Sept
20, Thursday
Well I leave Adelaide today for my road trip across the south eastern coast of Australia. The first leg of my journey isn’t far since I’m driving south 107 km to visit Kangaroo Island. According to the map, this should have been a simple route to follow, returning almost to Glenelg before taking highway A13 south and merging on to the M2. My cold has gotten worse, so I’m going to blame all the tourist detours on it. Just south of the motel, where I had to turn right from Portrush to the A1, the intersection is at a skewed angle. It’s a square turn, something like this ( _\ | ) with another road running at a 45 degree angle. I took the 45 degree angle instead of the 90 degree. When I turned right, I actually turned on Osmond Street instead of Cross Road (A1). I was almost into the city centre by the time I realized I was not on Cross Road. OK, the cold is part of the problem, but the signage is also big problem. In Australia, when you are driving down a road, you only see the street signs for the cross street, there aren’t ANY for the road you are driving on, unless you are on a major highway with huge overhanging signs. Although the A1 is a highway, within Adelaide it is just a regular street. I made a left turn on Goodwood and headed south, knowing that I would have to make another right and another left on major intersections to get on the A13. Well….. I ended up in Glenelg, somehow having missed my turnoff. I back tracked and finally got on the A13 south and then switched to the B23. Now I had highway signs to guide me so it should have been simple to merge onto M2. NOT ! For some reason, the highway was closed, so I just stayed on the B23 all the way to Kangaroo Island. I stopped at a gas station to purchase a better road map than the one Hertz had provided, only to find that the M2 did not appear on it. The guy at the counter told me is was still under construction. OK. I took advantage of the really nice store at the gas station to purchase some throat lozenges and to purchase the phone card I needed to add money for my cell phone.
The scenery on the last part of the drive was breathtaking
and when I drove through the higher areas, I ran into some mist.
I arrived at the ferry landing and went in to purchase my ticket, but also to book a hotel on the island and book my ferry ride back late tomorrow afternoon. How convenient is that ! One stop shopping at the dock. It was only 12:30 and they would start loading the ferry at 2:30 for the 3 pm departure, but I didn’t mind; it gave me time to grab something to eat and read all the brochures I’d just picked up about Kangaroo Island.
From the lookout, I could see that the Ferry was already in port. It looks small on this photo, but if you look carefully, you will see the cars parked along the waterfront. It was a really big ferry that could carry 6 cars from side to side and probably 10 or 12 deep.
This is a mid-point view, or when we weren't on top of a crest or in a trough
This was when we were on a crest; no more horizon, just blue sky.
This was when we were in a trough; looking down into the water.
I kept thinking that the cars would all be smashed together on the level below. The name of the straight we were crossing is appropriately named the “Backstairs Passage”. You can’t tell how bad it was from the pictures, but I filmed part of it on my camcorder to prove how bad it was. The horizon would disappear and all we could see was sky, then the ferry would come down the wave and all we could see was water. AAAHHHHH !
We made it safely to Kangaroo Island of course, and the car was intact. I stopped at the information kiosk on the island to purchase a CD that was supposed to be a “driving guide” across the island (it wasn’t, but it was informative). I drove directly from Penneshaw to Kingscote since I wanted to finish driving before the sun set.
Driving on Kangaroo Island
Stopped on the side of the road to take some pictures of the big fat sheep
and enjoy the amazing views from the top of the long hill.
Part of the drive was through a wooded area
and continued to provide great views of the coast and hills
The views on the island are spectacular; it reminds me a lot of Prince Edward Island.
The Island Resort Motel in Kingscote
My room was located at the back of the motel, away from the noise from the street.... not that there was any.... but I still like to have a quiet room.
The lady at the motel had kindly recommended one that would be serving a nice homemade soup, to help with my cold. I wandered down to the waterfront where, at 5 pm, a gentleman comes to feed the pelicans. Sure enough, just as I arrived, a man wearing rubber boots and gloves arrived with a big basket.
Look at how gorgeous they are; so much more beautiful than the brown pelicans we have. And the yellow around their eyes make the eyes look very bright, but it isn't part of their eyes, it's very short feathers.
Once he brought out the food, the pelicans went crazy. Dangerous job with those sharp beeks.
