Planes, ferries and automobiles. Kangaroo Island in these unprecedented times

[bPeteb]

Kingscote is a bustling town and I suppose if you lived on KI being near it might be preferable to being 45 minutes away if you need a packet of screws or a drill bit. Then again, it's just another town as soon as you don't have a view of the water...

Delicious scone! Soft like a sponge. I was kind and even though he said he didn't want any, bigal literally vacuumed down what was offered



If we'd stayed in Kingscote this would definitely had been a goer and I wouldn't have had to be the designated driver...



We were a bit ahead of time for Bay of Shoals so we went down to the end of the road and said hello to some pelicans





We had a lovely time at Bay of Shoals Bay of Shoals – Kangaroo Island Wines. Very nice wine, a lovely convivial hostess and a great view out to the water.

I love my rose but despite Mr Halliday rating it very highly, neither of us was a huge fan. A bit sweet to be honest. Nevertheless we managed to order another dozen of this and that and with the KI card saved 15% off our purchase and that translated to a $50+ discount.

Check out that solar array. Amazing!!



Remember that odd tent back at Penneshaw. Here it is getting out up at Bay of Shoals Bay of Shoals Winery | WanderingSoulsAUS Hamptons tent, $190 per night for two people. I'm guessing there are some facilities in that building. Ok, hoping.



The vineyard





as we were driving our bigal (amazingly) spotted a group of black coughatoos under a tree by the road. They weren't the elusive glossy blacks but they were just beautiful

 

[bPeteb]

We'd spent a bit longer at Bay of Shoals than planned so it was either Kangaroo Island Spirits or Clifford's Honey Farm. We'd already tried all of the beers from KI Brewery so we didn't need to go there. Gin won

King Island Spirits Kangaroo Island Spirits - Shop online or visit our cellar door. 10% with kic card, another $18. If we'd had the free glass of wine at Dudley the previous afternoon that car would have been free







We stopped at Pennington Bay on the way back and went down onto the beach. Beautiful

 

[DC3]

Well, the scenery looks way better than when I visited. Amazing what a bit of rain does to the landscape. Best to avoid Jan/Feb (in fact probably any month outside of winter/spring) unless you don’t mind the parched land due lack of rain and the 40 degree heat.

 

[bPeteb]

A couple more from Pennington Bay







When we got to the top of the steps from the beach a group of six young people passed us, two men and four women. We both clearly remembered how many people there were. There in the carpark was a Mini Countryman. We looked at each other and said what the hell. I wouldn't want to squeeze in five. Six is both illegal and stupid. Why are young people so dumb? Did they come over in two cars? Surely they did.

We stopped at Baudin Beach, just a few minutes drive out of Penneshaw. Baudin was a French explorer who met Matthew Flinders while they were both doing their respective explorer thing.

 

[VPS]

Flinders and Baudin met in Backstairs Passage (not sure what possessed Flinders to call it that)

8 April 1802 Flinders and Baudin at Encounter Bay (Celebrating South Australia)

Did you try the Old Tom gin - a friend is raving about it but I haven't tried it yet

 

[VPS]

Kingscote is a bustling town and I suppose if you lived on KI being near it might be preferable to being 45 minutes away if you need a packet of screws or a drill bit. Then again, it's just another town as soon as you don't have a view of the water...

Delicious scone! Soft like a sponge. I was kind and even though he said he didn't want any, bigal literally vacuumed down what was offered

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If we'd stayed in Kingscote this would definitely had been a goer and I wouldn't have had to be the designated driver...

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We were a bit ahead of time for Bay of Shoals so we went down to the end of the road and said hello to some pelicans

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We had a lovely time at Bay of Shoals Bay of Shoals – Kangaroo Island Wines. Very nice wine, a lovely convivial hostess and a great view out to the water.

I love my rose but despite Mr Halliday rating it very highly, neither of us was a huge fan. A bit sweet to be honest. Nevertheless we managed to order another dozen of this and that and with the KI card saved 15% off our purchase and that translated to a $50+ discount.

Check out that solar array. Amazing!!

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Remember that odd tent back at Penneshaw. Here it is getting out up at Bay of Shoals Bay of Shoals Winery | WanderingSoulsAUS Hamptons tent, $190 per night for two people. I'm guessing there are some facilities in that building. Ok, hoping.

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The vineyard

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as we were driving our bigal (amazingly) spotted a group of black coughatoos under a tree by the road. They weren't the elusive glossy blacks but they were just beautiful

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Where did you have the scone - I found food in Kingscote pretty average

 

[bPeteb]

Fuel is bloody expensive on KI and with need to drive fairly long distances and with an open road 110 speed limit you use a lot of fuel. Something to consider when visiting.

