DAY 7 - 9: KANGAROO ISLAND

Monday, Jan 27 Day 7 - Wednesday, Jan 29 Day 9

Kangaroo Island - Adventures, Magnificent Scenery and Food

Note: Kangaroo Island (KI) is truly in the bush -- no phone service, TV and very weak and sporadic internet service(all of which is not necessarily a bad thing).  So, excuse the lack of communication!

Day 7 was a travel day.  We flew from Melbourne to Adelaide (hour and a half flight), then from Adelaide to Kingscote (20 minute prop plane). Kingscote is on the NorthEast side of KI and we drove an hour and a half through the bush land (only passed one small general store!) to the SouthWest side of the island to our resort, Southern Ocean Lodge.

A few fun facts re KI:
* KI has a land mass of 4,400 square kilometers (same size as Long Island, NY)
* There are 2,500 km of roadways (majority dirt)
*  Population of 4,000 (and only 4 policemen)
*  Population of Kuala's: 30,000(18 Kuala's were brought to the island in 1920 so now they need to control the population -- some poor females are being sterilized)
* Population of kangaroos and wallabies: approx 1 million
* Have Ligurian bees -- our meals frequently involved honey and I always needed to have Steven's Epipen close by
* The residents show their creativity by having very unique mailboxes -- we saw a refrigerator, a barrel and an oven.






Fun facts about Southern Ocean Lodge (SOL to us)

* Opened in March 2008

* The Great Room has floor to ceiling glass which overlooks the ocean and magnificent coastline.  Also features a fully stocked bar which is available at all times (a fan favorite)

* Lodge consists of 21 suites that snake down a long and hilly hallway which lines the coast (if you ever come to SOL request a room at the top of the hallway!)
* Meals and snacks are constantly served and all meals feature the KI's fresh produce -- and they were excellent

We added to our Aussie vocabulary:
"Was-a" which translates to "road kill" ie "was a" kangaroo" :(

Over the course of our time at SOL we were very busy (camp for adults). Below is how we filled our days.

Kangaroos & "Kanapes":  observed kangaroos in their natural environments while sipping on Australian wine and eating a canapé (a potato ball designed to represent a kangaroo turd -- the chef has quite a sense of humor) 

Half day excursion exploring KI's wildlife and the stunning coastal landscape.  Climbed the "Remarkable Rocks" where the forces of nature have carved modern sculptures out of granite (rivals Stonehedge).

Admirals Arch, an ancient limestone formation on the ocean which creates a perfect home for a colony of New Zealand fur seals. Due to a 12 month gestation period, it is breeding and mating season so we saw many young seal pups playing around (they were born between January-March)


Seal Bay, which is home to Australia's third largest colony of Australian sea lions. We went on the beach and got real close to the sea lions. 

We all became very attached to a baby sea lion, approx 3 months, who was sadly looking for his Mom (the females go out to sea for 3 days to feed and then come back to feed their baby). It must have been the end of the third day because our little friend seemed hungry and lonely.  We watched him wander into the sea alone.  We left the beach unsure of his fate but want to believe that there was a happy reunion.



One afternoon, we "took a wander" and set out to find Hanson Bay beach, which we were told was a 30 min walk from our lodge.  We were not told that we had to climb the cliffs and trudge through the bush land. But we are adventurers and miraculously found the beautiful and secluded beach. Unfortunately, the water was too cold to snorkel -- we missed seeing the 25 varieties of fish.

Despite all this activity, we managed to find time to relax, go for a jog and get massages.

Now that we are off KI and have access to internet, we will post more frequently.

Miss you all ,
The Sisselbergs (via Karen)