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Kangaroo Island adventures
  • Robin McConchie

Kangaroo Island adventures

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    September 22, 2024
    Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    KI adventures begin, Bris-Adelaide

    September 22, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    It's been over a year since I have done any travelling. My last trip to SA was to collect FiNN, my Border Collie pup, at Tickera on Yorke Peninsula. I would have loved to have brought him to Kangaroo Island to meet his brother, Ollie, but it was impractical. So he is staying in Brisbane. It was terrific to catch up with my former ABC Rural boss, Leigh Radford and his partner, Tracey. We headed to the Adelaide Hills, which are pregnant with Spring. We lunched at the old Uraidla pub and walked around Leigh's fabulous garden. I overnighted in Adelaide, where I caught up with my sister, Ro and her husband, Rod. We jumped on a bus to Cape Jervis in the morning and caught the Sealink ferry to Penneshaw. We picked up a car, brunched at Millie Mae cafe, walked the local sculpture, and stopped at the Soldiers Settlers Museum at Parndana. Then it was on to Flinders Chase NP island's western England, where we'll spend four nights. You feel a release of tension, and it's great to see the roos and Cape Barron geese grazing near the cabins in the caravan park. I even spotted a koala, which was just a delight.Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    Kangaroo Island Penneshaw

    September 23, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    The ferry trip from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw was an easy 50 minutes. The sun emerged, and we had a delightful breakfast at Millie Mae. The sculpture walk is an excellent addition to the town. We were lucky to meet Ann (in her late 70s), who opened the soldier settler museum for us and recalled the days after the war when her family came to the island. It was a harsh life with few amenities, but it seemed dances were a weekly fixture on the calendar, and her mum and dad and brothers were in huge demand to entertain the dancers. Driving across the island, you started to see remnants of the horrific fires of 2019/20, which razed half the island, killed thousands of stock and much of the wildlife, destroyed homes and fencing and took two lives. Finally, we arrived at Flinders Chase Discovery Park and were welcomed by a Koala. The caravan park is on the edge of the Flinders Chase National Park and has been rebuilt since the fires in 2020. I stayed in a motel room, one of many built-to-house workers assisting with the post-fire recovery effort.Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    Parndana Soldier Settler Museum

    September 23, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    The museum was constructed to recognise the soldier settlers and their families who came to KI after WW2. It was a tough life for 140 families with no sanitation, no services, inadequate provisions and plenty of hard work involved in clearing the country. Over time, the camp became more civilised as huts, roads, and schools were built. Women played a significant role in supporting newcomers and making life liveable while the men slogged it out, bulldozing trees and turning the bush into paddocks. It wasn't a fertile country, and cropping had limited success. The leading entertainment in the early days was the regular dances.
    Onto our accommodation at Flinders Chase and I was delighted to see a bit of wildlife
    who More pics of the sculpture walk and the Soldiers Settler Museum…Still on the road to Flinders Chase    Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler
    1

    Admirals Arch

    September 25, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    This fantastic cave structure was formed by weathering and erosion along the contact between an old dune and hard rock. A breeding colony of fur seals lives and plays at the arch. I loved the marine life and rugged coastline. I feel excited by the crashing of waves on the rocks, and watching the seals lolling on the rocks, frolicking in the surf and playing in the rock pools.Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    Seal Bay

    September 25, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    Seal Bay, is the home of Australia’s largest sea lion colony. The species is globally threatened by climate change, pollution, bycatch, entanglement, and disease.
    Save the sea lion - reducing plastics is just one step.Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    Vivonne Bay

    September 25, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    There is nothing like a good walk along a windswept beach, with the sun shining and a whiting burger from the renowned Vivonne Bay cafe. The cafe is not a flash affair, the whiting burger is not cheap and is served on a paper plate. But the burger is delicious, the fish is fresh and served with salad on a toasted Turkish bread roll. Yum! The beach is good, but certainly not the best beach in the world and made me think of some of the fantastic beaches I’ve seen around Australia! Around the bay, I loved the jetty in the fading light and the vibrant colours of the succulents.Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    Rocky River bushfire recovery

    September 26, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    In 2020, 96 per cent of Flinders Chase NP was burned and 240,000 ha across the whole island was affected by fire. The recovery in the native bushland gives you hope that nature is a powerful beast given a chance. It was like walking thru a botanic garden-the diversity, abundance of species and health of the bush ecosystem was fabulous. See if you can name some!Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    Bushfire recovery

    September 26, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    During a scorching summer unusual for the regular Kangaroo Island weather pattern, lightning strikes ignited fires first on the north and north-eastern coasts of the island on 20 December 2019, then in Flinders Chase National Park ten days later.

