cow’s milk and is way easier on the stomach. We tasted haloumi cheese for the first time and have now eaten it several times since. It’s delicious.

 

Most of the island and surrounding lands are comprised of limestone, and there are several magnificent limestone caves in the area. Here are some photos of one of the Kelly Caves we toured.

Bald Hill was another beautiful lookout. The sun was just beginning to set while we were there, which made for some neat pictures.

Overall, Kangaroo Island was beautiful and the slow pace of life was very relaxing.  We will post the next part of our trip soon!