Gedye/Gaylord Road Trip Part II:
Kangaroo Island
April 2004

At the bottom of the Fleurieu Peninsula, across Backstairs Passage, lies Kangaroo Island.
(Geography note: it's the third biggest island in Australia after Tasmania and Fraser Island.)

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A car ferry from Cape Jervis gets you to the island.

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The bruised clouds spilled sheets of light onto the water, while inside ...

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... Peter wrestled the lamington.

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We're on the island just in time for John Ayliffe's feeding of the pelicans at the Kingscote wharf. He says he's done it every day for 20 years, and  prides himself in the way he can "mess up their landings real good" by throwing a fish at just the right moment. He was a character, and with his wife he also ran the fairy penguin tour that we saw later that night.

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Lots of fat and happy pelicans. Note the messed up landing in the final shot.

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Breakfast the next morning in our house at Vivonne Bay on the south side of the island. It was going to be a big day!

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First stop was Kelly Hill Caves. The place was spectacular and well fitted out for visitors, but the guide was not terribly interested in dispensing information, though he did enjoy putting a torch between his legs and showing how transparent some of the rock was!

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Spot the koala at the Hanson Bay Koala Sanctuary.

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The highlight of Kangaroo Island is the Flinders Chase National Park at the far western end of the island. The visitor centre was fantastic: kids can dig for fossils in a sandpit and kangaroos lounge around the parking lot and feign interest at the passing visitors.

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It gets better after the visitor centre: the road west looks like it was laid out by a drunken surveyor.

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Just above the arch is the Cape du Couedic lighthouse.

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The path down to Admirals Arch, and the Arch itself. Note the seals on the rocks.

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The place I had been looking forward to was the quaintly named Remarkable Rocks, about 10km from Admirals Arch. They're a big granite plug that somehow lifted up through the surrounding limestone. The colors were rich pinks and oranges, and we were lucky enough to get some sun on them.

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When the sun's out it's difficult to take a bad photo at Remarkable Rocks.

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See what I mean?

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After about an hour the mums had had enough and walked back to the car, but the kids couldn't get enough of the weird and sensual shapes. After these shots we renamed the place "Relaxing Rocks". Finally we dragged ourselves away and returned to Vivonne Bay. What a great day.

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Next morning Chris was up early to join a seal watching tour. Cute!

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Planning the rest of the day.

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The Gedyes took Grace and Caitlin to the Little Sahara sand dunes that were about 10 minutes east of Vivonne Bay. As you can see, no fun was had by anyone.

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Ooooh.

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Finally it was on to sunset and dinner on the north side of the island at Stokes Bay. We did some fun scrambling on the rocks. The highlight, at least for the girls, was when I put a 6" tear in the seat of my pants sliding down the sharp rocks. After our bliss the previous day at Remarkable Rocks, Grace and Caitlin christened these ones "Revenge Rocks"

And so ended our visit to Kangaroo Island. Next day we were off bright and early to catch the ferry and start the long drive east to the Limestone Coast.