Kangaroo island Edited version with more photos and info

even though it rained most of the time.. it was superb.

Well, the day started well, and looked quite sunny.... Got up on time, at 6am (ugh)  took bag to new hostel, got to bus station, and the morning was glorious as we drove past vineyards – some of the biggest in the world.  With green playdoh mountains on one side and rows of vines, with the deep blue sea on the other.  Very pleasant.

According to the bus driver Adelaide was first settled in 1836 and is about a 1 square mile grid system.  It was settled by POMs – People of Means – ie, those who could afford the passage across and the set up costs!

The city contains 5 squares, and 5000 acres of parkland surround the city, watered with grey water to conserve the little resources that they have. Principally the Adelaide economy was originally driven by wine wheat and wool, then later by the production of white goods and now principally by higher education (they have a number of internationally used universities, and they also build submarines and frigates fro the navy.

Mining is also huge and getting bigger – they have large quantities of uranium, gold, copper diamonds, and iron... so the future economy is going to be driven by that!

The weather clouded over as we drove to the fleurieu peninsula where we crossed to Kangaroo Island on the ferry.  Fleurieu used to be a whale hunting centre when it was colonised by the French, (named after the Compte de Fleurieu) until they were ousted by the English settlers. Haha!!!

So.   First stop once we'd got the ferry across was to go and see the native seals in Seal Bay.  We could get up quite close to them - they huddle together for warmth as their coats are not that furry and they do get a bit chilly in the wind. So they are not family groups together simply individuals snuggling up for warmth.

After Lunch the next stop was a real treat (for me anyway being a bit of a bird lover)... we stopped at the Australian Birds of Prey centre.  It was raining so we couldn't see them in flight but this was actually better as we could get right up close and they would fly to you.

This is a Kestrel.. they hover above their prey and dive for them... they actually see in UV so they can see the tracks where mice have gone by their urine marks!

and the Barn owl - his feathers were so soft and he went and sat on everyone's lap to let them stroke him....Did you know that Barn owls have asymmetrical ears, so that they hear in 3D too...?  they are set a little like a yin-yang sign one higher than the other so that they can hear their prey easily too as they hunt by stealth.  Also that they only see in black and white during the day?  SUCH cool creatures!

Then we met the Barking owl (which is sometimes known as screaming woman owl as their mating call sounds a little like an Aussie woman screaming "Heeeeeeeelp") .  He has amazing yellow eyes, and looks really powerful - huge claws.  watched him eat a whole mouse ( a dead one of course!)

The last bird was a real treat - a Wedge Tailed Eagle.

WOW!  just look at him, what a beast!!!

This extraordinary bird has a six and a half foot wingspan... over 2 metres! And the best thing is i saw two in flight on the way there - magnificent looking things with scarily powerful beaks and talons.  we watched as he ripped a rabbit apart with such ease it was like it was made of candy floss.

After this amazing spectacle, we headed past the Cape de Couedic lighthouse to the "Remarkable rocks"

And they are remarkable!

They are a cluster of granite boulders which have been sculpted by the sea and the wind and the rain, sitting on a massive granite mound which seems to have emerged from the sea that surges around the base of it, on a stunning coastline, and surrounded by weird flora that is a myriad of colours and textures.  I felt like my eyes just couldn't take it all in..... no one else seemed that impressed and i wondered if I was having some kind of acid flashback... but look!!  They really are amazing!  and the coastline....

Here I am being impressed by the rocks:

Groovy  aren't they!

Anyway then it was time to move on to see the New Zealand Fur seals frolicking in the water under the unbelievably jaw dropping Admirals Arch...   a giant arch cut beneath the granite rocks by the sea......get a load of this ... though the pics not that good and it's hard to see the seals at first as they are so well camouflaged against the rocks I think this gives a good idea of just how amazing it was to see!.

 but the best bit was a WHALE!  I saw him as I was climbing back up from looking underneath the the arch PHoooooof out a big spout of water and his tail go back in ..I was completely entranced, waiting for him to surface again.  I have never seen one in real life before and it was SO exciting....even though he was probably about a mile away and i couldn't possibly catch him on film.  Had to be dragged back to the bus!

Long trip back too - didn't arrive back to my hostel til 11pm!