Well I leave Adelaide today for my road trip across the south eastern coast of Australia. The first leg of my journey isn’t far since I’m driving south 107 km to visit Kangaroo Island. According to the map, this should have been a simple route to follow, returning almost to Glenelg before taking highway A13 south and merging on to the M2. My cold has gotten worse, so I’m going to blame all the tourist detours on it. Just south of the motel, where I had to turn right from Portrush to the A1, the intersection is at a skewed angle. It’s a square turn, something like this ( _\ | ) with another road running at a 45 degree angle. I took the 45 degree angle instead of the 90 degree. When I turned right, I actually turned on Osmond Street instead of Cross Road (A1). I was almost into the city centre by the time I realized I was not on Cross Road. OK, the cold is part of the problem, but the signage is also big problem. In Australia, when you are driving down a road, you only see the street signs for the cross street, there aren’t ANY for the road you are driving on, unless you are on a major highway with huge overhanging signs. Although the A1 is a highway, within Adelaide it is just a regular street. I made a left turn on Goodwood and headed south, knowing that I would have to make another right and another left on major intersections to get on the A13. Well….. I ended up in Glenelg, somehow having missed my turnoff. I back tracked and finally got on the A13 south and then switched to the B23. Now I had highway signs to guide me so it should have been simple to merge onto M2. NOT ! For some reason, the highway was closed, so I just stayed on the B23 all the way to Kangaroo Island. I stopped at a gas station to purchase a better road map than the one Hertz had provided, only to find that the M2 did not appear on it. The guy at the counter told me is was still under construction. OK. I took advantage of the really nice store at the gas station to purchase some throat lozenges and to purchase the phone card I needed to add money for my cell phone.
The scenery on the last part of the drive was breathtaking
and when I drove through the higher areas, I ran into some mist.
I arrived at the ferry landing and went in to purchase my ticket, but also to book a hotel on the island and book my ferry ride back late tomorrow afternoon. How convenient is that ! One stop shopping at the dock. It was only 12:30 and they would start loading the ferry at 2:30 for the 3 pm departure, but I didn’t mind; it gave me time to grab something to eat and read all the brochures I’d just picked up about Kangaroo Island.
From the lookout, I could see that the Ferry was already in port. It looks small on this photo, but if you look carefully, you will see the cars parked along the waterfront. It was a really big ferry that could carry 6 cars from side to side and probably 10 or 12 deep.
While I waited I took some pictures of the big waves out past the jetty.
At 2:30 I was ready to drive on to the ferry and at 3 pm
we left for our 45 minute crossing from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw on Kangaroo
Island. Well, let me tell you I am so
glad I thought of digging out my wrist bracelets for sea sickness. It was a very windy day and the waves in the
straight were REALLY high and coming at 90 degrees to the boat. The ferry is a catamaran, which is supposed
to be more stable than a regular keel ship, but it did absolutely nothing to
help with these waves. 
This is a mid-point view, or when we weren't on top of a crest or in a trough
This was when we were on a crest; no more horizon, just blue sky.
This was when we were in a trough; looking down into the water.
I kept thinking that the cars would all be smashed together on the level below. The name of the straight we were crossing is appropriately named the “Backstairs Passage”. You can’t tell how bad it was from the pictures, but I filmed part of it on my camcorder to prove how bad it was. The horizon would disappear and all we could see was sky, then the ferry would come down the wave and all we could see was water. AAAHHHHH !
We made it safely to Kangaroo Island of course, and the car was intact. I stopped at the information kiosk on the island to purchase a CD that was supposed to be a “driving guide” across the island (it wasn’t, but it was informative). I drove directly from Penneshaw to Kingscote since I wanted to finish driving before the sun set.
Driving on Kangaroo Island
Stopped on the side of the road to take some pictures of the big fat sheep
and enjoy the amazing views from the top of the long hill.
Part of the drive was through a wooded area
and continued to provide great views of the coast and hills
The views on the island are spectacular; it reminds me a lot of Prince Edward Island.
I was hoping to see kangaroos along the way obviously,
and I did see some. Unfortunately they were all dead on the side of the road; 6
of them within the 62 km drive. So sad !
Most of the wild animals on the island come out only at night (starting
around dusk and ending about one hour after dawn). Still, I wasn’t taking any chances and was keeping
a sharp eye on the sides of the road.
Kangaroos can be really big, and their hind quarters and tails are
massive; they would create a lot of damage to the car if I hit one.
I arrived at the Island Resort Motel at around 4:30 and
settled in before going out to find a restaurant. 
The Island Resort Motel in Kingscote
My room was located at the back of the motel, away from the noise from the street.... not that there was any.... but I still like to have a quiet room.
The lady at the motel had kindly recommended one that would be serving a nice homemade soup, to help with my cold. I wandered down to the waterfront where, at 5 pm, a gentleman comes to feed the pelicans. Sure enough, just as I arrived, a man wearing rubber boots and gloves arrived with a big basket.
Look at how gorgeous they are; so much more beautiful than the brown pelicans we have. And the yellow around their eyes make the eyes look very bright, but it isn't part of their eyes, it's very short feathers.
Once he brought out the food, the pelicans went crazy. Dangerous job with those sharp beeks.
Unfortunately, the penguin feeding wasn’t until 8:30 and
I really needed to get to bed as early as possible, so I gave it a miss. I found the Hotel where the restaurant was located but I
was a bit early since the dining room only opened at 6 pm. I went into the bar and decided to try some
Aussie hard stuff. The only thing they
had was some rum, and not very good one at that, but I figured it should help
my cold. As soon as the dining room
opened I went in and ordered a big bowl of soup and a half order of fish and chips. The soup was SO GOOD. As soon as I finished my meal I headed back
to the motel and got in bed with an extra blanket and extra pillows to sleep
partially sitting up. Darn cold !
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