Hopping Around Kangaroo Island (Part 1)

Easter morning we took the ferry over to Kangaroo Island from the mainland.  In less than an hour we were on the third largest island in Australia ready for a few days of relaxation.  Our first stop was American River, where of course I had to check out the pelicans hanging about.
Pelicans at American River
Next we headed to the grocery store to stock up on supplies for the week.  We stayed in Vivonne Bay on the south coast of the island, away from all the tourists, but also away from all of the cafes, restaurants, and food stores.  After an hour drive to Vivonne Bay, it became clear to me that this island was a lot bigger than it looked on paper.
Vivonne Bay
My dad and I at Vivonne Bay
Phil was in the midst of Ironman training so while he went for a bike ride my parents and I went to visit the Seal Beach Conservation Area.  We took a guided tour onto the beach and got to watch a mother seal surf in and call out to her baby until the baby joined her.  We were able to walk really close to the seals because the tide was in.  These creatures are funny to watch, they love sunbathing on the beach, playing, and making generally horrible sounds.
Seal riding in with the waves
Cuties cuddling
Play time
Seal Beach
In between Phil's training and our exploring we worked on a puzzle, drank some local wine, and read.  We also went to the pier off Vivonne Bay and tried unsuccessfully to catch some fish.

The pier at Vivonne Bay
Vivonne Bay at sunset






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baw Baw Blog

Image
A couple weeks ago Phil set out to climb Mt Baw Baw again with a couple like-minded (read: crazy) bike friends.  We drove out with Les and met John and Glenda at the primary school in Drouin to start the ride.   The crazies started on their ride while John and I headed off to explore the area by car. Phil, Glenda, and Les at the start About 10km in to the ride, as they passed the Drouin West primary school, Phil realised that that was the place he meant to start, and now an already painful 80km ride had become 90km. John and I stopped at the Noojee Trestle Bridge and took a leisurely walk across.  Then we headed on to the "town" of Noojee and saw the sights - the water wheel that no one knows the origin of.  Then we enjoyed some lamingtons while we waited for the tiers to catch up.  They arrived and took a few minutes' break, then set out again on their adventure. Noojee Trestle Bridge Noojee Water Wheel John and I then drove to Tooronga Falls and had a re
Read more

One Sleep Until Citizenship!

Image
In January of 1649, Thos Morgan, my great great ..... grandfather, signed the death warrant for King Charles I, an act that in normal times would make him guilty of treason for conspiring against the monarchy.  He ended up fleeing to America, where he changed his last name to Carrier in order to avoid being sent back to England for trial.  Of course, later he married a woman who was tried and hung for being a witch, but that's another story... Three hundred and sixty two years later, I found myself taking a new job in Australia.  In order to get my work visa, I had to pledge allegiance to the monarchy of the same country that my ancestor fled from so many years ago.  And tomorrow, I'll take the Australian Citizenship Pledge and become a dual citizen. Besides the physical move, there were a lot of little details involved in getting to this point.  We arrived on a skilled worker visa, which required providing my resume and degree in addition to the lengthy application and emp
Read more

Sneans

Image
I was introduced to a new word the other day - Sneans.  According to Urban dictionary, it is the highly attractive combination of sneakers and jeans.  Apparently it is a very American tourist thing that Aussies, Kiwis, and various forms of Irish like to give us grief for.  It has its own hash tag and Facebook page dedicated to making fun of people wearing #sneans.   My coworkers gave the typical example of a middle aged man wearing light colored jeans and white New Balance sneakers together.  I can understand, that's definitely a look.  Throw in a tucked in t-shirt and a belt with a giant Iphone strapped on and it makes quite a statement.  But they also insisted sneans extends to any form of sneakers with any form of jeans.   At first I protested - what's wrong with wearing sneakers with jeans?  Lets say you're on a long weekend in Tasmania, where you may go wine tasting and hiking all in one day.  Sneakers seem like the only appropriate foot wear to me!  They suggested w
Read more