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Australia 2024
  • Janine Westlund
  • Mark E
  • Janine Westlund
  • Mark E

Australia 2024

An extraordinarily beautiful country that exceeded all expectations. Made all the more special for having the opportunity to reconnect w/ our friends Sue, Gael & Scott; as well as spend some time w/ new friends Janet and Simon. Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 9, 2024
    Australia 2024
    The red/blue bus paths --- we got around a sizeable part of it for our first day!Bondi Beach (pron: BOND eye)It's a little cold this time of year for the surfers (August is winter for Australia)Happy to see public tennis courts!Sydney has tons of harbors with various water recreational activitiesSwitching between the Red and Blue busses, we sent our nephew Roscoe a happy birthday drinkSydney has some really interesting architecture

    Afternoon Hop Hop Off Bus around Sydney

    August 9, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    We arrived around 7a in the morning, we were able to check into our Hotel around 9a, grab breakfast and then jumped on both the Red- and Blue-line Buses of the Hop On and Off service to get a feel of the city. We combined the bus ticket with a ferry ride (that we used the following day). Since the 24 hour ticket started at noon, this was a fantastic way to start the trip. It's fun to see folks playing tennis, surfing and simply enjoying the city.Read more

  • Australia 2024
    Took the Hop On Hop Off ferry in the Sydney Harbor.It was great to see the iconic Sydney Opera House in person!...not to mention the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the site of New Years celebrations!Circular Quay: one of the busiest ferry harbors in the world.A stunning skyline!Downtown Manly --- looks a lot like Lake Geneva, WIVball on the beach, what's not to like 😉Start of the walking trailOur first iguana of the tripExploring the paths within Sydney Harbor National ParkPath lookout: Sailing in North Harbor w/ a view of Sydney in the backgroundMore panoramic perspectiveViews from North Head . . . the end of the trail (for us)The nice thing the hike, we jumped on a Bus to return to town instead of this 4 mile to get here.

    Manly Australia

    August 10, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Took the Hop On Hop Off ferry in the Sydney Harbor.

    After watching lots of sailing events and New Years celebrations in the Sydney Harbor over the years, it was a wonderful experience to see what it looks like in person.

    After a few stops, we got off the ferry at Manly Wharf. It seemed like we were in California: waterfront shops, vball on the beach, walking trails next to the beach and a beautiful walking trail with views of Sidney.
    The ferry drop-off was on the harbor-side of Manly; we walked to the beach side and started the coastal walk toward the Sydney Harbor National Park. We covered the bulk of the peninsula exploring the Barracks Precinct (an historic Australian Army site), North Fort (a remnant military complex, part of a defense system that spanned 300km of coastline during WWII), and many panoramic lookouts ending our journey at North Head which had spectacular vistas.    Read more

  • Australia 2024
    This is the Opera House as we are approaching it from Circular Quay.A view of the Sydney Bridge from inside the Opera House.There are outdoor patios for theater-going patrons to enjoy during intermissions:You can watch as folks climb OVER the bridge -- this experience was A$200 (~USD$120 per person)In the front of the buildingThe tour takes you between the main performing stages, also called the "cleavage". 🙄Here you can see the individual tiles that make up that magnificent 'shell-like' facade.View of the main intermission bar/patio area....The interior entrance to the main concert hall (this is where we saw the Pink Floyd performance)Inside the main concert hall. The performance was incredible.....the sound was fantastic!!!Play the videoLast song they had local kids join them

    Sydney Opera House and show

    August 11, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    J9 started the day early with a workout at our hotel gym which is open 24 hours a day. When she returned, we went to breakfast where we spent some time researching information on creating blogs. (every day is a school day 😀) Then we walked to the Sydney Opera House where we had a tour scheduled at noon to learn about the facility and the current shows available. The creation of the Opera House is quite interesting:
    The design was an international competition: 233 designs were submitted from 28 countries.
    Danish architect Jørn Utzon was the winning architect behind the Opera House project.
    The original cost estimate (in 1959) to build it was US$7M
    Construction was expected to take 4 years; it took 14. This was due to a combination of creative- and political-disagreements combined with the complexity of design and structural solutions.
    There are more than 1 million roof tiles over the structure; the tiles were made in Sweden!
    The Opera House was (finally) opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973
    The Opera House is not just one but actually six performing arts venues: the main concert hall (2,679 seats), the Joan Sutherland theater (1,507 seats), the Drama theater (544 seats) and the Playhouse (398 seats). There's also a studio theater with 280 seats. (Our tour only took us through the main and Sutherland venues.)
    Arnold Schwarzenegger won his final Mr Olympia body building title in 1980 at the Concert Hall
    After the tour, we looked at the schedule to see what/who was playing. We were told there was a possibility that some performances might be discounted if we presented our tour tickets. Fortunately the performance we wanted to see (Australian Pink Floyd) fell into this benefit! For a tribute band, the show was incredible experience with Pink Floyd's music resonating beautifully in the iconic venue, leaving us impressed by the wonderful sound quality at the Sydney Opera House.    Read more

