Travelog for: KalliHH

Our next stop was to check out the Remarkable Rocks in the Flinders Chase National Park. The huge rocks look like a creation of the crazy sculpturer - its simply amazing what water and wind can do to granite!

KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

This part has been nick-named "Sad Sam". You can see why, can't you?
KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

Last stop of the day was Admiral's Arch to see a colony New Zealand Fur Seals and sun set over the ocean as we were at the western point of the island.

The seals were a major factor in the European settlement of Kangaroo Island.The first white settlement on Kangaroo Island was by ‘sealers’ in the early 1800s. Fur-seals and sea-lions were hunted relentlessly for their skins and fat and until about 1920 when they were almost hunted to extinction.

They're a bit hard to see here, but there are four seals on this ledge.
KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

This is Admiral's Arch, which has been formed by weathering and erosion from the sea over thousands of years. The scraggly bits hanging down are actually petrified tree roots! Cool!
KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

Sadly, clouds rolled in and covered the sunset    - bec thinks she's cursed when it comes to seeing sunsets while on holiday!

We started our second day on Kangaroo Island with a spot of sandboarding, which is a lot like snowboarding, but on a sand dune instead!

At first glance the sand dune didn't look too bad...
KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

but then we got closer and started to climb...
KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

Scary..... but SOOO much fun!!!
KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

Our next  stop was very exciting. We went to Seal Bay where we sat on the beach just a few metres away from a colony of Australian Sea Lions! They come up on to the beach to rest as they spend three days at sea feeding. There were also a number of female sea lions up on the beach with very young pups. It was just very cool, and when it was time to go, we just didn't want leave.

KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

Time for lunch, so we stopped at Vivonne Bay (and I am most disappointed that someone forgot to take photo of me eating kangaroo!!)

Vivonne Bay is stunning and was once named "Australia's Best Beach"

KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

We went paddling in the Southern Ocean, which was not as cold as you would expect it to be
KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

before going wading in Harriet River, which flows along this part of the beach.
KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

It is quite safe to paddle in despite its unusual colour, which comes from the eucalypt oil from the trees surrounding the river further up stream.

After lunch we headed off to Kelly Hill Caves, a huge cave system that was discovered when a farmer and his horse (Kelly) fell into a sink hole in 1880. He managed to get himself out, but the horse was never seen again and nobody really knows just how big the caverns actually are.

KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

On the walk back to the bus from the caves I was introduced to this beatiful flower, which is the Australian floral emblem and the reason why Australian sporting teams always dress in green and gold.
KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

On leaving the caves we had to make a mad dash across the island to get to Kingscote (KI's largest town) in time for the daily 5 o'clock pelican feeding with John the Pelican man.

KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

Pelicans mainly eat fish, but will pretty much eat anything they are offered, so I was seriously grateful that Bec was keeping a firm grip on me. Look at how big their bills are! They can hold up to 15litres of water in there!

And, back to Penneshaw again so we could catch the ferry back to the mainland (where we would have to get ready for a very, very, very early start to the morning the next day!)

Don't you think that this is a brilliant view for a dinner spot?
KalliHH on Kangaroo Island by becka_kate, on Flickr

Kangaroo Island simply a beautiful part of the world, and one which I can highly recommend! We were very sad to be heading home again.

While I've been staying here I've been making progress on one of my missions. Bec is currently 'fostering' her sister's menagerie of pets as she's renting and obviously can't have the animals in their apartment!
So, this is Lady (the big dog) who is a collie cross kelpie (Australian Sheep Dog) and Angel (the little dog) who is a Tenterfield Terrier.
IMG_6943 by becka_kate, on Flickr

There is also a cat, 3 birds and 4 fish, but they're all a little camera shy!

And, we're off again!
This time to Canberra to visit Bec's friends.

After someone kept forgetting to get a photo of me enjoying a barbeque in South Australia, I was glad to hear that barbeque was on offer for dinner Friday night.
KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

And, here it is - an Aussie barbeque for dinner (minus the garden salad...)
KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

Every year in spring Canberra holds a flower festival called Floriade.  This year there were more than one million flowers organised into artworks celebrating Imagination. Most of the flowers on display are tulips, but you will also see lots of pansies, lillies, daffodils and daisies.
KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

We also got to meet a family of black swans who were swimming in the lake, and more than happy to come up to the shore where people were offering food.
KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

I really would have liked to stay and buzz around the flowers all day, but unfortunately it was soon time to start the long drive back to Sydney.
KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

On the way back to the car we took the scenic route, following the walkway around the lake. Lake Burley Griffen forms the centre of Canberra (which, in case you didn't know, is the capital of Australia)

Most of the important buildings are near or on the edges of the lake. The large building to the left is the National Library and the pointy bits to the right is the flagpole above Parliament House, the seat of Australian Federal Government.
KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

Sadly, we weren't there at the right time of day to see the Cook Fountain going - due to water restrictions and the drought, it only runs for an hour or so a day.
KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

We thought this provided an interesting view of Parliament House. It is very hard to see against a cloudy sky.
KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

Lake Burley Griffen is very popular for family days out and you can hire canoes, kayaks and paddle boats to ride around on it. That looks like a lot of fun. The bizarre building in the background is the Australian National Museum by the way!
KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

Black Mountain Tower (for telecommunications, but also has a viewing platform for tourists) is a very handy landmark when travelling in the Australian Capital Territory!
KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

On the way home we stopped at Lake George.

KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

I bet you're thinking its a pretty strange looking lake. Where's all the water? 

Lake George is a freak phenomenon. It has been known to disappear virtually overnight. The lake has been totally dry in 1837, 1870, 1902, most of the1930s and the early1980s. It has been completely full in 1852, 1897, 1925, the 1950s and the mid-1980s. There is no pattern to this strange phenomenon. It is almost dry now (this is probably the first time in 11 years of regularly driving to Canberra that my host has spotted any real water in it at all). 
Sometimes it appears as though there is water in it, but it is only a mirage!


KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

It is a very eerie place to be in, especially at night (or so my host tells me). Its Aboriginal name is Weereewaa, which means  "bad water". When it has been full, the waters are very rough and a number of people have died while participating in sports on it.

Australian country towns are very fond of building 'big things'. There are over 146 such objects around the country, such as big bananas, pineapples, oysters, trouts, rocking horses etc!

On the way back we stopped in Goulburn for a "stop, revive, survive" break(Australian drivers are encouraged to take a break from the road every two hours to beat fatigue) and visited the Big Merino.

KalliHH in the ACT by becka_kate, on Flickr

The Big Merino is a 15 metre tall cement Merino sheep. It has a shop  and tourist centre underneath and visitors can climb to the top and look out through the Merino's eyes to view the local area.

A couple of years ago, the Big Merino was moved to a location 800m up the road, closer to the Hume Freeway, to increase visitor numbers. This was very complex operation as the Merino is  as high as a four-storey building and as wide as a country road! It involved cutting the power cables on that section of road, cutting off the rams legs (and other unmentionables!) and using an 96 wheeled truck moving at three kilometres an hour!
Crazy, huh?

KalliHH left Australia today and is on his way to Hong Kong.