Around Australia on a GSA. Three months, Two People, 26,000 Kilometers.

[obsidian]

Here's another small sequence.  This just didn't fit in with the rest of the episode, a little too long, and not quite our style.  

So here's the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village Out Take.  Pour yourself a glass of warm milk and let this put you to sleep!

[obsidian]

Here's Out Take #4, my diet on the road.  Enjoy!  

[obsidian]

I tossed and turned a bit on my tiny mattress, it seems someone put a bit too much air in it, and it didn't have enough rebound to make it comfortable.  I woke up to hear what sounded like one of the metal panniers being dragged down the road,  I unzipped the tent, but saw nothing.  Arrrrggugg.  Back to sleep.  Finally, when I was more alert, I managed to deflate the mattress a bit and had a good 20 minute power nap, ahh thats all I needed to get me going this morning.  

It was just after dawn and it began to rain, steadily, creating streams and rivers throughout the park.  While Joe got up and had his half hour shower as usual, I hung back and tried my best to organize everything as to not get wet.  Lucky for our rear vestibule, we were able to fit our helmets, gear, boots and bags for that very reason, and this morning it worked well, shielding everything from the heavy droplets.  I managed to get the mats and sleeping bags packed, and organized everything to be transported to the panniers.  

By the time I had got ready, with gear on, the rain finally stopped, allowing us to pack without fear of getting anything wet.  The last was the disassemble of the tent, which was a bit of a mission getting the wet sand out from everything, but after we moved it all to the Ablutions block, flicked off as much water as possible, it didn't take long to pack it all down into the bag.

All ready to go and we said goodbye to our card playing friends who kindly invited us to stay at their home in southern Victoria.  We exchanged details, and we were soon on our way, the rain returning for an encore as we sped down the road.  The ride itself was pretty wrist slitting, long straight roads with maybe a bend over 100 kms just to keep you guessing.



We made it to our gas stop to have a coffee, and then,  took our time getting to Merrin to find some lunch at the ONLY cafe in town.  Not much happening in these towns, all slow going.  All we had left was the last 100kms to Southern Cross where we would meet up with Rob and Kate.



Are we in WA or a communist state?

We pull into the hotel that Kate had booked for the night, which left much to be desired, especially for the price of 95 for the room.  Joe and I unloaded before heading into town to have a nosy around, picking up a few essentials and a snack.



One horse town....

Rob and Kate pulled in sometime around 10 pm, and pulled out the box of wine in true bogan fashion.  As they unpacked and transferred what seemed like a month's worth of luggage, food and bedding into the room, we sat around and talked about our travels south, and the Avon Decent.  After a few hours, we finally made it into bed, ready to get started early in the morning.



This photo doesn't do the town justice....it's much more boring than this...

[obsidian]

6:45 and the alarm chirped.  The light still hadn't made its way into room, the dirty vertical blinds blocking any morning light out.  Joe rolled out of bed to have a shower, and I tried to pretend that it was still nap time.  No rest for the wicked, I got up and started to pack our stuff together, and glanced outside.  Fog, and lots of it seemed to fill the parking lot.  Joe opened the door, to hear the rain gently showering outside.  

It looks like our day of filming would take a back seat to the weather, but we went ahead and got ourselves organized.  Rob and Kate were ready to go, and we headed out along the motorway, the rain only a slight shower, which is sometimes worse as it sticks to your visor.  



About 30 minutes into the drive, Rob pulled off the road looking for a good place to have some breakfast.  We fashioned a makeshift fry-pan, as in their haste, they forgot one, and anything to flip it with, so we had an aluminum pan and a spork to make it work.  While I cooked up some eggs, joe tried to cook some toast, failing miserably, and managed to burn the crap out of it.  We cleaned up our fire, and headed back out onto the road, looking for patches of dry road where we could get some shots.



We took our time getting up to Coolgarie and found some great backroads to play around on, getting lots of video of us both on the bike, something we're never able to do on our own.  It was sometime after one, and we decided it was time for lunch, so again, on the roadside, we cooked up some soup, biscuits and afternoon tea.  



After a well deserved break, we finally made our way to Kalgoorlie, passing through the center of this old gold mining town to head north, and find somewhere to camp for the night.  We make our way along Yarri Road just as the first of the desert racers were coming in from the Australian Safari, the race everyone uses to train for the Dakar.  