  • Australia 2024
    Market and Art fare in Rocks area
    Lunch viewLunchOfficial bridge climbing outfitOfficial photo backdrop, if you walked on top of the bridgeWe took the regular pedestrian path across the bridge.Looking at the market from the bridgeZoo entranceIt seems the Koala sleeps 18-20 hours a day.The zoo has a nice bird area

    Morning walk over the Bridge; Zoo visit

    August 18, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    J9's making me feel like a slug as she made it to the gym again today. After a casual breakfast, Mark reviewed Sydney highlights and it seems we missed walking the Sydney Bridge and visiting the zoo. With this now as a plan we started our walk to the bridge and wandered through The Rocks area which was in full swing of market and art fare. As with all art fairs, we found a fun local lunch -- but here it's kangaroo, crocodile and lamb.

    FYI We only walked on the birdge path, not over the bridge and saved $400 Australian dollars (not to mention avoiding a bit of height-squeamishness on J9's part) by walking the basic (street-level) bridge path.    Read more

  • Australia 2024
    The skyline in Sydney almost are as good as the Chicago skyline.Our ship sailed right past the Opera houseThe Sydney Opera House is even more beautiful at night as compared to the day.On the opposite side of the ship was the Sydney Bridge.Goodbye Sydney!

    Goodbye Sydney, Hello Cruise ship

    August 19, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    It's hard to say goodbye to our Hotel with its Executive Lounge breakfast buffet, afternoon buffet with happy hours and friendly staff. Below is our hotel coffee maker; what's not to like about 9 different types of coffee? Somehow I don't think the cruise ship will measure up. Another 1st world problem :)

    Obtained some additional Australian currency and found a currency exchange rate was .70 as compared to a ATM machine an .76. Yes the exchange rate on the internet is .64, so we feel a little violated. The misc fees are horrible, next time will investigate get currency at a local bank at home.

    Checked into our Princess Cruise ship and found their latest software revolutionary. If you order a drink using their application, they will deliver it to you anywhere on the boat!
    Our port departure was delayed a bit: we were told we have to wait for the ferry service to die down before we can leave our dock. There was a farewell party on the outside pool area which was a little chilly, so we instead found a nice table at the inside pool.    Read more

  • Australia 2024

    Day at Sea

    August 20, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    Today's agenda for a day at sea --- normal ship stuff: wake up, work out, breakfast, nap, lunch, laundry, check out a few on-board activities, dinner and then watch a live show at 8pm and another at 9pm. (The dancers and singers at the 9pm were really very good.)

    So far the only 'disappointment' is that the ship does not have a "Crows' Nest"-type bar: this is a lounge that (on Holland ships) is located in the front top floor of the ship. Maybe we don't want to see where we're going even WITH alcohol in hand?

    This ship's application has an interesting mobile application feature: you can find your shipmate anywhere they are on the ship by searching on the app. Hmm.... is that a good or bad thing? 😀😀    Read more

  • Australia 2024
    Arrived a little late to the showWe passed on line dancing lessons.

    Cruising to Cairns

    Aug 22–23, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 77 °F

    Not much to report on sea days. Today we passed this tiny island called Willis Island. It has a population of 4.
    Yes, you read that right: 4. It's a meteorological station and the team rotates every 6 months.

    As for the evenings, when you get to a show late you get the box seats with a wonderful view. Lol

    One nice thing about days at sea, there is no excuse not to get a full work out in :)    Read more

  • Australia 2024
    Entering the port
    With all the cameras looks like a charterWith the help of a tugboat they turned the ship around 180 degrees!!What was cool is all the vehicles were running !The fees to ride in an assortment of actual WWII vehicles ... how cool is this?!They truly had an assortment of all the WWII tanks, jeeps, and transport vehicles.If your on a budget, you can get a ride in a jeep. It felt like hoggens harrows show.This German tank was re assembled from the remains of 6 destroyed tanks.We left and went further north and checked out some local beachesThe weather was nice, but super windy; so it was a blessing we weren't able to do a Reef tour today.The harbor near our cruise ship was like every other harbor, making you want to get a boat.We returned to the ship for the folklore show by a local band.Latter that night, they had a fantastic singer

    Cairns Australia

    August 24, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    After 2 days at sea we arrive at Cairns at 11am, the home of the Great Barrier Reef. We're ~1,500 miles north of Sydney, & ~1,000 miles north of Brisbane. Therefore the Australian winter weather that was 55 to 70 degrees in Sydney changed to 65 to 80 degrees weather here.

