Australia - Kangaroo Island, Day Two

Kangaroo Island is full of so many wonderful sights, that I managed to omit a few from the post of our first day of touring. As I reviewed my pictures, I found the ones of this fellow who we found not more than 10-15 feet up a eucalyptus tree. He woke from his daytime napping long enough to look us over and determine that we weren’t going to disturb him and then he went back to sleep.

It is a bit unusual to see koalas awake during the day and even more unusual to see one out of a tree and bussing along the ground. We caught sight of one moving alongside the road. He ambled like a very old man and in fact, Malcolm judged by his coloring that he might be of an older generation.

The view of the sunsets at the Sea Dragon Lodge was breathtaking. Every night the sky light up with color as the sun dipped below the horizon. This of course was followed by an absolutely delicious dinner.

The morning of the second day, we set out with Malcolm again—this time to head for the more western part of the island. Our first stop was a spectacular beach. I’m not a “beach person” but I could have seen myself relaxing here with a good book and soaking up the atmosphere with the sound of the waves and the gentle wind cooling my face.

At morning tea time, we pulled over into the entry to a cattle farm where Malcolm planned to serve our coffee and biscuits (cookies) from the back of the SUV. Just as he was about to get everything out, the owner of the farm who happened to also be a tour guide pulled in and invited us to join his small party at the picnic area he had inside the fence. He opened the gate and we followed.

We drove into the middle of the field and stopped just before crossing a small creek. When we did, the cattle lifted their heads and turned toward the SUVs. Slowly they began to approach. Malcolm and the other guide suggested we get out and walk a bit while they prepared tea. Thankfully, there was another guide with the other two visitors from France who walked with us because once we were out of the cars, the cattle started lowing—mooing—whatever you call the sounds they were making. You see, to supplement their diet in the drought period, cattle and sheep farmers put out hay for them. They were expecting their “morning tea” as well, I think. I never felt more like a city girl than I did then as I picked my way around huge “cow pies” and prayed the cattle wouldn’t get mad when they realized we weren’t there to feed them.