One of the many beautiful stone cottages we saw on the island. This one in Penneshaw and sadly unoccupied and seemingly unloved



we returned the ASX, went back across the road to the Yaris that we'd left in the eco tent carpark and with that it was time to line up to return to Cape Jervis



The KI Connect fast cat



I think that there were only half a dozen 'normal' vehicles on our ferry. Replacing homebound holidaymakers were a number of VERY large trucks - this one



plus an empty tanker, a large truck full of gas cylinders and this one, seen from the corner the Yaris had been squeezed into, full of well fed KI beef cattle



we drove back to Adelaide along the coast where we could. SA has some nice architecture, old and new, but gee does it have some butt ugly places on those roads along the coast/beach.

Beers in a bar at Glenelg



before dropping the car off and checking in to the Atura at the airport Hotel Rooms & Accommodations | Atura Adelaide Airport

I booked the basic twin without a runway view. Atura contacted me over the weekend offering a number of upgrades but with so few planes flying we weren't bothered. A very funky hotel room and we could see the end of the runway if we sat right against the window

 

[bPeteb]

Where did you have the scone - I found food in Kingscote pretty average

It was the only place we visited - Chocol' Art and Coffee. Two coffees, a scone and a couple of cookies

 

[bPeteb]

Dinner and beers at the Hanger down in the lobby. Actually pretty nice











Very industrial



Flight was at 6:30am. From the room to the gate in about 20 minutes. We went into the lounge for about 10 minutes. Priority boarding was well observed. A Singapore A350 at ADL



I started this trip report with the picture of breakfast. It was actually quite ok.



We were both very tempted by the offer of bubbles but both if us had to start work as soon as we got home

Some nice cloud formations as we came in to Brisbane



Flashed our border pass and drivers licenses and that was it for checking. We were in a taxi five minutes after we walked off the plane.

Canberra next for a couple of nights in four weeks.

 

[bPeteb]

Flinders and Baudin met in Backstairs Passage (not sure what possessed Flinders to call it that)

8 April 1802 Flinders and Baudin at Encounter Bay (Celebrating South Australia)

Did you try the Old Tom gin - a friend is raving about it but I haven't tried it yet

Hahahaha. I read Backdoor Passage first

We did give Old Tom a taste. It was very nice, but not enough to justify the additional $45 per bottle over the two we bought!

 

[VPS]

Thanks for the TR and interesting that you are talking about going back. I've been going to KI for nearly 50 years and spent a lot of time there on work trips in the late 70s. In those days you just wandered around Seal Bay on your own (there weren't any board walks or rangers and it was all free)

The scenery is just magnificent and there are some great spots on the Northern and Far western ends. KI boasts green and natural food and they do supply some great food but they are certainly not great and preparing it (and before anyone comments there are exceptions). I stayed in Vivonne Bay a couple of years ago and the local store was like something from the 70s - any fresh food they had was very unappealing.

Much of the customer service is substandard (and again there are exceptions) but they do struggle to get staff. It will be interesting to see if KI is able to have a longer tourist season.

 

[VPS]

Well, the scenery looks way better than when I visited. Amazing what a bit of rain does to the landscape. Best to avoid Jan/Feb (in fact probably any month outside of winter/spring) unless you don’t mind the parched land due lack of rain and the 40 degree heat.

It's not common to get 40 degree days on KI - generally several degrees cooler than Adelaide

 

[bPeteb]

Our wine has arrived

 

[John in Melbourne]

I missed the turn for the Playford Highway so we ended up doing the reverse trip. Seal Bay was the first stop. Seal Bay Conservation Park - Seal Bay - Department for Environment and Water

You can pay extra for a guided tour Seal Bay guided tour - Seal Bay - Department for Environment and Water that takes you much closer to the seals but it was pouring rain and the wind was howling so we chose to race down the boardwalk on the diy Boardwalk self-guided tour - Seal Bay - Department for Environment and Water

Miraculously both of our cameras, and our mobiles, stayed dry enough to to get some ok shots of both Seal Bay and the seals.

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It wasn't very far from Seal Bay to Vivonne Bay and VB was not what I was expecting. SA tourism Vivonne Bay General Store Bottleshop From this I pictured a little village on a photogenic bay with the store selling the famous whiting burgers looking out across it. Nope. We actually drove straight past the store, it was not anywhere near the water. It was only 11, the burgers were $19, so it was an easy decision not to purchase. We bought a couple of coffees and continued on our way west.

Oops, how did this happen? I just wanted to say "Fantastic photos" but these ones came with my reply and I can't get rid of them. Sorry!!

 

[TheRealTMA]

Our wine has arrived

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LOL. You can “pig out” now.