KANGAROO ISLAND, Australia, Part 1: Penneshaw, American River, Flinders Chase

Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

For many years, people have told us--if you like watching wildlife and spending time outdoors, you should go to Kangaroo Island. So we did. And we were rewarded with plenty of bird and animal sightings plus opportunities to hike and explore the many trails and beaches, taking hundreds of photographs along the way. Located a short distance (a 45 minute ferry ride) off the Australian coast south of Adelaide, Kangaroo Island stretches more than 100 miles from end to end. It is the third largest island in Australia (after Tasmania and Melville Island in the Northern Territory) and more than a third of it is dedicated to parks and wilderness protection areas.

Bottlebrush

We arrived in December at the beginning of the Australian summer, but before the busy holiday season, so at many of the places we visited we saw few other people. We spent five nights on the island, two at the east end, making our base near Penneshaw, and three nights at the west end, staying at the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat, close to the entrance to Flinders Chase National Park.

Galahs, a kind of cockatoo, are common in Australia and often considered to be pests

After getting off at the ferry landing we stopped in Penneshaw at the Kangaroo Island Visitor Information Center, which is packed with brochures, maps, and helpful people at the desk. Our first and last nights were at the Figtree B and B at Baudin Beach a few miles up the road. After dinner that night at the Penneshaw Hotel in town, we came back to find cockatoos roosting on the wire overhead and a kangaroo calmly munching plants right in front of our porch. (Kangaroos are found all over the island, but seen mainly at dusk and dawn.)

Beginning of Beach and Bush trail in American River decorated with feathers found by hikers

On our second day we headed for American River to take a walk through the forest in search of endangered black cockatoos (which we never found) although we did spot a variety of water birds along the beach, including a flock of black swans. When we got back to our car we noticed a koala taking a nap in the eucalyptus tree right over the parking lot. 

Oysters and King George Whiting fish sandwiches for lunch in American River

For lunch we had fish and oysters, farmed locally. Throughout our stay in Kangaroo Island the food was fresh and delicious.

Displays in the Flinders Chase Park Headquarters tell about fossils of prehistoric marsupials found in the park. On the patio outside the visitor center kids can dig for "fossils" in a large sand pit.

After lunch it took most of the rest of the afternoon to drive to the other end of the island, where, after checking into our hotel, the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat,  we went to the Flinders Chase park headquarters to get maps, a parking permit, and advice on hiking and sightseeing in the park.

Numerous burrow entrances can be seen around the edge of the platypus pool--but no platypuses.

The next morning we took the trail from the park headquarters to the platypus pools. It is almost impossible to see platypuses in the wild–they are nocturnal and spend most of their time under water. (The best place to see a platypus is in a zoo, which I have done.)

Rosenberg goanna. It can grow to be a meter long.

But, even though we didn’t see any platypuses, we spotted numerous birds along the trail and had a surprise encounter with a very large lizard (a Rosenberg goanna) hunting for birds and small animals in the underbrush.

Cape de Couedic Lighthouse

In the late afternoon we headed for Cape de Couedic and Remarkable Rocks, arriving as the sun was sending golden beams across the landscape. From the lighthouse at the top of the point we followed a long walkway down the cliff to Admirals Arch, a natural opening in the rocks framing the beach on the other side. Below the path we could see and smell hundreds of fur seals jousting with one another at the edge of the waves.

Fur seals at Cape de Couedic

On our flight to Australia we had watched a film called December Boys, about four orphans from the outback having a summer holiday at the beach. It was filmed mostly on Kangaroo Island and was the perfect preparation for our trip. A key part of the story takes place at Remarkable Rocks.

At Remarkable Rocks at sunset

After visiting Cape de Couedic went back to the turnoff for Remarkable Rocks, drove the short distance to the parking area, and took the path to this amazing natural phenomenon. The giant rocks are  perched on a natural platform above the ocean, as if placed by giant hands. We were buffeted by a warm summer wind, but it was not hard to imagine how harsher winds, rain, and sand had sculpted these fantastic shapes over time. It was the perfect ending to our third day on Kangaroo Island.
Part 2 of our stay on Kangaroo Island to be posted next week.

ANTARCTIC CRUISE, Part 2: Falklands to South Georgia, Guest Post by Owen Floody

King Penguin Colony

In January 2015, our friend Owen Floody went on a cruise to Antarctica, which also included stops at the Falklands and South Georgia Island.  Owen recently retired from a career of teaching and research at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He has always been an avid photographer and in his retirement has taken several trips that allow him to pursue his passion. Here is part 2 of a short reflection on his Antarctic trip and a few of his excellent photographs. 

Wandering Albatross on Nest

After devoting part of our trip's fourth day to a brief tour of Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands, we plunged back into the heavy seas for the long cruise to South Georgia Island.  We arrived there midway through the seventh day and then spent nearly four days enjoying a great number and variety of activities including landings, zodiac cruises and ship cruises.  In part, this wealth of activities reflected the much better weather that marked most of our time at South Georgia.  In addition, it reflected the constant efforts of the expedition crew to compensate for time and activities previously lost to the weather.

Fur Seals: mother and pup

To a large extent, it was my desire to see South Georgia that motivated this trip and I am happy to say that South Georgia did not disappoint.  Among the things that it combines are impressive mountains and glaciers and a special place in the history of Antarctic exploration, revolving around the fact that it was at the Stromness Harbour whaling station that Ernest Shackleton and two of his crew appeared in May, 1916, after sailing a stormy 810 miles from Elephant Island and then hiking for 36 hours over glaciers and 6,000 foot mountains from the other side of South Georgia, all as just a first step in the eventual rescue of the majority of his crew, still marooned on Elephant Island.  

Macaroni penguin

As interesting as were the perspectives it provided on the histories of whaling and Antarctic exploration, it was the wildlife on South Georgia that stole the show, not just here but for the cruise as a whole.  Our initial activities, on and near Prion Island, brought us up-close-and-personal to nesting Wandering albatrosses and sometimes-belligerent mother fur seals. 

Elephant seals

Later landings or zodiac cruises at Gold Harbour and Cooper Bay exposed us to lovely Macaroni penguins  and the spectacle of immature (but still enormous) male elephant seals facing off on the beach.

King penguins

Still, the stars of the show unquestionably were the King penguins that we encountered at Saint Andrews Bay and Gold Harbour.  These were notable for their bright colors and impressive numbers: For example, the colony at Saint Andrews alone is reported to contain more than 300,000 pairs (see very small fraction in the photo above).  But like other penguins, I found the kings most endearing for their sometimes comical patterns of movement and their elegance, perhaps especially when interacting or preening. 

Details: The ship was the m/v Plancius (capacity = 112), which is owned and operated by Oceanwide Expeditions (http://www.oceanwide-expeditions.com/).  This is a Dutch outfit with an office in Houston.  We booked our cabins directly, though it is possible to book through other travel agencies or tour operators, as is standard for such cruises.

We flew on Aerolineas Argentinas between JFK and Ushuaia, with stops of 3 (on the way down) or 1 (return) day(s) in Buenos Aires.

King penguins

Next week, Part 3: South Georgia to the Weddell Sea.