    Pulling into the narrow Cairns Harbor was a pretty interesting experience. With the help of a tugboat they turned the ship around 180 degrees!! It felt like we occupied 90% of the width of the channel; & we had a full land-based audience watching the 'spectacle'!

    At first we couldn't figure out why we didn't arrive/dock until 11am: that ruled out any Great Barrier Reef tours or going on the Rail and Cable car ride in the mountains. However we later learned it was tide-driven -- there was no way a boat our size w/h been able to enter the harbor until the tide rose sufficiently.
    Every day's a school day....

    Luckily for us we attended the Cairns ship presentation and were told about the local Armory. What's better is that this weekend they were having the live 'show' where they pulled out a number of tanks and had 'rides' in them with a ticket purchase. With 1-Sept being Fathers' Day in Australia, there were plenty of tickets sold and thus opportunities to see these tanks actually MOVE. So we rented a vehicle and off we went to the armory.

    Afterwards we went to a local beach, then walked on the boardwalk back to our ship for a folklore show by a local band, followed by a fantastic singer.

    After a full day, no light piano bar tonight :)    Read more

  • Australia 2024
    Very few ships in the area
    Aug 26 locationMain TheatreThe Universe LoungeLido Pool ( Movie under the stairs )Explorers LoungeCrooners Bar (Piano Bar)

    Three Days at Sea

    Aug 25–27, 2024, Arafura Sea ⋅ 🌬 81 °F

    As we cruise to Darwin, thought I would show the multiple entertainment rooms throughout the ship.

    With over 5 performance rooms, after 5pm there is always a show to see.

  • Australia 2024
    Route to the croc locationAustralia is the land of mud flaps, air intake and traction boards.So what's a traction board?I had to google what a sand ladder wasCrocs were not hard to find.TURN UP THE SOUND FOR THE VIDEOCroc trap to control the populationA fun Australian BarFun Bar Rules!Bus is leaving and were still sanding. lolMore bombs were dropped on Darwin than Pearl Harbor!We did jump off one stop early at the water front for a few beers and (incredible!) oysters.These were SO GOOD!Later that night we checked out multiple entertainers performing on the boat.Ending our night where guitar-Matt replaced the normal piano player. He was awesome.

    Darwin Australia

    August 28, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    NOTE: Turn up the volume for the croc video! The SNAP of its jaws is just creepy!

    Yes, Darwin, Australia was named after Charles Darwin. Instead of evaluating evolution we decided to go on the Jumping Croc outing followed by a Hop On Hop Off Bus in Darwin.

    We learned Darwin (the city) was attacked on Feb 19th 1942 (10 weeks after Pearl Harbor ) by the same Japanese fleet that attacked Pearl harbor. They dropped a lot more bombs on Darwin than Pearl Harbor and the area was devastated.

    Going back to the tour, like other cruises we found you can purchase an excursion privately for half the price of the cruise ship offering.

    The tour provider was ~20 minutes late, but the ship was in port all day, so we didn't have any time concerns. The driver was both informative and funny going to and from the location. We're told a good percentage of the roads are flooded during the wet season, so we're happy to be here during the dry season.

    Moving on, we boarded a pontoon boat that looked like it was from a Mad Max movie. It has a metal frame around the boat for our protection. We were told not to hang anything over the sides; as evidenced by the video, that is one warning not to be taken lightly.

    We saw a lot of crocs including the alfa male named Brutus. Seems males are considerably longer than females and, aside from sheer size, their behavior is what helps you know gender (b/c who would try to look underneath!)

    Our guide did a great job making them jump. He showed us a nasty croc scar on his right arm that he got after a croc pulled him into the water years ago. 😳

    On the way back we drove to Fogg Dam -- it's a huge reserve, but they try to keep the croc population controlled by trying to trap & relocate them from the area. We're told 200 to 300 crocs make their way back to Darwin and have to be trapped and returned to the wild.

