109 – Kangaroo Island Last day. A little bit of Everything

So back to the cabin by 6ish, which did not end our day, but it did end the sight seeing. Lucky we had all the kangaroos and night skies to entertain us.
But even if there were not critter issue, the businesses close early. The attractions are shut down by 6 even if you wanted to see things. Just something to note if you are coming this way.
We generally left in the morning between 9 and 10 to sight see, and today was no different other than I was out taking my final pictures of our hopping friends.

Turns out they are pretty chill in the mornings.
So we left them to their day and continued with ours. First stop… Emu Bay

Emu Bay is on the northern part of the island. What distinguishes it from the other beaches we have seen is, first, calmer than the others, and second apparently there are penguins.

Bet you thought I was going to say Emu.

We did not see penguins, but there were signs around indicating they frequented the area. What we did see was a wonderful jetty, a lot of people driving on the beach and I believe camping on it, and a lot of birds. Including my first pelican siting on the island.

I did not get a picture of the pelicans because I was looking for penguins. I did see a cool fish though.

We think it was dead.

Next we headed toward Kingscote and the Bay of Shoals, but along the way we had to slow down because a chicken crossed the road right in front of us.
The chicken was being chased by a rooster, but not wanting to assume that was the reason it crossed the road, I tried to roll down the window and inquire.
Alas, they were too quick for me to get a photo, and to absorbed in their game to consider my question. I am deeply saddened that I could not put the matter to bed for the universe, but an effort was made and now I can put forth the theory, based on the evidence in front of me, the chicken was crossing the road to get away from the rooster.

That conversation took us a little further down the road where we came upon Kangaroo Island Brewery. So, we stopped.

It was not the ideal time of day to drop in, especially at this location which was the brewery instead of the pub in Kingscote where most people go. But the people were nice, and we learned they also keep bees, which was interesting. Oh, and I really liked their beer cans.

Didn’t buy any, but they were neat.

So on we went. Passed by the lavender farm because it was obviously not lavender season, and we ended up in Kingscote. Which had a silo with kangaroos painted on it.

Aside from that, however, there was not a lot to see. We drove through town, or I should say Kristin drove through town. Again and again, I cannot say it enough… all praise Kristin for agreeing to come on this journey and drive.
Which she did. Right through town where we ended up at a place called Reeve’s point.

It is a pretty little area, at the very tip of the southern ‘tooth’ of Schoals Bay. Not a great beach to hang out on, but the water, as you might notice is remarkably blue and the thing that dragged me out of the car to explore was the pelicans.

I have a horrible habit of being a few seconds to late to click the shutter, which results in a lot of butt pictures.
I think I may start a wall. An excuse wall, where I will hang several of my pictures, such as this one with a better view of the rear than the front. Then when I don’t do something, say take the dog for a walk, I will add a post it note next to one of the photos that says something like… I wanted to walk the dog… but(t)… it was too cold.
Actually, that sounds like a lot of work. Scrap the idea.

Here’s another one… butt…

Better. But… time to move on. I think Kristin is taking a nap in the car.
Back through Kingscote, down hog bay road, and past Pelican Lagoon, we came upon the town of American River.

We talked to the locals; we read the signs; I even did some internet research, and I cannot come up with a reason for this town to be named “American River.”
The area was first visited by Europeans in 1802 when the one and only Matthew flinders was doing his survey work. He landed here and mapped out the area.

So logic might dictate it be called Flinder’s River, but it was not. Apparently it is known as American River because in 1803, a group of American sealers camped for four months in the area.
They built a 35 ton schooner during the time they were in the area, and I guess that was enough for the name to stick. Except there is no river here, the American’s did not map, discover, revolutionize, or do anything in the area other than build a ship. Yet here we are. At American River.
Where, ironically, the first thing we see when we pull into a parking lot is that a group is working to build a replica of American ship, the Independence.
A lovely man gave us a tour of the shed they are working in, and showed us a lot of things they are selling to raise money for the project which they hope to have done in a couple of years.

We had lunch by the water, which was very nice, and honestly, the whiting here might be better than in Vivonne bay. Or that was my opinion.
Off again to explore led Kristin to a place called Prospect Hill. Leave it to a marathon running fitness junkie to find a hill on a relatively flat island. The highest point on the island, no less.
Yes, we climbed.

As hills go, this was an easy climb. Only 500 or so stairs to the top, and the stairs were nicely spaced, had a hand rail, and several places to catch your breath on the way up. I mean… pause and ponder the outstanding scenery. Yes. That sounds much more athletic.

I will admit, the views, the colors of fall popping through, and the relative ease of the climb did make this worth the trip.