    Over several weeks, the Kangaroo Island fires burned 211,474 hectares, almost half of the island. It is unknown how many of the island's wild animals perished, along with the estimated 32,000 head of stock and domestic animals that died. The widespread fires also damaged or destroyed homes and businesses—including some tourism venues—grazing land, forests, crops, machinery, and infrastructure, and two people tragically lost their lives.

    Fire plays a vital role in Australian landscapes, and the recovery process on Kangaroo Island is a testament to nature's resilience. The island is bouncing back with deafening birdsong, content kangaroos and koalas, and flourishing flora. The beauty of this recovery must be seen to be believed, inspiring hope for the future of Kangaroo Island's unique ecosystem.    Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    Seal Bay 2

    September 26, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    I just loved Seal Bay

    Aus­tralian sea lions are unique to South Aus­tralia and West­ern Aus­tralia. They are an endan­gered species – their total pop­u­la­tion is about 12,000. Seal Bay is the third largest colony of this mag­nif­i­cent, wild creature.

    This is the only place in the world where you can see Aus­tralian sea lions at close quar­ters and walk on a beach where pups play, bulls fight for suprema­cy and rest­ing moth­ers suck­le their young.    Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    Meeting FiNN’s brother Ollie

    September 28, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    It was so good to meet FiNN's brother Ollie, his mum and dad, Julie, and Andrew at American River. FiNN and Ollie are the spitting image of each other🐾🐾❤️❤️ and have the same gentle temperament. It was great to cuddle Ollie; I am sure it was FiNN withdrawal and walking along the beach. We had a delicious lunch of local oysters, quiche and apple tea cake. Andrew's family go back generations on KI, and the couple has built an exciting house overlooking Pelican Bay.
    American River was the site of the first white settlement in SA. Explorers Baudin (France) and Matthew Flinders (British) met in 1802 and were followed by American sealers. It's a sleepy settlement these days but with an active community. One project is constructing a replica of a sealer's schooner, the 'Independence.'    Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    North Coast adventures

    September 29, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    The Old Wisanger School was opened in 1884. Built by local farmers as the Wisanger Farmers Assembly Room in 1884 and leased to the Education Department, this simple small building focused on the district's social life until the 1970s. It provided the most extended continuous service to any school until 1945.
    Check out the school rules for teachers circa 1872!
    KI is sheep and cropping country. The canola is in flower ✅ but the pastures are full of Cape Weed, which is very pretty but an indication of poor management.
    Stokes Bay is gorgeous, and the Rockpool Cafe has earned its reputation for fantastic fish and chips.
    Remember to keep an eye out for echidnas crossing the road.    Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    Cygnet River Conservation Reserve

    September 30, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    What an exciting day, starting with the hunt for Duck Lagoon. We didn't find any lagoon or ducks but were greeted by a koala and discovered the Cygnet Park Sanctuary. It is a 310-hectare former sheep-grazing property on Kangaroo Island that Bio·R manages for conservation. Across the cleared areas of the property, 350,000 tube stock of over 200 plant species were planted, complementing a mix of direct-seeded natives, bringing the total to about 1,000,000 plants. This has created a woodland of high structural and floristic diversity, which now sits alongside the Cygnet River with its original riparian vegetation.

    First established in 2009, these censuses indicate that the number of birds using the property has increased from 1000 to over 4000 birds in less than 10 years. Crucially, Cygnet Park Sanctuary now better provides for the endangered Glossy Black-Cockatoo. In 2009, only a few Glossy Black-Cockatoos were using the property, increasing to about 16 birds only seven years later. Following the devastating bushfires on Kangaroo Island in the summer of 2019-20, the number of Glossy Black-Cockatoos increased to about 36 (or 8% of the population of about 450 birds), demonstrating that Cygnet Park Sanctuary is already fulfilling Bio· R's intended purpose of creating habitat for wildlife, including species of conservation concern.    Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    Kangaroo Island Wool

    September 30, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    Most people know I am not a fashionista, but I had to try on this woollen hat, designed, developed, and made by Kangaroo Island Wool. Eat your heart out, Akubra. This is a truly Australian product made from KI wool on KI. The hat is knitted and then felted!

     Kangaroo Island Wool is a vertically integrated company with high animal welfare, sustainability, and ethical standards. It has survived the bushfires and is unique in Australia.

    Wool has been a staple for KI since the 1830s. The industry boasted 1.24 million sheep before the collapse of the reserve price scheme around 1990.

    When the price collapsed, many woolgrowers left the industry.

    Others diversified into other agricultural products and tourism, helping to create the unique industries and attractions that thrive on the Island today.

    In the middle of the turbulent 1990s, veterinarians Greg Johnsson and Deb Lehmann launched the Kangaroo Island Sheep Production Group, using scientific methods and research to "lift productivity, profitability and sustainability" for island farmers.

