March 15, 2023
Today we dropped anchor in Hog Bay so we could adventure on Kangaroo Island. The island is the third largest island in Australia but the bay is small so it was a tender into the dock day. As the sun was rising I was headed out in the first tender to begin my adventure. As we were getting close to the dock one of the other passengers on the tender yelled out that there were penguins on the rocks, I knew that was not possible because the penguins on Kangaroo Island are nocturnal but everyone stood up to take pictures of the birds on the rocks that they were sure were penguins….lol!!
Kangaroo Island lies off the mainland of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Over a third of the island is protected in nature reserves, home to native wildlife like sea lions, koalas and diverse bird species. The island has 4,894 inhabitants, which means when we are onshore the population almost doubles!!! The island is 150 miles long by 50 miles wide.
Our first stop was at Pennington Bay, for the panoramic outlook over Pennington Beach.
The team at Emu Ridge Eucalyptus shop showed us how eucalyptus is processed to get the precious oil but the best part was the two rescued kangaroos that were so playful. Kangaroo Island Kangaroos (that is their official name) are a unique subspecies and are a beautiful chocolate brown.
Then we headed to Seal Bay the home to an Australian Sea Lion population for what is believed to be thousands of years. The area is a designated conservation area and the Seal Bay boardwalk offers a wonderful chance to view the Sea lions in their natural habitat.
After we returned from the tour I did a walkabout in the small town and found a booth for a kangaroo rescue that had a 6month old Joey (baby kangaroo) that I convinced them to let me hold. It is actually against the law for a non-volunteer to hold a baby but put me in jail!!! It was so worth it. So soft and cute!!!
On my walkabout I did the sculpture trail and found some street art.
Then I found a tour headed to the Lighthouse and headed out for one more adventure before heading back to the ship. We even saw a Joey and mama kangaroo in the trees.
We got back to the tender spot for the last tender back to the ship and it was a fun ride as the winds had come up and the swells were very big. Several people on my tender got sick. Later I found out that at about noon they had stop bringing passengers ashore since the waves were so high!! One of the tenders lost power and the passengers ashore had to be rescued. I missed all that fun and had a fun day on Kangaroo Island, 12 hours ashore and 17 miles walked and I was ready for yet another beautiful sunset!
Tomorrow is Adelaide!
My favorite day so far!! Was the Joey soft and cuddly, or was he all elbows and pointy edges? What a fun day!!