Paddy & Jen Adventures

We had the shortest drive we have done so far with about 6km from the caravan park to our next campsite at Rocky River Campground, Flinders Chase National Park. We had a nice surprise when we pulled on to our site, with Phil and Bridget also there. They volunteer as camp hosts in National Parks and we had met them at our first campground on KI and now they were over hosting at Rocky River. This is a new campground with exceptional facilities, including hot showers! Highly recommend this spot if you are camping on KI.

We spent the day checking out Cape Borda Lighthouse, Western River Cove & Snelling Beach. Incredible cliffs, beautiful beaches and lovely walks. We did Harveys Return hike, which was a very steep, rocky track which led to a little cove with the most magnificent rock formations. The climb back up was tough going, but it was definitely worth doing. The 2020 KI fires hit all this area really hard. Five years down the track we can see why fire is important to plants & trees and there is so much regrowth happening here. It is really quite beautiful.

To top off a great day we called in to see the last quarter of the local footy being played at Gosse. There is nothing anywhere near this location except this state of the art football & netball facilities (given support from the AFL to rebuild after the fires). The crowd was huge and going by the dusty utes parked around the ground I think every farmer on KI had turned out to watch. I love how sport brings community together. It was great to stand amongst the crowd and take it all in. KI has its own footy league, with 5 teams. Not bad for an island with a population of 5000 people.

We returned to the campsite and spent a lovely evening with Phil, Bridget and quite a few other campers at the communal campfire. Such a great way to meet people and hear their stories. We even picked up some local knowledge on the Flinders Ranges and will definitely visit where they have recommended.

The following day we spent exploring the Flinders Chase National Park. One word – spectacular! We visited the Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch where we saw a colony of long-nosed fur seals. We loved every minute of our adventures in this National Park. We returned to the van for some lunch before doing a 5km Platypus Waterholes walk. Unfortunately we did not see any platypus but it was good to get some steps up.

Another night with a communal fire and a catch up with the same group of guys we had met the night before. Not a late one as the rain came and sent us all back to our own campsites. The following morning we were on the move again, this time to Vivonne Bay campground about half an hour away. We set up (which does not take long at all now we have it down pat) and then drove to Seal Bay for a tour of the endangered sea lion colony. The tour guide took us down on to the beach so we were close to where the sea lions and their pups were gathered. It was so interesting and Paddy took some amazing photos with his long lens camera.

We packed up the next morning in the pouring rain. The first time we have had to do this in SA. Can’t believe it is the end of April and they are only just getting some rain now. Let’s hope it is a wet winter season as they definitely need the rain. Our last afternoon/night on KI was spent sitting quietly at our campsite beside the Chapman River, in my hammock reading a book. Paddy had his camera out taking photos of the pelicans and swans that were making their way down the river. An early night for both of us, with a 7.30a.m. ferry from Penneshaw back to the mainland.

KI has delivered so much for us. Nature, wildlife, long drives (the length of KI is 150km and width is 55km) and spectacular variations in the landscapes . Our KI visit for 11 days has been well worth the expensive ferry ride and will leave us with lasting memories.

It’s now back to Adelaide to get organised for my trip to Bali on Saturday 3rd May. I am heading there to celebrate the 50th birthday of a close friend Charmaine Brown. Paddy is spending the week in Moana getting the van & car serviced and planning our next adventure (to the Flinders Ranges) for when I return from Bali. I am sure Paddy will enjoy some peace and quiet from me for the week!

(Plenty more photos on the photo gallery page)