Committed Travellers

Yesterday I drove to Fraser Chase National Parkwith a couple of Roadie mates. It is a 90 minute trip to get to the western end of the island. We dove through areas affected by the bushfire, but saw a lot more fire ravaged area in the park. At the makeshift gate we had to show our entry pass and registration number previously purchased online. All visitors are checked out as well to make sure no-one stays in the park overnight. From the checkpoint it was still a 19km drive at 60kph down to Cape du Couedic lighthouse and Admirals Arch where we saw dozens of fur seals. There is an impressive boardwalk and several sets of steps leading down to Admirals Arch. The timber is disintegrating where it is constantly subjected to wind and waves. I wouldn't want to go down too far during a storm.  Near the top a defibrillator is available should your heart stop beating due to the stress of climbing back up those steps. Of course you would need to be accompanied by someone who first tries to rev...

After another lovely breakfast we headed for the lavender farm for cake and coffee. We had Hugo, Blue and Tilly on board as it was a cool cloudy day and she could be left in the car, rather than be left at home alone all day. This cut down hoist at the farm is quirky.  Next stop was the Island Beehive company for some Ligurian bee honey. This strain of bees was imported to KI from the Ligurian Alps in Italy in the 1800s and is the last remaining genetically pure colony of bees in the world. We drove to Shoal Bay where Tilly had a walk but only a short one as she was cold. Our whole group went to the KI Brewery to sample the beers and have pizzas for lunch. It is a good venue but I can't vouch for the beers as I didn't taste any. There was a large grassed area so we let Blue have a run off his lead. Back at our campground the theme for tonight's concert was drinking songs, and there must be hundreds of them. Libby sang a couple of lovely jazz numbers, and there was a collect...

I drove to Emu Bay with a couple of friends, their dog Hugo and our Bluey. It was cold and windy but we took the dogs for a walk. I let Blue off his lead but he is too bolshy for mild mannered Hugo. There is an accumulation of seagrass on the beach near the jetty, but the Bay is attractive. On the way back to camp we explored Kingscote and bought a few essentials. Hugo became very focussed when left alone with me while his owners were buying seafood. Most of the roads on the island are unsealed, including roads in Kingscote which is the main commercial town. All four of our entertainers put on a concert tonight. They played some old favourites and put on another fun night. This is Beccy playing with Jake Nicolai.

After a night of 50+kph winds we knew the crossing across to Kangaroo Island would be rough. We were on the 9am ferry so were lined up before 8.30. After guiding the cars on board, the crew then had caravans and motor homes reverse onto the ferry. Anita had Blue with her and we left Tilly in the car. There were two other Roadie dogs with us. We had been taking drugs for a few days to reduce the risk of sea sickness and we were both OK, so was Blue. The motor home was parked very close to our Toyota so it was good both had good brakes to stop them moving on the voyage. At the end of the trip drivers were told to return to their cars. As we were the second vehicle to drive off there was no time to pick up Anita and Blue. The first place I could stop was about half a kilometre from the ferry. Blue didn't want to leave the boat as he thought I was still on it. Other Roadies were on later ferries. We let them know they should all go to their vehicles when drivers were called to return t...

We were late getting going this morning and didn't leave the caravan park until after 10am. Google maps estimated the drive time to Cape Jervis as 1 hour 4 minutes, but it took us a lot longer. The roads were winding with many slow bends. We had a couple of stops to stretch our legs. Our caravan brakes performed well and we grateful they had been repaired coming down some of the hills. The Cape Jervis caravan park is nothing special even though it is a Big 4 park. The toilets and showers are below the standard we would expect at a Big 4. They have some old buildings upgraded as B&B accommodation, and that would be the profitable side of the business.  We are parked with the other Roadies catching the ferry to Kangaroo Island tomorrow. We can see the island but only just through the haze. It was great to catch up with other friends, but we abandoned sundowners because it was too cold in the wind and occasional shower.  I rode my scooter the 3.5kms down to the ferry terminal...

This morning we spent time signing up online for the Winton Way Out West Fest in April 2021 - of course Beccy is performing. We drove to Mclaren Vale to walk along the main street and have coffee. Lunch was at the Vasarelli Italian restaurant - crab pasta and pear, rocket and walnut salad. I spotted this sign but can't see Blue liking this style - imagine keeping him clean. This large cat wanders around the caravan park. His name is Charlie. He came right up to Blue but I didn't trust Charlie not to attack so pulled Blue away. Tilly still hasn't seen Charlie and I think I will keep it that way. Anita and friends wanted to visit a winery so I dropped them at Coriole, while I drove to Supercheap Auto for some heavy duty wheel chocks which happened to be on sale. I wasn't surprised to see a couple of cartons of wine being carried out when I collected the wine tasters. The views over the vineyard were impressive and the wine must be too.

The Showgrounds Caravan Park check out time is a generous 11am, while most parks are strictly 10am. Just our luck we had to leave by 8.30 to drive to Adelaide Brakes and Mechanical by 9. The business owner John showed us where to drop the van and listened to the brake noise as we parked. He had the van until 3.30pm so we had a lot of hours to fill with two little critters on board. First stop was breakfast so we headed for the nearest beach suburb which was Semaphore. We were lucky to find a car park in full shade so left Tilly in the Toyota despite her urgings that she be allowed to come with us. Breakfast was good but I had enough spinach on my plate to keep Popeye going for a week. There was no shade near the beach so we just paused to look at the view. We decided to do a couple of jobs that were outstanding so printed some documents at Officeworks, then posted the signed documents at a post office. I picked up a couple of items at a major shopping centre, after parking 20m from the...