We found a side road and went in a few hundred meters to get away from the road noise, and as I took some time to set up camp, Joe, Rob and Kate went back to the road to cheer on some of the racers.



It was getting on to dark, and I chopped up some veggies, garlic and prepared for the fire.  A big glob of butter would guarantee that it wouldn't stick in the pan.  I popped the veggies on and cooked up some rice, and managed to bubble it all over our new stove.  The dinner turned out pretty good, except for the fact the onion was a little undercooked and ended up being really bitter.  But, anyways, who cares when you are camping under the moon and the stars and the only noise is the few stragglers of racers trying to make their way back to town.  We sat for hours, watching the moon rise, casting light so bright over the bush, it was almost like daylight.  



Kate was the first to crash out, around 9 pm, she had worked pretty hard all day, and Rob tucked her in to the back of the ute, as she didn't have a tent.  We stayed up for a bit longer until the fire died down.  We went off to bed, without any noises to be heard, just the silence of the night.

[obsidian]

One main reason for us camping on the side of the road in Kalgoorlie, was in the hopes of catching some of the Australian Safari riders making their way into town.  Which we did, we sat on the side of the road drinking red wine waving away.  It was awesome!




Wave!


I think his screen is dangling a bit?



Another wave


Is this you?




Just a peaceful ride across the desert....


Enduro quads are awesome!


Winner of the wave award of course goes to #69!

[obsidian]

Another out take, has a few strong words so if you're offended very very easily maybe don't click play

[obsidian]

The truth was I was sick and tired of being tired, and Joe suggested that we spend a few days for me to try to recover from my flu, and to try to put it behind me.  I was feeling really worn down from it, and being sick for onwards of six weeks was really taking it's toll on me.  We checked into a cabin, and I tried to spend the next day relaxing, doing as little as possible, and Joe found some great new games for his iphone.  

I think the time was well spent, as I do feel a bit better today, and not nearly as worn down.  So, morning came, and we took our time getting ready, no point in rushing out the door, we had plenty of time to get to where we were going.  











No trip to Kaloorlie is complete without a trip to the SUPERPIT



Breakfast at a cafe, one of the tour riders took our photo, thank you!



Salt pans



Strait, wide roads

It was a very short run today, only about a hundred kms past Norseman, the last stop before the Nullarbour.  We take the back way from Kalgoorlie, following the wide roads out of town to the southeast, large enough to turn the camel trains around back in the day when they use to carry water out this way.  

Our first leg was going well until we happened upon the extra wide load just north of Kambalda, only some 50kms outside Kalgoorlie.  This mining truck was being shipped somewhere, not sure, but was taking up almost two lanes on the road, causing traffic in the opposite direction to come skidding to the side of the road to watch the massive wheels roar by.  We toddled along at 80kms/hour behind them, unable to pass for quite sometime, until finally a passing lane opened up, and us and about 30 other vehicles passed it by.  



Back up to speed, we ride just above the level of Lake Lefroy, a large salt lake that had puddles of water remaining in its dusty bottom.  This is our final run south, for now, until we cross the Nullarbour.  It is barley after 11 when we pull into Norseman, what we think might be a possible place for some lunch.  We take a quick drive through town to reveal that there isn't much at all, a few cafes but nothing much.  



We pass by a few corrugated iron camels in the middle of town, and head back towards the roadhouse on the corner of the highway.  

We pull in for gas at the BP at Norseman, and hope to find something decent for lunch.  What looks like a reasonable size on the outside, turns out to be not more than a greasy spoon on the inside.  Joe orders a (guess what!) and I try to find something not covered in hydrogenated oil.  The only thing left is a muffin from inside the glass case, and the gas station attendant makes up a half decent hot chocolate.  

We sit and contemplate how far we are going today, and still can't make up our mind.  We don't want to rush across, and try a few options out on each other.  Still undecided, we head out on the Eyre Highway, only to be stuck behind the same mining truck from earlier!  Luckily, this road is a bit straighter, and we manage to pass without issue.

We start to see the signs for the Fraser Range Station, and almost at the last second, we decide this is where we will stay  for the night.  It is still early afternoon, and we set up camp, collect our thoughts, and organize getting a few supplies for dinner: an onion to go with our “mac'n'cheese” and a few chocolate bars (naughty naughty!).  