But we still had a big chunk of time to kill before we were to be at the ferry to return to the mainland.
Down the stairs and back to the car, we headed for Cape Willoughby Lighthouse.
At the opposite end of the island from Cape du Couedic, this light house is closest to the mainland. It also proved to be rather difficult to get to.
Kristin rented a car not sure of what our needs would be on the island. It was a good car for 2 people and our things, but it did not have a lot of pick up and go, nor was it inspired to even glance at a dirt road, let alone drive on one.
Take a lesson from our experience and go midsize with your vehicle selection. And then add off roading capabilities if you want to see the most of the island.
You might make it most places in an MG M3, but the car will not be happy about it. And no, on this island, you cannot avoid dirt roads completely.
The road to this lighthouse is not bad, in the right vehicle, but it is a dirt road, with sections of washboard and gravel, and a lot of dust. There are tight curves, tree lined areas and hills I am surprised were not taller than Mount Prospect.
But we made it. All the way to this remote location… and it closed minutes before we arrived.
They have cabins to be rented out here, and apparently they were doing some kind of construction nearby, as those people all looked us up and down from their distant perches with obvious curiosity along the general theme of ‘they ain’t from these parts.’

Duh. We wandered around a little, but with nothing to see, and the lighthouse behind a gate and warnings of snakes in the grass and bushes, we headed back down the dirt road and toward Penneshaw.

We were still too early for the ferry, so we found the Kangaroo Island Sculpture Garden.

Interesting, but that did not fill our time, so we went to see if we could get on an earlier ferry. With no luck attempting that, we ended up at the hotel.
No, we were not looking for a room or planning on staying another night. It is common in Australia for bars to be called hotels, if they rent rooms or not. It can be very confusing. Especially when the woman at the ferry station suggested to me that we go to the hotel to wait instead of the ferry station. I asked if there was a restaurant or bar there we could wait at, and she just smiled and nodded as if I was from Mars.

Oh, now there is a saying that we will all need to rethink in a few years. Because people might actually be from there soon. And they won’t be little green people, either. Or maybe they will.

We made it to almost every major site on the island this trip. Yes, we could have explored many of the sites more deeply, but for a first trip to preview the area, the time we had here worked out very well.
Next time Kristin and I agree that we might move around to different locations on the island each night so we could see sunrises or sunsets, or spend more time exploring different beaches.
Having said that, the place we stayed was amazing. Aside from the wind. It was always windy at night. I would recommend not tent camping in this location because the tent would turn into a sail and you might end up in Antarctica by morning. Which is probably why we did not see any tents in the area, although there was a small camping area down the hill by Stokes Bay.

We did make the ferry if you were wondering. Which was followed by a long, rather harrowing night drive back to Adelaide and the airport hotel.
The roads were not bad, but having not driven at night for a while, and fully aware of the wildlife issues, Kristin was tired, but on alert. And for some reason, the headlights are brighter down here, I think because most of the roads are 2 lane and they are coming right at you.
But we got in a line of cars and followed the parade to Adelaide.

This evening I found out there was a major earthquake in Myanmar that also shook Thailand, specifically Bangkok.
A few days ago I found out after I left the South Island of New Zealand they had an earthquake just off the coast, which I only mention because I was in Bangkok… and New Zealand… and I know I stomp around but I never thought I was earthquake material.
Seriously, though, I cannot imagine being in some of those tall buildings in Bangkok during an earthquake. We swam in the roof top pool of our hotel, so the scenes of the water from rooftop pools splashing over the sides of the buildings really hit home.
I was concerned for the safety of everyone, but especially those that I met along my journey through the country. And the oddest thoughts I had were centered around the Emerald Buddha. I didn’t even know the image existed until I started researching temples, and since then I have almost followed the path (in an indirect and out of order way) that statue moved around the world. I may not be Buddhist, but I am all in when it comes to the safety of the little green guy.
I could not get any reports about the palace, or if the image was damaged, and that frustrated me.
I wondered if they somehow lowered him into a vault at night to protect him from… everything… like they do with the US founding documents. They could certainly conceal an elevator under that shrine he sits upon.
Alas, MJ said they do not move the image at all. They do not think like we do, nor do they have the need or desire to desecrate an image.
Well, thousands of years of history would suggest otherwise, but I will not argue because I have no facts.
As more news comes out about the earthquakes, and we sit in the void between event and resolution where ‘facts’ are speculative at best, I realize once again that I both nourish and die by the beast 24/7 news channels are.
News is so sensational now because we, the consumers need to know right now something that they cannot provide. All they know is there was a serious earthquake. But we sit glued to the feeds watching any content they can find to put on the screen and keep us engaged. Any person on the street they can interview. Any ‘expert’ who has ever been in or even uttered the word ‘earthquake’ is brought in to fill the time and suck us in.
How many books could I have written if I didn’t get sucked in to… nothing.
Dramatic, important events, yes. Need to be reported, absolutely. But until the story has developed, there is no need to fill the void with speculation. Because that is simply gossip, and that is why I no longer watch the news.
Especially when they don’t report on what I want to know.
Yes, I did put the phone down and moved on with my night, and guess what? The information was the same when I woke up the next day. Shocker.