    Then we hopped on a Hop On Hop Off Bus, but unlike other tours, near then end of the trip they dropped us off at a bar on the water with a gift shop.    Read more

  • Australia 2024

    Day at sea

    August 29, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    Nothing special during the day, but we had two fun performances later that night

  • Australia 2024
    Local Pearl Museum
    fossils of dinosaur footprints located offshore but only visible during low tideMark and Simone inspecting the duplicated prints in concrete.Mark and Janet wondering around the rocksGood day had by everyoneNewspaper add indicating sighting of the crocsThis is Cable Beach. We drove right out onto the beach and walked out into the water.We then had lunch at the local beach bar on Cable Beach.Check out the pick up trucks in the parking lot.Janet and Simon Jones joined us for our day trip

    Broome Australia

    September 2, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    Broome is similar to Daytona Beach Florida, it's a place where Australians go during the winter (ie. 'dry season').

    Today we are going to drive around with our new Australia friends Simon and Janet Jones.
    Before picking up our rental car, we checked out the local Pearl shops, museum, Chinatown and the local market consisting of mostly Pearls and local crafts. We stopped for a coffee and learned that Simon used to be in the scuba diving business; he offered a lot of interesting information on the industry.The museum provided a display how they farmed Pearls. We found salt water pearls harvested from this area are ~200% more expensive than a freshwater pearl harvested elsewhere in the world but sold here.

    Getting our car, we first checked out Gantheaume Point which was very beautiful. Just off this point are fossils of dinosaur footprints located offshore but only visible during low tide. The tide moves over 15 feet in this area and if you're not here at low tide, you can't physically get to the prints. Since low tide wasn't until 4:30p, seeing the prints wasn't an option for us; so I'm putting the local picture here.
    A week later, I saw this article in the news indicating "Saltwater crocodeil spotted 50m off Gantheaume Point rocks", so I'm happy we didn't go swimming!
    Our last stop was in a park where preparations were underway for a festival. It looked like it would have been a lot of fun.
    Maybe next time!    Read more

  • Australia 2024
    Spotted our first wild kangarooIn our search for giants, we found "Little Lui" in a local park.Local Jazz bar for some Motown musicLucky to have met such nice Australian friends

    Visiting Australian Friends

    September 7, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    We took the train to visit Gael and Scott in Rockingham, 40 min train south of Perth. It's so much fun to visit folks in other countries. They gave us a nice overview tour of their area; we walked a few beaches and parks. Then we drove back to their house where they treated us to a traditional Australian BBQ for lunch (awesome!!). We then went in search of Giants.

    Later that night Susan joined us, so the 5 of us went to Ellington, a local Jazz bar for some Motown music. In Chicago bands are normally 4-piece, so a 9-piece band was a treat.    Read more

  • Australia 2024

    Rottnest Island (1 of 2)

    September 9, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    The ferry ride from Perth to Rottnest Island was a nice way of experiencing the river. There were multiple marinas and houses lining every possible piece of shoreline along with a few public beaches.

  • Australia 2024
    The lodging owner provides morning bread on a daily basis.Then off to breakfast at the local surfers' stop30% of these boards were broken in half.The historic water wheel in Augusta; in need of some repair.Cape Leeuwin LighthouseCaption not requiredNice compass near the lighthouse

    Margaret River, Augusta, Cape Leeuwin

    September 11, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    Seems other towns besides Chicago have cow art :)
    Our day started with the unexpected visit of some local kangaroos right outside our room.
    Then we went down the road to surfers beach and it didn't disappoint, followed by breakfast at the local surfers stop and a visit to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse.Read more

  • Australia 2024

    Jewel Cave (Deepdene, AU)

    September 11, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    Arrived at the Jewel Caves and joined the 3:30pm tour
    Jewel Cave is the largest show cave in WA and ranks as the 5th longest in the world. The 1.5-hr tour was enjoyable with professional walkways and lights. Unlike our Banff-area Canmore cave experience years ago, there was thankfully no crawling required. And unlike other caves the majority of fresh water entering this cave disappeared years ago, so the the cave is no longer growing.Read more

  • Australia 2024
    Stopping in Cowaramup (aka: Cowtown) for breakfast; it feels like we're in Door County, Wisconsin.Gift shop with some cool wall artThis is Canal Rocks; named for the canals flowing thru the rocks.Nice path allowing a safe way to get on the rocksA little vineyard stop; another nice place for group photoThe winery had a nice outdoor area to enjoy lunch.parrot eating the plantsBack to the beach for sunsetJust in case you want to identify a whaleThe surfing winners get their name on a stair.Ending up back at the breakfast cafe where now there's live music for sunset.All is good in Australia

    Canal rocks / wineries/ sunset

    September 12, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    Today plan is to visit Canal Rock.