But, made up for all the bad food by going for a lovely walk up the ranges to check out the area.  



Now, almost 4pm, we are almost all settled for the night, ready for a nice quite sleep in the outback.



flowers of the ranges





Sun setting over our camp





the Awesome night sky!

As we tried to drift off to sleep, a late arrival picked the spot right next to us to set up.  After locking and unlocking their car about 40 times (I'm not exaggerating) they finally got their shit together and knocked off.  Joe and I however, had another idea, the plan of not trying to fall asleep as we both lay awake in the dark as we threatened the blackness with our wills.  Finally, in the wee hours, sleep took us until Joe was like a badger in a bag, thrashing about trying to get his jacket and jeans off as he was suffocating in his sleeping bag.  

A generator also kicked on at about 3 am, the rattly diesel engine thundering through the silence of the camp.  After that, the wind picked up and rattled the branches above our tent, making it difficult to return to our slumber.  Ah, the thrills of camping!

[obsidian]

The sun crept over the hills and the colour of the tent make an orange glow inside, like waking up inside a pumpkin.  I could hear our noisy neighbors up already, making no attempt to silence their coughing, packing, slamming and car locking excessively.  As they passed by our tent, not even 7:30 they made sure they gave us a nice toot from the car.  Thanks assholes, you had to pick the spot right beside us, when the rest of the park remained empty.  Joe I could see that he was struggling to get up, and I didn't dare wake him, as he had the lesser of the air mattresses now, seeing as it didn't help my back.  He finally woke, and went off to have a shower.  

I began the process of packing, and had most of it finished up inside the tent by the time he returned.  I had a quick shower, popping the coins into the prepay shower stall, and hurried back to finish off the remainder of the packing.  With the bike ready to go, we took a few shots on the way out, and headed due east towards Belladonna.

The morning was much warmer than the previous day, the Nullarbour seemed warmer by about 10 degrees than its west and east ends, making it a pleasant 25 degrees midday.  As we sped down the motorway, it was about 18, and warm enough not to have to wear a fleece under my jacket.  The landscape was playing with us, and still, we saw trees, the “null” was still somewhat of a mystery.  By the time we reached Belladonia, it was time for some breakfast.  Joe filled up while I went inside to pay, and order.  As I was paying for the food, I could see that Joe got bailed up by someone.

“Which way are you headed?” he enquired.
“Across the Nullabour to Ceduna, I'm not looking forward to the longest straight,” Joe replied
A smile came across his face, “Oh, it gets interesting after a while, after you go fucking crazy” he says with a grin.
Joe starts to laugh, and manages to escape before it was too late.  He had come from Melbourne the previous day, and was going to make Perth by nightfall.  

His two monster trucks with their yellow and black checkered paint jobs looked like a taxicab on steroids.  He wondered back to his truck to make his start, and the rig pulled out of the roadhouse.  Joe came in for his breakfast, and then wondered through the “Skylab” museum.  

After a pleasant breakfast, of which the hot chocolate and coffee were exceptional, oh and the fresh muffin I had was so fresh it was still warm!  We settled into the road, making a stop at the “longest straight road” sign of 146.5 kms or 90 miles.  



Soon after we were both overcome with boredom.  Though this leg was only 600 kms or so, it seemed to take forever.  We passed most of the roadhouses, Cockalbiddy, Madura, and Mundabila, with a brief stop at the ridge at Madura to overlook the flat land that fell out to sea.  





It was impressive, but really we wanted to get this leg done so we could move on to the east coast, its not a multi-day extravaganza.  Finally, we counted down the kms on the gps, and Eucula was within site on the ridge.  We could now see the cliffs where we would view the whales tomorrow.  A trickle of excitement entered my mind.  I really want to see the Albino whale that Matt and Joe saw, and a large number swimming together, it would be fascinating.  



I think the weather feels colder than last night, a slight ocean breeze has washed over the camp, and again I can hear a generator, yay, maybe we should have camped on the side of the road, at least we could have some peace and quite.  



It is a shame they have to build these camps so close to the main road, you can hear the traffic like its only 10 feet away, trucks, cars and caravans as they obliviously thunder through the night.  Oh well, enough bitching, where are my earplugs!

