at Cape Borda is only accessible by a dirt road around 35km long, but worth it when we got there. It has been automatic since the 60s, but before that from 1858 it was manned by three families who lived there permanently, and were serviced by boat from Adelaide. A monument to the courage and character of those early lightkeepers, it played a very important role in guiding ships to safety as they arrived in the area.
We were fortunate to have a very knowledgeable guide and we had a long conversation about the old sailing ships, and the early explorers such as Matthew Flinders, who landed here on the island.
Many animals are killed on the roads in this island, the wildlife is so profuse it is difficult when driving at night to avoid them. Roadkill is everywhere, roos,wallabies, Koalas, snakes, goannas, and in particular possums are to be seen every few yards along the main roads, and indeed a couple of times we had to brake sharply even in broad daylight.
From the lighthouse we travelled at the South coast, at Admiral's arch. This is a seal sanctuary, thousands of New Zealand fur seals sun themselves on the rocks or play in the surf. Admirals arch itself is a large hole in the rock through which we can see the surf pounding on the rocks below, with the seals just above the waterline.
Remarkable rocks are just a few miles down the road, but when you've seen Murphy's Haystacks they are not very remarkable! However we did see the lion's head, not noted in the blurbs, and that was the only remarkable thing about them!
We had decided to stay at a better camp site that night, in the centre of the island, this one is noted for it's koalas and indeed we saw our first one almost as soon as we arrived. There were a number of them around the site, easy to see and photograph. There are conflicting views on the island as to whether they should be culled, many of the gum trees that they feed on are dying because of overcropping now that it is illegal to shoot the koalas. In the meantime they are trying to sterilise as many as possible, but they are still increasing.
Many Roos and Wallys roamed the site, and we managed to spot an echidna, a large hedgehog type of mammal that lays eggs. They forage for ants in the undergrowth, and have distinctive blonde spines. We looked out for Bandicoots, but didn't spot any other than one that we saw dead on the road. Again the only snake we saw was dead on the road, I beleive it was a Black Tiger Snake, very venomous, so perhaps it was better we didn't see a live one! Possums of course are nocturnal, we were told that they had a habit of jumping from trees onto tents in the middle of the night, and Anne swears she heard one jump on to ours. I believe her of course.....
at Cape Borda is only accessible by a dirt road around 35km long, but worth it when we got there. It has been automatic since the 60s, but before that from 1858 it was manned by three families who lived there permanently, and were serviced by boat from Adelaide. A monument to the courage and character of those early lightkeepers, it played a very important role in guiding ships to safety as they arrived in the area. 
Many animals are killed on the roads in this island, the wildlife is so profuse it is difficult when driving at night to avoid them. Roadkill is everywhere, roos,wallabies, Koalas, snakes, goannas, and in particular possums are to be seen every few yards along the main roads, and indeed a couple of times we had to brake sharply even in broad daylight. 
From the lighthouse we travelled at the South coast, at Admiral's arch. This is a seal sanctuary, thousands of New Zealand fur seals sun themselves on the rocks or play in the surf. Admirals arch itself is a large hole in the rock through which we can see the surf pounding on the rocks below, with the seals just above the waterline. 
Remarkable rocks are just a few miles down the road, but when you've seen Murphy's Haystacks they are not very remarkable! However we did see the lion's head, not noted in the blurbs, and that was the only remarkable thing about them!
We had decided to stay at a better camp site that night, in the centre of the island, this one is noted for it's koalas and indeed we saw our first one almost as soon as we arrived. There were a number of them around the site, easy to see and photograph. There are conflicting views on the island as to whether they should be culled, many of the gum trees that they feed on are dying because of overcropping now that it is illegal to shoot the koalas. In the meantime they are trying to sterilise as many as possible, but they are still increasing.
Many Roos and Wallys roamed the site, and we managed to spot an echidna, a large hedgehog type of mammal that lays eggs. They forage for ants in the undergrowth, and have distinctive blonde spines. We looked out for Bandicoots, but didn't spot any other than one that we saw dead on the road. Again the only snake we saw was dead on the road, I beleive it was a Black Tiger Snake, very venomous, so perhaps it was better we didn't see a live one! Possums of course are nocturnal, we were told that they had a habit of jumping from trees onto tents in the middle of the night, and Anne swears she heard one jump on to ours. I believe her of course.....
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