    In 2011, the two vets teamed up with 18 farmers to form the Kangaroo Island Wool Company, which markets the best of Kangaroo Island wool to discerning international buyers.Our group has grown over the years; we are now 22 farmers, two vets, and a sales and marketing manager.

    As the tourism industry flourished and Kangaroo Island's global reputation grew, Kangaroo Island Wool saw increased interest in their farming endeavours from visitors. Recognizing there was a demand for Island-grown woollen garments, which we can now offer thanks to Australian manufacturing.

    Today, the group is working to establish a vertically integrated business from the sheep to superb high-end woollen garments on KI. The latest project is knitted hats that are then felted.

    I can't recommend the tour highly enough.    Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler
    1

    Adelaide Botanic Gardens

    October 1, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    A ferry and bus trip saw us back in Adelaide with a few hours to kill. We headed to to the Adelaide market for lunch, then the SA Gallery and onto the wonderful Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler
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    Gardening at Geelong

    October 2, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    It's time to spend a few days gardening with my old school friend Jen Scovell at Stonehaven. The area is aptly named, and the stonewalls built from the volcanic rock by convicts in the early 1800s are famous. Jen and Bill bought the 80-acre property in the 1990s and spent years cleaning it up, moving rocks, removing rubbish, burning box thorns and hacking out thistles. They worked like Trojans, grew crops, brought in sheep, and created beautiful gardens and avenues of trees. They built new walls, and Jen has painstakingly crafted dozens of garden beds.. since Bill's death, Jenny has had some great support from Damien, who ageists sheep on the farm and Bill Ethell, who builds and restores boats in the shed. Bill lives in the cottage with bouncy Bess, a bundle of energy and a keen rabbit chaser. For Jen, the challenge is to make the garden accessible to care for, minimize encounters with snakes and reduce rabbit invasions. So when I arrived, it was wheelbarrows and rakes to the ready as we moved barrow-loads of mulches onto the garden. Damien drove the front-end loader, and Bill Ethell, Jen, and I mulched..
    I love the garden and am in awe of Jen's work in creating this haven.    Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    Lost dog Stonehaven

    October 4, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    We lost Bess, Bill Ethell's gorgeous three-year-old Labrador x German wire-haired pointer. One minute, she was mooching around, seeking out rabbits in the stone fence, swimming in the pool, and generally being her affable self. As Jen and I worked in the garden, Bess wasn't there. Jen, Bill and I hunted everywhere for her but to no avail, and we all felt pretty sick. The search continued in the morning, and I feared the worst, but as it turned out, she was at the vet's en route to the pound after a neighbour found her playing with his kids…. All ended well but was complicated because her microchip details hadn't been transferred to Bill when he bought her.
    So Bess returned undaunted by her experience in time for my birthday party! It was great getting together with old school friends Heather, Robyn, Gretchen, and Jen. Bill made a beautiful birthday cake.    Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler
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    Party time

    October 4, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Jen organised a lunch for my birthday. Old school friends Gretchen Thornburn, Heather McKee and Robyn Hunt joined us. It was wonderful to catch up with people who shared so many memories of our childhood and who have gone on to have fascinating careers and families but who remained friends. Jen harvested beautiful asparagus from the veggie garden, and Bill Ethel made a rosemary and pear cake. As we sat and reminisced, the skies clouded over and blackened except for a brief period of sunshine, creating a marvellous photo opportunity. We could see lightning in the distance; in some areas, the rain pelted down, but unfortunately for Jen, the storm bypassed Stonehaven.Read more

  • Robin McConchieKangaroo Island adventuresTraveler

    A Whale of a time

    October 5, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Adventures in an 83-year-old Whaler. The plan was to launch the old girl for her first sail in 30 years after restoration by Bill and a team at the Western Boat Club. It was built in NZ in 1943 out of Kauri pine and was identical to the whaler George Bass, used to explore the east coast of Australia and circumnavigate Tasmania around 1800. Every naval vessel and warship carried whalers, and sailors used them for hunting and harpooning whales. As navy boats, the whalers were used to land troops on Gallipoli. The restoration was meticulous, and Bill was incredibly proud of the vessel.
    It sailed beautifully, but the weather deteriorated as a storm approached, and the sea became choppy with white caps. The team decided to lower the mainsail as the storm hit. Unfortunately, sailing with just the jib and mizzen, we could not hold direction and started blowing to Tasmania! Fortunately, a friend saw the situation and towed us back to the jetty. So, apart from a bit of friction between Bill and Alan, all was well, and everyone dried out. I felt so sorry for Bill as he was terribly proud of their work and wanted a memorable return to the sea for the boat. However, I am sure it will become a fabulous community asset for the Western Boat Club in Geelong as the rigging is fine-tuned. I am sure it will still be sailing for another 80 years!!    Read more

    Trip end
    October 6, 2024
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