[obsidian]

Arrrgg, ear plugs fell out in the middle of the night, and I kept having nightmares that I had lost them even though in the morning I rolled around in my sleeping bag and found them easy as.  Most of the grey nomads were pulling out as we rolled up the tent, so they had a head start on us, but it wouldn't take long for us to do the overtake maneuver and speed past.  






The Head of Bight was still a bit of a hike, and as it turned out the oatmeal we ate for breakfast seemed to go straight through, and our stomachs were empty again.  After a refuel stop at the Nullarbor motel, we could truly appreciate the “null” as the window sill sat higher than most of the shrubs along route.  Joe stuffed himself with a burger, and I tried to find the least fried thing on the menu, a veggie burger, and we filled our tummies before going to check out the whales.  



Feeling a bit like whales ourselves, we only had 25 kms to the kiosk where we coughed up another 12 dollars each to walk down the platform overlooking the cliffs.



We walked down to witness one of the worlds biggest nurseries.  The southern wright whales mothering their young, some we're told are only weeks old.  



Some were learning how to swim, some feeding, others surfacing and diving, and spouting out water from their blowholes.  



In the distance we see a whale breaching, 7 times in a row, like a kid in a playground.  



The albino, makes its entrance, its white features standing out from the deep blue water.  The area is stunning, the limestone cliffs falling off into indigo blue waters with the whales backs exposed, and bodies just below the surface.  We counted 30 or so whales in the bay, each with a baby by its side.  



It was truly an amazing event, we just stood quietly and watched as the wales preformed for us.  



We could have easily spent a day there, but wanted to make Ceduna before nightfall.  We were loosing time, and were now 1-1/2 hours behind from yesterday.  Finally, we dragged ourselves out, and went in search of water.  While we tried to rehydrate, the bus driver from the tourbus in the parking lot offered us tea and lunch, how thoughtful, however we had just eaten our massive lunch and had to decline.  While we suited up, a Ulysses member chatted us up about riding, bikes and travel.  As we left, we had a whole audience of olds checking out the bike.



As we left the Head of Bight, we could have closed our eyes and wished we were in Ceduna.  The landscape began to change, from no trees, to trees, and rolling hills alongside the ocean.



Then, we glimpse at farmhouses, sparely dotting along the road and finally, green fields, power lines and civilization.  We grinned at the attendant at the quarantine booth when he asked if we had any fruit or veggies.  “No” we exclaimed!  
“what have you been eating, won't you have scurvy?” he responded
“roadhouse food” we both reply.
The gate lifted, and we headed into Ceduna for the night, looking for a cabin to rest our weary heads.  At the south end of the main street was a caravan park, we rocked up and managed to get the last room, a sad reality for the two guys behind us in line, who would have to try the next hotel.  We were just happy not to have walk 3 blocks just to use the toilet.  Even though we were ahead in time, we were both starving and not even 6pm we were gorging down on chicken stiry fry and thai beef salad at the bar next door.  Ahh to be in civilization again, we were pleased.

[obsidian]

Our hour and a half time forward was getting the better of us this morning, but Joe had the alarm set for 7:15 and we tried hard to get ourselves out of bed for that time.  Things don't always go as planned, but it was probably 7:30 when we got ourselves out of bed and into the shower.  I hadn't found the time to get the laundry done, so it was recycle time.  Once we were packed and ready to go, it was fill up time just outside of town, where we got a whiff of cattle from one of the stock trucks, along with a reminder of dust.  

We head out of town southeast along the coast, catching glimpses of Streaky Bay occasionally.  A small coastal town with a main street about two blocks long, but I had found a great little restaurant/cafe that opened at 10am.  We pull in, park and make our way there only to find they are closed until september.  Rats!  The bakery across the street looked inviting, but not a selection of healthy foods.  We went with a danish and pizza roll and chased it down with coffee and hot chocolate.  The town seemed pretty busy for a friday, not many people working, but the clientele were either carrying babies or over the age of 85.  

We left the sleepy little town and kept a look out for the famous “Murphy's Haystacks” which were on route.  While Joe was watching out for the signs 38 kms from town, I could see them to the right on top a hill.  A quick drive up 2kms of the main road and we witnessed the world's largest marshmallow rocks!  



