Next Stop - Kangaroo Island
On Kangaroo Island we stayed at the Southern Ocean Lodge. The views were breathtaking and the room was large and very comfortable.
Clifftop Trek
The views on our guided clifftop trek were stunning. In the beginning, the trail was a wooden boardwalk. Then we were traveling along the edge of the bluff on a small dirt trail that followed the coastline.
Many of the plants had interesting adaptations to the high salt concentrations in the environment. Some would sacrifice some of their leaves so that the rest of the plant remained healthy.
Hanson Bay Sanctuary
We finally got to see some koala activity on our nocturnal walkabout at the Hanson Bay Sanctuary. Even when they are awake, however, koalas are not very active.
Koala on the Move
Nocturnal Wildlife
Two of the kangaroo at this reserve had been rescued and raised from a very young age so they were very used to people. They joined our small group and followed us around most of the evening. We saw lots of kangaroo, some possum, and an echidna.
Morning Walkabout
On our morning trek we saw a momma koala with her baby, lots of cool kangaroo, and many beautiful birds, including a crimson rosella and a magpie.
Exciting Echidna
Echidna are small spiny egg-laying mammals that look sort like a porcupine with a long snout. They eat mostly termites and ants. They use their claws to dig and their long sticky tongue to collect the insects.
The young are carried in the pouch for about a month and a half, until they begin to develop spines. The mom then digs a nursery burrow and comes every five days to feed the young.
Echidna Antics
Want a Hug?
Loved watching the kangaroos. They were very active and expressive.
Remarkable Rocks
We spent a day driving around Kangaroo Island with a guide. One stop was in Flinders Chase National Park where we saw some amazing formations of granite called the Remarkable Rocks.
