Day 95 - Monday 8th April 2024

I've not caught up with the clocks going back twice yet as I was wide awake at 05:15 this morning. With no prospect of further sleep I browsed Facebook for a while before showering at 06.30 so that I wasn't too anti social; sounds travelled in this hotel!

The car was packed by 07:30, so I thought that I'd may as well checkout and get onto the road a bit earlier than planned. I left Victor Harbour with the intention of finding a coffee on the way to Cape Jervis from where I catch the Kangaroo Island ferry at 10:00. I should have bought it in Victor Harbour as there were no towns or coffee shops before arriving at the ferry terminal to check in.

I was early arriving, so I sat in a viewpoint above the ferry terminal until the 09:00 ferry had departed, then went and checked in and bought the long awaited coffee. Loading started at 09:30, and I was beckoned into the smallest gap; I bought the wing mirrors in, and was guided into the gap that meant I'd be the very last vehicle to disembark. Out of the car and onto a viewing deck where I watched the rest of the boarding process before we departed on time.

The 45 minute crossing was unremarkable, apart from the decision I made about what to do with the rest of my day. I'd decided that I'd visit the Flinders Chase National Park on the south west coast of the island. Off of the boat and Satnav set, it was going to be over a two hour trip to my target. The first few kilometres were full of delays due to roadworks (I must bear that in mind for tomorrow's return ferry), and I then was directed to leave the highway and take an unsealed road that cut a huge corner off of the route. 

Then a long drive before arriving at the entry to Flinders Chase NP. An entry fee paid, and some recommendations about what to see (all on my list anyway), I made my way first for Admirals Arch. A huge party of Chinese had arrived, so I was going to try to avoid them if possible! Admirals Arch was the third site recommended, so I thought starting there may be a good idea, and that's the way it turned out.

About 1km along a boardwalk bought me to the Admiralty Arch viewpoint, but I couldn't get a good view due to the work that's happening there currently. On the rocks below the lookouts were a colony of fur seals enjoying relaxing; it reminded me of Kaikoura in New Zealand!

There was a squall coming in from the southern ocean, and I just about beat this back to the car. Next spot was the lighthouse just up the road, but when I arrived at the car park, it was full of the Chinese group, their kids spread about the whole car park. I didn't need this, so passed on the lighthouse, and went instead to Weirs Cove. 

There was the ruin of the old lighthouse keepers store; they had deliveries by ship every three months before the roads were built, and a winch system to get the goods the 90 metres up the cliff. This provided some fantastic views along the coast where I was soon to be heading.

Next planned stop was a place called 'Remarkable Rocks', but I stopped en route to snap the picture above; the remarkable rocks can just be made out on the headland. As I pulled into the car park at Remarkable Rocks, a coach party arrived, so I 'got a wiggle on' to try to beat them to the viewpoint. 

To live up to it's name, this place needed to be something a bit special, and it was. I didn't even mind that there were loads of people. A boardwalk took me down past a few viewpoints, and lead me onto the granite surface and into the rocks.

What we had here was a granite outcrop that has been eroded by the elements to some fantastical shapes. I was able to explore in and around the shapes, and the fact that lots of other people were there didn't detract from it (which is most unusual for me!).

There were rocks that looked like the beak of a giant monster was about to devour anyone who stood there, and other fantastical shapes that the wildest imagination would not have dared come up with.

The final spot I stopped was on my way back out of the park at Bunker Hill Lookout which provided a great view towards the ocean. After finishing here it was after 15:00, so I decided to make tracks for my hotel for the night. It was back towards the ferry port and almost two hours distant. I keyed it into SatNav, and retraced my steps to the east of the island. A left off the highway, and I was soon at my digs for the night in American River.

They have a bar and restaurant here, and on countback it's the first time I've eaten dinner at the hotel since Dunedin way back in New Zealand.

What is becoming increasingly apparent in Australia is that I hadn't really understood the distances involved. Take today as an example. Two hours to get from one end of the island to the other; I must be careful tomorrow so that I don't miss my ferry.