They were quite amazing to look at, much like wave rock, granite carved by time, sandblasted to round forms creating overhangs and blobs.  







One blob hill



Getting between the gums



Reach for the sky!



Eagle head?

The top of the hill was also an amazing lookout to the entire area.  We managed to be there between mobs, and were happy to check out the “molar teeth” looking rocks further along.  



Following the coast down until we could cut overland at Elliston on the B91.  This road showcased the unique area, old stone homes, now not much more than rubble, rocky ground: only good for raising sheep, and of course, the lizards.  



Now these tail-less lizards would try to make their way across the road, or were just sunning themselves on the warm surface, regardless of their crossing purpose, some of them would make it, and some unfortunately wouldn't.  There would be dead carcasses littered all over the road, and the live ones would make it difficult to drive around due to the fact you didn't know which way was the head.  They really looked like a giant turd with legs.  We narrowly missed one, and I jumped off the bike to have a closer look.  Joe turned the bike around and the thing got up on its forearms and let out a giant hiss exposing its pink mouth and black tongue.  I tried to get a few photos of it, but didn't want to get too close incase it tried to bite me.  (I have been known to stick my fingers into cages)

After our visit with the lizard, we passed the inland towns of Lock and Cleve where the fields of Canola were in bloom, such a bright yellow it was almost fluorescent.  The smell was something fowl though, it smelled like diarrhea.  After Cleve, it was up a bit of a hill before descending down into Cowell, an unusually flat looking coastline presented its self.  The Yorke Peninsula was just on the horizon as we descended to find the turn off for the ferry.  



I purchased our $95 ticket and we took the first spot in line as we waited for the ferry to arrive at 4pm.  A quick unhealthy snack at the shop followed by a bottle of gatorade, and it was almost time to board the quick cat to the Yorke Peninsula.  



It was a nice change watching the ocean pass us by, the water was calm and the sunset was pretty spectacular.  It was a bit longer than two hours by the time we made it to Wallaroo, but a caravan park of mediocre standards was available on the other side at a cheep rate, and we were all over that.  A quick walk along the water and we managed to find the most mornay covered meals in South Australia.  We will keep this in mind next order, sauce on the side!

[obsidian]

Australia Inside Out is now available for purchase.

Here's the first episode to see if it's something you're interested in.  This is courtesay of Curbsyde, OneWheelDrive.Net, and OpenFilm.com.

The series can be purchased at here at the OWD E-Store.



I'd like to personally thank Neil Johnston at OneWheelDrive.Net, Dmitry Kozko at OpenFilm.com, and everyone that has supported us through this thread.  

Thanks for watching all,

Cheers
Joe

[obsidian]

The morning was cool and windy and we made the small treck to Adelaide.  The charity rally were heading north to race their cars

as we passed over the top of the peninsula we descended into the the flatness north of Adelaide

tried to stop for lunch in the northern suburb and a bogan came screaming around the corner of the parking lot and screamed “whoooha” as he almost careened into the side of the bike.

we passed through Adelaide, a few of the done out rally cars were heading north to do their charity run.

We took a couple days in town, getting the bike serviced, and enjoying the town.



The new and the old



Great old buildings



A number of old churches, well preserved and amazing craftsmanship.



Curious black swans



More city shots



paddle boats

[obsidian]

Packed up, had our free breakfast and headed out into the city

Road south was a highway for a bit, then, turned twisty as it wound around hills and gorges.  We passed over a few bridges where there where windsocks, would hate to be around when that thing was flying straight out.  As it was, we were a little concerned about the weather forecast:  rain, wind and there had been gail force winds only yesterday.  It seemed pretty subdued today, but once we reached the ferry terminal, it was apparent that this was all a false truth.  The wind was blowing whitecaps out in the water as the ferry came in an ported



Through sweeps and turns, we end towering over little towns nestled into the crevices in the windswept landscape.  Tiny smudges of grey dotted the hills, four-legged lawnmowers worked hard to trim the grass. We can really feel the wind now, bursting over the hills as we descended above Jervis.

Kangaroo Island not what I expected, it was quite large, an a couple hours to get across made it a reasonable ride.  We had a quick stopped at the Penneshaw I-site and the woman freaked us out about nothing being open, so weird.



