Cowes

Today was Valentine's Day and turned out to be one amazing day of thigs to do.
To start the day, there was a massive power outage on the island, so all the shops and stores had no electricity. Our excursion into the town was going to be a bust due to this.
And then we found out that there was a hike at Cape Woolamai Beach. We found a taxi driver that knew about it since he mountain biked there. He told us about the trail and the copperhead snakes to avoid. The hike was along a beach, then through the brush up to the Pinnacle. The hike was not just walking along a trail. It was real hiking over terrain and up a very steep hill to the Pinnacle overlook. The view was breathtaking over the pink granite cliffs to the ocean crashing on the granite cliffs and shoreline below. We could see miles all the way around the island. We then hiked back down the trail to where we started. Along the way were more gorgeous views, a lizard crossing the trail and a friendly Wallaby popped his head up out of the bush to greet us. It was really a great hike and visit with the Australian nature free of all the crowds and a way to experience the island.
Then back to the ship for a quick dinner and then on to the Penguin Parade in the evening. We sat along the beach and after sunset small groups of blue penguins come out of the surf to make a quick exit across the beach to their burrows in the sand dunes. They are only about a foot tall and move in groups for safety. Once in the sand dunes, they waddle to their protected burrows for the evening.
Overall it was our best day yet on the trip - and to make things better, it was on Valentine's Day!Read more