Leaving For Australia & Arriving On Kangaroo Island
We left from Washington Dulles Airport on Friday, December 26, 2008 at 3:00pm EST, arriving at Los Angeles International Airport at 5:46pm PST. We left Los Angeles International Airport on December 26, 2008 at 10:17pm PST arriving in Sydney Australia on Sunday, December 28, 2008 at 7:50am. After clearing Immigration and Customs, we transferred to the Sydney Domestic Terminal and boarded a flight on Sunday, December 28, 2008 at 12:35pm bound for Adelaide, South Australia, arriving at 2:15pm. We transferred to our hotel via taxi, had dinner and crashed for the night.
On Monday, December 29, 2008 we caught the Kangaroo Island SeaLink Bus at 6:45AM from Adelaide Central Bus Station, connecting up to the Kangaroo Island SeaLink Ferry which leaves from Cape Jervis at 9:00am. The Kangaroo Island SeaLink Ferry would take us to Penneshaw Wharf on Kangaroo Island, arriving at 10:00am.
We picked up our rental car and began our 5 day adventure on beautiful and remote Kangaroo Island driving on the left side of the road. The first day we would make our way to Kingscote where we would stay the evening.
Here is a photograph of a Black Swan taken in the Kingscote area.
Australian Pelican
Here is a photograph of an Australian Pelican taken in the Kingscote area.
Fairy (Blue) Penguin
Here is a photograph of a Fairy (Blue) Penguin Chick taken in the Kingscote area peeking out of its burrow.
Hanson Bay & Flinders Chase National Park
We left from Kingscote on Tuesday, December 30 traveling along the Southern Route across Kangaroo Island, stopping at Duck Lagoon where we would see our first wild Koala. Then on to stops at Seal Bay for the Australian Sea Lions, a brief stop at Little Sahara to see the sand dunes, and on to Flinders Chase where we would spend the next several days viewing Koalas, Kangaroos and Wallabies in the Hanson Bay Sanctuary area.
We would also make several trips into Flinders Chase National Park to observe the Fur Seals at Cape du Couedic and visit the Remarkable Rocks. We had also hoped to see a wild Platypus in Flinders Chase National Park, however wildfires in December of 2007 had destroyed the trails and walkways through the habitat areas they frequented along one of the rivers.
Our lodging base for the next three nights would be the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat.
Here is a photograph taken at Seal Bay of Australian Sea Lion Bull fighting a Female.
Koala & Joey
Over the four days we were in the Flinders Chase, we spent most of our time in the Hanson Bay Sanctuary area, where one of the largest populations of wild Koalas on Kangaroo Island lives among the Eucalyptus trees. We were able to observe several Koalas over that time, including being able to hold a very young Joey that had been abandoned by its mother and rescued by the staff.
Here is a photograph of a Koala and Joey that we were able to observe multiple hours over each of the four days.
Kangaroo Island Kangaroo
Here is a photograph of a Kangaroo Island Kangaroo taken around Hanson Bay.
Fur Seal
Here is a photograph taken at Cape du Couedic of a Female Fur Seal nursing her Pup.
Tammar Wallaby
Here is a photograph of a Tammar Wallaby taken around Hanson Bay.
Remarkable Rocks
Here is a photograph of Remarkable Rocks in Flinders Chase National Park. These rocks sit on top of a large granite dome and are hollowed out from the wind-blown sand.
Cape du Couedic
Here is a photograph of Cape du Couedic.
Hanson Bay
Here is a photograph of Hanson Bay.
Traveling Back To Penneshaw
On Friday, January 2, 2009 we left the Flinders Chase area and traveled to stay the night in Penneshaw.
Here is a photograph of a Fairy (Blue) Penguin Chick waiting near its rock burrow in the Penneshaw Wharf area.
On Saturday, January 3, 2009 we caught the 8:30am Kangaroo Island SeaLink Ferry from Penneshaw Wharf back to Cape Jervis connecting with the 9:30am Kangaroo Island SeaLink Bus back to Adelaide Central Bus Station, arriving at 11:30am. We then transferred by cab to the Adelaide Airport and caught a 2:55pm flight from Adelaide back to Sydney, arriving at 5:20pm.
We spent the night in Sydney and on Sunday, January 4th we flew from Sydney Australia to Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand.
Please visit the New Zealand photo gallery for details on that portion of the trip.