Wanting a bit of lunch, we road into Kingscote, had some delicious pizza, we both feel fat and we contemplated what we were going to do, finally, the decision was made to stay in the southwest corner for two nights, and then to head to American river or Pennshaw for the last night, before returning to the mainland.  



The ride was pretty subdued, the wind was picking up, only catching a gust every so often as we crested a ridge, other than that, a few dead kangaroos were a good indication that we would see wildlife, as long as they still had their heads.  



As the sun crawled across the tips of the trees, we pull into Rocky River at the KI wilderness retreat.  After dumping our stuff in the room, we had a quick wonder around, and found our way back to the courtyard where a few wallabies were waiting for their evening feeding.  The first one seemed to have a deformity, it was missing half it's mouth, exposing its yellow marsupial teeth.  



I felt sorry for it, poor thing.  A few others joined, and I noticed quite a few with some kind of eye disorder, leaving the eye completely white.  Poor things were too blind to see the food in front of them.  A few more came, and one with a joey, who had to growl at the others to get food.

[obsidian]

I would like to think we got up early this morning, but that wasn't the case, after pulling a late night of watching movies on the laptop, we failed to rise when the alarm went off.  Even though we've been in South Australia for 4 days we still hadn't adjusted completely to the time zone.  Our day yesterday wasn't too long, but still we didn't seem to have the steam in us today to make it count.  By the time we were showered, fed and out the door, it was already 9am and we rushed off to the tourist info center to pay our park fees and head out to the Remarkables.  



The day was clear when we  woke up, but by the time we had reached the narrow ribbon of road towards the south west coast of  Kangaroo Island, it had drastically changed.  



15-20 knots of wind gusted through the black twisted scrub that inhabited this part of the island.  

The clouds, quickly building under pressure to release the winter rain.  As the road becomes narrow, it turns towards the rugged cliffs along the coast, igneous jagged rocks falling off into the ocean.  We ungulate over the cliffs and see off in the distance the Remarkables:  like some one had crushed easter eggs atop of a upside down bowl, the yoke spilling out the sides, orange and gooey running down the cracks towards the ocean.  



The orange was in fact a lichen, acting as a soil in the rocky ground, and the rocks, similar to what we had seen at Murphy's Haystacks in size, but more hollowed out, jagged and teetering on top of a rounded dome.  



looks like a dog's head?



eagle beak hook



Inside the remarkables



Happy face pacman



Orange coloured rocks



Showers in the distance



We could catch a gimps of the lighthouse on the other side of the point, and ventured off into that area.  

We pulled into the parking lot, a massive boardwalk meandered down towards the edge of the cliff, we wern't sure what we were in for.  







Assuming the “Admiral's Arch” lay in front of us, we were happy to snap off a few photos.  Seeing a few people emerge from a stairwell to the east, we to decided that we would venture down.  





We were rewarded with brown writhing sausages, NZ fur seals lounging on the rocks below, their stench we could smell from the viewing platform many meters above.  



They lay motionless among the rocks, sunning themselves as the waves crashed along the rocks.  A few restless pups played in shallow pools of water caught between rocks but the bulls and cows saw no need to supervise.  



Joe:  The remarkables were, well remarkable really.  They reminded me of Murphy's haystacks, yet even more stunning due to the coastline lying below them.  We did our usual wander and photo shoot and then started the walk back to the bike.  



Joe squishes the remarkables

By this time, the grey showers started to pull in.  The wind had definitely started to gust by this point, making the very short trip to Admiral's arch and the lighthouse a bit more interesting than it would have been on your typical perfect day.

We followed the boardwalk around, and found the arch.  We had actually walked over it without knowing, and as we descended into its shadow we were overcome with the stench of the seals, hundreds of them lounging in the cavern with tentacles of lava rock, stained black from moisture hung above like a lace umbrella.

Joe:  Wow the seals stunk.  Very cool to see, and I don't think the smell will leave my nostrils anytime soon.  After viewing the brown sausages with flippers we went to check out the lighthouse at Cape Du Coueric.  I read a quick blurb that the lighthouse construction began in 1907 and was first lit in 1909.  So I thought it was pretty cool we came to the lighthouse on its 100 year anniversary.