    Stopping in Cowtown for breakfast it feels like we're in door county Wisconsin.

    Then off to Canal Rock

    Where we climbed our way to the point, where Janet pointed out the whales.

    Afterwards we started our wine tour.
    At the winery, we experienced our green parrot again.
    Seems the green parrot is Indigenous to the area, but we're told it's also referenced as 28, because Australians will use a 28 shot gun to rid them of as the parrot eats there flowers.

    Later the same day you can start to understand how the bird is a pest as it eats the plants at the winery

    Then back to surfer point to watch the surfers

    Ending up at a Cafe with live music for sunset. It nice staying in a guest house because the owner gives you the local places to visit.    Read more

  • Australia 2024
    Driving in AU is similar to Wisconsin: wineries, cows, sheep & beautiful countryside.CowsSheepMore CowsWild LiliesOur flight circled around Adelaide providing a nice view of the city.Seeing the stadium we hoped to watch another rugby game, but no luck.

    Travel day to Adelaide

    September 13, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    First we drove from Margaret River back to Perth and caught a 1:20pm flight to Adelaide.
    After checking into the Adelaide Hilton, we took a walkabout around and found a little farmers market, wine store and theatre. Walking into a local bar we noticed people watching something called "Australia Football League (AFL)". The bar was really crowded, so we went back to our room to watch the game. Immediately we noticed this is way different than rugby and very popular in Australia. After investigating the rules on YouTube, the game made more sense and was just as fun to watch.Read more

  • Australia 2024
    Just in case your interestedMore misc informationFirst wineryJ9 just checking to see if the bottles were full. Yep.Historical pictures of the winery's pasttrophy roomthe wine tasting areaAnother winery had the biggest vine I have ever seenAfter an educational (ie. long) speech on wine, we were released so we could get a picture.Then stopped at view area with its historyThere were a number of sculptures in the parkLuck was on our side: we were able to book some tickets to a Stones tribute band

    Wine country / Stones tribute band

    September 14, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F

    NE of Adelaide is wine country. J9 booked us on a full-day wine tasting tour. Aside from a few wineries, the tour had an interesting stop at a dam built in 1903.
    An unexpected expected outcome of the Dam is that sound is carried across the Dam wall, so our guide was able to talk to us from one end of the dam and we could clearly hear him on the other. More importantly, the dam was an engineering marvel at the time for its construction.

    We then visited 3 wineries, with a final stop at a viewing area with its history. The park had a number of art works.

    We arrived home just in time to catch dinner a nap and then catch a Stones tribute band. We were able to book 2 of the last 6 tickets on the main floor.

    Stones tribute band started a little slow, but second half rocked the house.    Read more

  • Australia 2024
    Community involvement is impressiveBMX track near the trailWill not see this in the USEating the branches againArrived at St Vincent BayTodays statsNice place to end a walk

    Walk - Adelaide to St Vincent Gulf Bay

    September 15, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F

    We woke up with no plans for the day. Our first thought was to rent bikes, but it's Sunday and shops are closed. Then we thought about renting an electric scooter, but scooters can only be returned in town. So we decided to walk a trail we found in AllTrails. The trail was rated 4.6, so we thought we would walk until we got tired and get an Uber return.

    We found the trail next to a small stream to be excellent with lots of birds and plants.
    Happy we made it to a Hotel bar to celebrate our walk.

    Afterwards we made it home for the Hilton Executive Lounge for cocktails :)    Read more

  • Australia 2024
    We parked next to the boat ramp.The land at the end of this picture is 3.5 milesHalf way down the beach, we found this cool old blow hole.J9 making new friendsThe rocks at the end of the coastline made an interesting landscape.One has to wonder how old this rock is..We met 2 local tour guides who were cleaning plastic & garbage from the beach on their day off.The entrance to the trail is through these rocks.After clearing the rock the rest of the beach was only a mile long.Koala hanging outAction packed video :)High end laundromat

    Local hikes on Kangaroo Island

    September 17, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    We found two hiking trails on the northern side of Kangaroo Island. The first trail, Ema, had a AllTrails rating of 4.6 and was 6 miles long on the coastline. Driving to the trail was simple and we were only 1 of 3 cars in the parking lot.
    Later in the walk we talked to some locals and we're told if we see dolphins we should shed our cloths and join them in the water. It seems the Australian dolphins are friendlier than the US Dolphins. We didn't see any, so we didn't have to consider going swimming Aussie style.

