Kangaroo island here we come.........

We woke the following morning to a very damp but fine morning.  A walk around the camp ground showed us the stunning view right across the paddocks to the island.  If only the mist would lift so we could see it clearly.  Time to pack up and catch the ferry.

We drove down the road towards the ferry terminal but first stopped at a scenic lookout half way down to see the fabulous view of Cape Jervis pier, the ferry, the Backstairs Passage and Kangaroo Island.  Photo op over and it was back in the car to begin our big adventure.

We arrived at the terminal almost an hour before our sailing time and found the early ferry still there.  When we asked where they wanted us to wait they told us to park in the standby lane and we would be put on if there was room.  There was and within 15 mins Bill had the car and van parked and we were aboard the ferry and on our way.

The body of water between the mainland and the island is called the Backstairs Passage, so named by Capt. Matthew Flinders whilst he and his crew on HMS Investigator were exploring and mapping the coastline of South Australia in 1802.  It is renowned for its rough crossings and this morning was no different giving us a pretty choppy ride.  It did make for an entertaining trip watching as people tried to walk around, it really was one step forward and quite a few backwards, very reminiscent of the odd drunken stagger.  Of course this was only amusing if you were not one of the people clutching a sick bag and there were a few of them too.  Bill and I made it across unscathed but I have to admit if the trip had been too much longer my tummy would not have liked it at all.  

The trip took about 45 mins and once docked Bill was almost first off. He took this picture as he waited for me to walk up the hill and then we were on our way pretty quick smart.  Having no idea of what we would find we had booked our first night at the Caravan Park near Kingscote so drove straight there.  The ferry docks at Penneshaw and it is about an hours drive to Kingscote which is the largest town on the island.  

Kangaroo Island is Australia's third largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island.   Arriving here you will find many large open spaces and an amazingly diverse landscape.  If you drive the 155 km length you will discover soaring cliffs, dense forest, towering sand dunes, wetlands and the most amazing white beaches.  Anyone thinking they can just pop over for the weekend would get a rude shock as they would hardly scratch the surface of all there is too see and do.  We were staying for 10 days and were looking forward to exploring the island very thoroughly.

We arrived at the caravan park, found a site, and got ourselves organized before going into Kingscote for a look at the 'big smoke'.  We had a walk along the Main Street, a coffee, visited the tourist information place (more gift shop than information) and checked out the supermarket for dinner that night before returning home for lunch.  

After lunch we drove to Parndana near the centre of the island and while it might have been a more central location to base ourselves in, we found the campground to be a little bleak, so decided that we would stay where we were for another couple of days.  We would then move to American River for three nights before relocating to the other end of the island and spend the last four nights in the Flinders Chase National Park.  This way we should have Kangaroo island fairly well covered.  

After our brief look at Parndana we drove on to the very muddy Harriet Rd and made our way down to Vivonne Bay in the centre of the south coast.  Our first stop was at Point Ellen where we found beautiful rock pools and soaring cliffs beside The Southern Ocean and on the other side the gorgeous Vivonne Bay.  

The weather was still a bit hit and miss but while we were here the sun shone and the rainbow over the other side of the bay was just beautiful. 

We had a look at Harriet River and checked out the campgrounds here before driving around to see Vivonne Bay from the beach.  It was once proclaimed 'the best beach in Australia' after Professor Andrew Short from Sydney Uni conducted research to find the best strip of sand Australia has to offer.  A big call to say the least.  We found a beautiful white beach with not another soul here and enjoyed a walk along the sand leaving only our two sets of footprints.

Leaving the beach we drove back home where once again we stayed warm and dry inside as a rather cool damp night fell.   It had been a big day and an early night was in order.

Can't wait for tomorrow - until then.........