Joe:  More showers, as we wind our way back to the Visitor centre and its cafe “Chases”.  There was a pretty decent line at Chases, due to being the only thing around.  Flora ordered a chicken salad, while I had the Lamb wrap.  Both were pretty good, although a part of me really wished I had the burger.

After lunch we made our way down the dirt road towards Snake Pool.  Yet some major showers made us realize we really didn't feel like doing a two hour hike in the rain.  We turned around and made our way back on the muddy track.  We spied some Geese and geese babies.



Joe:  We road down the South Coast HWY, spotted a few kangaroos roaming next to the highway, and then turned in to the Hanson Bay koala walk.  After paying our $2.50 each we wander under the trees for a glimpse of the lazy tree bears.  We did eventually see a couple doing nothing, and to be honest they didn't do too much for me.  I like the kangaroos a lot better, more fun to interact with.



After the koala walk we decided to check out Hanson Bay.



A small dirt track of 5km with a few muddy sections to get around and we were there.  



Staring at the sand dunes, and a very spectacular cliff-lined coast.  



Mind the Holes!



KI Beach Panorama

The same couple that had been at all of the same attractions as us were wandering around.  We waited for them to depart, as I figured they would just tail gate us on the muddy road anyways.  

Joe:  Got back to the KI wilderness retreat just in time to spy a loan female kangaroo wandering the parking area.  I went to the reception got a bag of Kangaroo chow and we fed her the entire bag, little oinker.  











Then back to capturing video, and Flora finishing watching “I love you man”  while I laid in bed drinking a beer counting down the minutes to our 6:45 feeding time.

[obsidian]

Another beautiful morning in Kangaroo island that soon clouded over with threatening clouds.  We checked out of our room and departed along the main road before cutting across the island on a dirt track.  Still muddy from yesterday's rain, we took our time getting through before making it to the animal park on the other side by Parndana.  



A small private animal park boasted a huge number of birds, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, eagles,



echidnas and even a small freshie crock.  



We spent hours wondering around, feeding the kangaroos, talking to the parrots and my favorite a black and white bird who rolled over and allowed her handler to pat her belly.  I stuck my finger in the cage, as I do, and she only nibbled lightly at my fingers, no pain!





My what a big beak you have!  all the more to peck you with my dear!

We spent a bit of time in the outside pens watching the large red and grey kangaroos.



When we were done, we then went off to forge for some lunch, it was on to American River, which we found a place to stay and walked down to the local store to find something for lunch.  There wasn't much luck, just some cheese and crackers, but we made do and took a few things back to the room.  With a few ideas of things to do in the afternoon, they were soon thwarted as a heavy fog began to roll in off the coast.

[obsidian]

We were up before the alarm.  I checked outside to see what the weather was doing, as was pleasantly surprised to see some pelicans sitting on the beach in front of the hotel.  I scrambled to find the camera and tiptoed down the gravelly slope to where the pelicans sat among the seaweed.  I got as close as I could before they started edging into the water.  



They were hunkered down with the weather at their backs, a few coming in for their morning preening.  I snapped off a few photos before they decided they had enough.  



We took our time getting to the ferry, and were greeted with hundreds of kids finishing their week stay, their teachers and other adults looking wrecked from the week of their shenanigans.  When it was time to finally board, I had to walk on, while Joe took the bike on by himself.  

I find him up on the top deck once he was loaded.  He looked flustered, and had a hell of a time on the ferry, idiot tried to “push” the back wheel into place on the deck while Joe was still on the bike.  Some ferry crew can be great, while others simply have no clue how a motorcycle works.  



We finally made it back to the main land, and got off ferry and headed towards our lunch spot.  Bridgewater Mill, which I researched and found it would be a good pick.  



It turned out to be the best food we have had all trip.  Absolutely Amazing.



Joe promptly dropped the sound recorder, and this time it was completely shot.  This would mean we would have to stop back in Adelaide, and pick up a new sound recorder, really not an expense we wanted, but our on board sound from the camera really wasn’t up to any kind of standard.



We ended up on Greenhill Road, which is an amazing road winding through the hills above Adelaide.  As we came over the ridge, the city was shimmering just after the rain fell.

We got into town, just in time to pick up the sound recorder, and fluffy.  When that was all done, it was too late to carry on, so we found a decent place in town, and managed to find some of the best sushi either of us had ever had.  It was just a day of good food all around.