    What's really cool, near the end of our hike, we met these two local tour guides and they were cleaning plastic and garbage from the beach. They love their island, and this is a truly symbolic of two ladies trying to make a difference.

    Leaving Ema we made our way to a Lavender Farm that served food. Along the way, I saw a Koala crossing the road. Backing up the car, Janine found him up in the tree. Not only is it in the wild, but awake. We have been told they sleep 16-18 hours a day, so this was a major Australia find (for us). After a couple pictures we continued our drive to lunch.

    Janine found our second location called Stokes Bay: a somewhat hidden but interesting beach walk just the same.

    Returning back to our hotel, we checked out the local laundry as all Mark laundry was dirty. J9 on the other hand responsibly washes her laundry each night.

    When we were leaving an elderly gentleman using a walker approached us and asked if we knew where his hotel was. It seems he was lost. He showed us his hotel key card --- it appeared he was staying in the same hotel as us. After talking to him for a while we convinced him into letting us drive him home. It seems he ordered a pizza for his wife, walked to pick it up, took a wrong turn out of the pizza place and walked ~3 blocks in the opposite direction. After passing the hotel twice he finally recognized the entrance of the hotel that looked familiar to him and j9 walked him back to his wife. We were so relieved to be able to help him, because it was dark and the streets were empty. Thank God our paths crossed!!

    Afterwards we made our way to the same pizza bar "Bella Cafe and Pizza Bar" and were able to place an order right before they were going to close. We found the house Pizza excellent! :)    Read more

  • Australia 2024
    Hikes of the day
    The drive to the lighthouse was just as interesting as some of our hikes!On site descriptioninteresting ground-level foliageThe views were amazingThere were a ton of seals in that little pond-like area toward the bottom of this pic.Admiral's Arch: The pictureAdmiral's Arch: our actual photographArriving at the Remarkable Rock

    Flinders Chase National Park

    September 18, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 59 °F

    Started our day driving 1.5 hours to Flinders Chase National Park. It's on the far west side of the island and has a number of sights to see. They recently built a new information center that helped us plan our day.

    We started with a 1.5 mile walk around the Cape Du Couedic Lighthouse. Then went to the original house where the lighthouse families lived. Back then, once every three months the their provisions were supplied via boat and hoisted up the hill. At that time, there were no roads to the lighthouse.

    The next stop of the day was to Remarkable Rocks and they were remarkable indeed.

    We then went to Seal Bay after lunch only to find out that we were too late for a visit --- they were closing soon. But the park ranger we met at the entrance was one of the guides we met the day before picking up plastic on the beach.!

    On our way back home we made a quick stop at the wool store only to find it crazy expensive.    Read more

  • Australia 2024
    The Yacht Club looked closed for the winter season. :(

    Hike from our hotel

    September 19, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 55 °F

    We started the morning undecided on a couple of hikes. We decided to take the 5K walkway from our hotel and see where it goes. Like other trails we've found so far, it was well maintained starting with a natural swimming pool. There were lookouts for whales, but they didn't show up today. Interesting, this trail felt like we were back in Perth in the Botanical Gardens: there was a huge variety of flowers and plants, just too many to post!Read more

  • Australia 2024
    Prospect Hill
    Prospect Hill ViewsProspect Hill ViewsProspect Hill ViewsPennington Bay BeachPennington Bay BeachPennington Bay BeachAnd enough energy left for a little gin tasting.

    Afternoon Hikes

    September 19, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 59 °F

    In the afternoon we hiked Mt Thisby Lookout, Prospect Hill and Pennington Bay Beach. On the way home we stoped and did a gin tasting

  • Australia 2024
    All I can say is: it's "art"Our last kangaroo sighting on Kangaroo IslandArrived in Victor Harbor: view from our room

    Travel to Victor Harbor Australia

    September 20, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Today is our travel day, leaving Kangaroo Island and going to Victor Harbor. We had enough time to stop at Kangaroo Island Sculpture trail before boarding our ferry to leave the island.

    The drive to Victor Harbor was enjoyable as we continued to pass multiple farms, We arrived early enough to watch some local surfers, walk around the coast a bit and find a fun little place for dinner.Read more

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