A month and half after I started my biggest trip yet, I’m finally getting around to recapping it. Life is busy around here, but here we are!
Day 1: Melbourne to Adelaide
First day of school holidays meant I was flying the coop! I spent the day preparing the last things I needed for my big adventure. A quick evening flight with Qantus had me in South Australia and making my way to Adelaide CBD. First impression of Adelaide: it’s kind of chilly! That’s about all I had to observe, as I got there and it was dark, and I had an early start so to bed I went.
Day 2: Kangaroo Island
A 6:45 departure from the CBD to take us to Cape Jervis for the 8:45 ferry across Backstairs Passage to Australia’s third largest island. It took us about 45 minutes then we were off on our busy day around the island.
I had first heard of Kangaroo Island in 2020 with the killer bushfires that decimated the land, and four years later you could see the vegetation had made a real recovery, but many of the dead trees were still standing. And for whatever reason, the koalas had quite the affinity for hanging out in the trees that don’t have any leaves. No one ever said they were smart! Jokes aside, they quite literally have a smooth brain. However, there is a reason they like the dead trees, but can I remember why?
We made our first stop at Seal Bay, where the Australian Sea Lions were hanging out in the sun, and the pups were out frolicking around. The Australian Sea Lions only undergo a breeding cycle every 18 months, so for us to see the babies felt pretty lucky! One of the sea lions was even having a snooze under the boardwalk we took to the beach:
After lunch, we gawked at some koalas hanging out in some dead trees from the parking lot, then were off to the far southwest coast of the island where we visited the Remarkable Rocks, which sound really cheesy, but were actually so neat! They are remnants of igneous rock intrusions/extrusions that had the other rock erode away over millions of years. What remains? A perfect tourist trap:
Then it was time to see Admiral’s Arch. Or at least attempt to imagine the scaffolding wasn’t there while they repaired the viewing deck. But, at least there were more sea lions basking on the rocks and playing in the water to entertain. And back on the road we were! This time to a wildlife park, our last stop. We fed some Kangaroo Island Kangaroos, and saw sleepy quokkas, Little Penguins, and koalas. The Kangaroo Island Kangaroos aren’t their own species, but a subspecies of the Western Grey that has a thicker coat and darker tips (ears, toes, tail) than their mainland counterpart. Did you know a group of roos can be called a mob, troop, or court? Well now you do!
That was it for Kangaroo Island, we caught the 7 PM ferry back to Cape Jervis and bussed back to Adelaide.
Day 3: To Broken Hill, NSW
Travel day! But not before some errand running (cause somebody forgot her sunscreen on the tour bus on Kangaroo Island). And a visit with one of my University of Manitoba friends! Somehow we both ended up in Australia – him for basketball and me doing this. Then it was off to the Adelaide Central bus depot for my first public transit coach ride of the trip.
I had a window seat, and there were maybe a dozen others making the journey with me. Watching the landscape as we headed north, then northeast, was dare I say fun? More surreal that this kind of landscape just exists in the world, the same world that has rainforests and mountains and tundra. It was largely flat, and at times appeared to have a hazy yellow filter over my vision. We passed quite a few dry creek beds, but that cut deep enough into the landscape that you could get a picture of the power the flood waters have when they are present.
It took a little over 6 hours to get to Broken Hill. En route, we passed through the town of Riverton in arid rural South Australia. A little ways after Riverton was our meal stop in the town of Yunta, whose town tagline was “Where the hell is Yunta?”. And for a town population of 60, and being the last fuel stop for 200 km (on a well-travelled road, mind you) headed towards Broken Hill, I’d say it’s pretty accurate.
Shortly after leaving Yunta, we entered New South Wales, and saw several flocks of emus! Wild emus! Running alongside us just like I was in a National Geographic documentary. One of my favourite parts of the day. As for my least favourite part, that was receiving the text that my Outback Astronomy tour was cancelled for the evening due to the parking lot being too muddy for visitors. No guided stargazing for me 🙁
I settled into my Air BnB, and got ready for my next day where I was set to explore the outback.
See you soon!
Kate
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