NATURAL WONDERS OF KANGAROO ISLAND

While we were on our tour of Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia, we were taken to a Wildlife Park. There were many different kinds of Australian animals, too many to show here.  

I had never seen white (albino) kangaroos before.

 The overseas tourists just love the kangaroos.

 Holding hands.

 The little penguins were cute.

 The echidna is well camouflaged.

The next morning it was beautiful having breakfast overlooking the bay at Kingscote.

 After breakfast we were taken to a honey factory, where they showed us how a special machine takes the honey out of the honeycombs without destroying the honeycombs. This speeds up production because the bees don't have to construct the honeycombs again they just fill the old ones with honey.

 They have a very pure honey on Kangaroo Island because there is only one type of bee on the island. It originally came from Italy back in the 1800's. The honey is more pure than the Italian one now because the bees in Italy have cross bred with other types of bees.

 Then we drove to the other end of the island to see the Remarkable Rocks. From a distance they don't look anything special although some say they look like a camel lying down.

 But as you get closer you can see how big they are and their unusual shapes.

 They certainly were remarkable.

Next stop was Admiral's Arch, a naturally formed archway under the little peninsula where you could see the ocean on the other side. 

 It was also home to many New Zealand Fur Seals

 I recommend Kangaroo Island as a great place to visit for wildlife, National Parks and walks. It hasn't been spoilt with development.

We stopped at a very interesting Information Centre in Flinders Chase National Park before boarding the coach for the last time to take us back to the ferry. It was a long drive then a short ferry ride followed by another long bus ride back to our hotel in Adelaide. We fell into bed exhausted at midnight.

BIRDS OF PREY ON KANGAROO ISLAND.

When I visited kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia, I went to a bird show. The birds and their trainers were amazing. I can't remember the names of the birds but I will have a guess. Please correct me if I make a mistake.

 At the trainer's call, this owl appeared out of its hole.

 It swooped down to sit on the trainer's glove and it was given a mouse to eat.

 Then it hopped onto the tourist's laps where we could gently touch it. It was so soft.

 After the owl went back in its hole another bird appeared out of the sky and came to the trainer. A Hobby Falcon.

 A Nankeen Kestrel

 The funniest character was the Black Breasted Buzzard.

 It showed us how it could pick up a stone and throw it down on an emu egg to break it open to eat the inside. It is a fake egg for the show and it has a meat treat inside.

 The trainer has another treat in his glove.

 The birds kept getting bigger. I think this is the Sea Eagle.

 It is a beautiful bird.

 There were two trainers and they had a wonderful rapport with the birds. They told us how the birds were rescued from injury some are returned to the wild and some stay in the park.

 These kookaburras were funny. Their names were Banjo and Clancy. That made me smile since my grandson is called Banjo. (Banjo Patterson, the poet, wrote the poem "Clancy of the Overflow"as well as many more including "Waltzing Matilda")

A black kite

 The trainer had a friendly chat with a Wedged Tailed Eagle.

 He showed us how big his wings are.

A marvellous huge bird.

There were still more amazing things to see on the island.
Thanks to Stewart from "Paying Ready Attention" for fixing some of my ID's.http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au

FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM (Kangaroo Island 1)

After out Savannah Way tour we had planned to catch "The Ghan" train from Darwin to Adelaide in South Australia. It travels right through the middle of Australia from the top to the bottom. It would have been a three day trip with stop overs in outback towns. Unfortunately, the train itinerary and times changed at the last minute and we weren't able to get a connection to match up with our hotel and our flight home bookings. So instead we flew to Adelaide and booked a tour to Kangaroo Island.

In the afternoon we arrived in Adelaide after a three and a half hour flight from Darwin. We checked into our apartment and later found a lovely Italian Restaurant for dinner. It was freezing cold compared to up north. Luckily we had packed winter clothes too.

 The next morning we were picked up at 6:30am for a trip to Kangaroo Island for two days. It is a two hour bus ride through the Fleurier Peninsular to Jervis Bay and then 45 mins on the ferry. Luckily, the sea was calm.

 Another coach picked us up and we started the tour. 

 The island is known for its cold windy weather but we were very lucky and had warmish  winter days. First stop was Pennington Bay where we saw beautiful pristine beaches with no buildings. Then we visited an Eucalyptus Oil distillery . We were shown how the oil is made from specially grown, narrow leafed Eucalyptus Trees. Afterwards, had a delicious hot lunch at Vivonne Bay.

 The best part of the day was a visit to Seal Bay, where there is a colony of Australian Sea Lions. These are a very rare type of seal with only two colonies in the world. This one and one in WA. There are only 12,000 left. As we walked down to the beach we saw some resting in the dunes. They have such a cute face.

 We were not allowed to get too close to them for both their safety and ours.

 Mum and and young ones resting and keeping warm.

 Young males arguing over a female.

 The female that has caught the eye of the bulls.

 "Okay you're mine honey." "You have to catch me first. I'm out of here."

A 30 second video of Australian Sea Lions at kangaroo Island.

Another one snoozing under the board walk. Then it was back in the coach for yet more wild life visits. (next post)