There is so much to see on Kangaroo Island,

and we have so little time. Along the South coast we came across the Rustic Blue Gallery and Cafe, where we had a gorgeous vanilla slice with our coffee, in the company of a couple of dozen roos and a couple of very friendly cafe owners.. Vivonine bay is just a little further along the coast and is charming, many better photos exist than this one, but it's the best I have!

Futher along again is seal bay, a misnomer as what are found there are Sea Lions, a different breed entirely. We were lucky to join a local ranger on the beach itself  where up to 1000 animals live and breed. We heard that each bull has up to ten females and will fight to keep the other bulls out, and that the females look after their young for eighteen months, by which time they are ready to give birth again. They live for about 24 years, and can give birth for twenty of those, but they often fall prey to the great white shark, who wait for them in their feeding grounds some 50kms offshore.

Our two pictures show a confrontation between two bulls, and a pup taking milk from an already pregnant mother.

From the Sea Lions to the north coast- the only way back towards the ferry which we must catch at 08-00 in the morning, which means we must spend the night close by. In Kinscote, at one end of Nepean Bay, we found the site of the first settlement in South Australia.
Unfortunately it failed after a few years mainly because of the shortage of water. However a quarry succesfully traded for a few years after that, sending stone to Adelaide for the construction of some of their ealier buildings there.

A visit to the Hope Cottage museum gave us an insight into how the local residents lived in the late 19th century, many artefacts from the past 200 years were on display, along with one of the early lighthouses that had been tranplanted there from Cape Willoughby at the end of it's useful life. We saw agricultural machinery,and a eucalyptus distillery among many other exhibits.


Eventually came the time that we had to leave for Penneshaw to set up our bed for the night, close to the ferry. However the final pleasure we were able to take from Kangaroo Island was a delicious plate of fish and chips from what is reputed to be the best chippie in South Australia. It had to be- the girl who runs it comes from Liverpool!