Day Two on Kangaroo Island

Remarkable Rocks on Kangaroo Island

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

A Poisonous Snake!!!

Century Palm

Splendid fairy wren

The hills on this side of the island are less rugged.

Follow This Path To Find A Surprise

A Long And Narrow Path to the Surprise

Surprise!  A Safe beach for Swimmers. A natural rocky ledge keeps the sharks out.

A Large Male Kangaroo

Love Is In The Air?

Today, for once, I didn't have to set the alarm or arrange a wake up call.  Today I could sleep as late as I wanted.  I was up about 6 but it was nice to wake up on my own and not have to hustle.  I had breakfast in bed (leftovers from the grocery store yesterday) while watching the morning news programs.  Nikki picked me up about 9 o'clock and together we had a great day and also my last real day of vacation.  Tomorrow I would be traveling for over 24 hours and today I didn't want to think about that.  She drove me around town.  She showed me her father's house and his lobster boat.  She showed me her house too.  We drove to the southern tip of the island to Flinders National Park.  We saw the Remarkable Rocks and the New Zealand Fur seals on the beaches.  Yesterday Nikki told me about being bitten by a black tiger snake - the fifth most venomous snake in the world.  She was hiking by herself and she accidentally stepped on one.  The snake bit her in the thigh with one puncture above the zipper on her zip off pant legs and the other puncture below the zipper.  Her cell phone would not work where she was standing.  She knew first aid for black tiger snake bites.  She stood completely still for an entire hour.  Walking would have spread the venom throughout her body and killed her.  I cannot imagine how long that hour must have seemed.  After standing still for an hour she hiked out of the bush and called for help.  She was taken to the hospital for observation.  Snakes can bite with injecting venom.  If she were given the anti-venom without being exposed to any venom, the treatment could also kill her.  After observation the doctors concluded she was bitten but not injected with venom.  She was given antibiotics and sent home.  So when we were walking up the boardwalk from the Remarkable Rocks and Nikki says, "Look, a black tiger snake!"  I approached cautiously.  Although poisonous this snake is not aggressive.  The business end of the snake was under the boardwalk which made me feel better.  I think it was about 5 or 6 feet long and the skin was so black it looked almost blue.  The skin had tread on it like a bike tire.  I peeked at it between the cracks of the board walk and I was very surprised when Nikki said, "Keep an eye on it and tell me if it moves."  She moved off the board walk, knelt down on the rocks and bent over to get a good picture.  80% of me wanted to tease her and yell, "It's coming your way!"  I restrained myself and let her get a good picture.  Further along the path we saw a group of quick moving birds. Nikki spotted an emu wren - another very rare bird.  This nondescript brown bird has a feathery tail that looks like it should be on a much larger bird. She got lots of good pictures of it.  She was so excited she had tears in her eyes.  All the rest of the day she told everyone we saw about the emu wren.  They were impressed too so it must be a rare bird.  She told me about a feral cat project she initiated and developed on Kangaroo Island for which she won Australia's Young Environmentalist award.  Nikki and I got along great.  Later in the day she asked me, "Feeling a bit peckish?"  I've seen that word in books and thought it meant irritable but that didn't fit this context.  I didn't feel like scratching the ground with my feet and slamming my face into the earth.  So I had no choice but to ask, "Peckish?"  She apologized for her Australian slang and replaced it with hungry.  "Oh, yes" I said, "I am feeling peckish!"  Again we drove into another private compound.  I was dropped off a ways away from the lunch location and had a chance to walk by myself for a spell.  We were in a dry area spotted with Century Palms and some eucalyptus shrubs.  We had a picnic table under a white tent.  Nikki found a rock with a depression in it so she filled it with water and we enjoyed lunch while watching splendid fairy wrens taking a bath.  We had vegie burgers, a delicious salad made with lettuce, feta cheese (from sheep's milk), olives, sun dried tomatoes, green beans, and sugar pea sprouts.  The sugar pea sprouts were very tasty.  I ate them all.  We had some yogurt sauce for the burgers also made from sheep milk that was very good.  We had chicken, bread and butter, a fruit salad with rice, wine, soda, water, and for dessert - cheesecake topped with strawberry yogurt made from sheep's milk. I ate  until I was stuffed.  Everything was so delicious. I had no idea sheep were used for milk.  The sheep cheese was less strong than goat cheese and quite delicious.  We drove north to King George beach.  The north side of the island is less rugged and has more vegetation on it.  The trees are taller too.  We saw more birds and a few more kangaroos and wallabies.  She drove me to another beach.  She pointed to some rocks and said a trail started in there.  At the end of the trail would be a surprise.  I should follow the trail and find the surprise.  The trail was difficult.  With my big sun hat I had to hold my head sideways in places or crouch down to get through.  I wondered what the surprise would be.  The only thing I could think of was a nude beach.  I kept walking and eventually the narrow, windy, cave like path came to an end and I saw another large beach. Part of this beach was bordered with a rocky ledge making it safe for swimmers.  Families with small children were swimming here and having picnics.  It was very nice.  I hiked back to the car.  Nikki and I had a lot in common and we were busy talking and sharing experiences.  The time flew by very fast and I was disappointed when it was time to take me to the Kangaroo Island International airport.  The International was a joke.  This airport had one gate.  It did have two runways but only one was paved.  Nikki and I exchanged face book information and hugged good by.  Although the flight from Kangaroo Island to Adelaide is only 20 minutes we are served water and a Mentos piece of candy.  When I checked into the Breakfree Hotel I claimed my suitcase and repacked for the long ride home tomorrow.  Where did the three weeks go?  On this vacation I had lost all track of time.  I did not miss work or home.  To keep the vacation mode going as along as I could I decided to wear my Australian clothing and not dress for Minnesota first thing in the morning.  I packed so warmer clothes could be reached without too much trouble.  I had to face facts; my vacation was coming to an end.