Australia Adventure - Part 2 Adelaide
On arrival we were taken by coach to our accommodation for the night, courtesy of North Adelaide Heritage Group. They have 19 luxury boutique serviced apartments and cottages and our group were accommodated in around four of them. Each has its own unique theme - from the Fire Station (one of the beds is actually in an old fire engine) to Buxton Manor - an old Victorian mansion converted to four apartments and one spa cottage.
I stayed in the George Lowe Esquire Apartment - a beautifully furnished two-bedroom apartment with full facilities - kitchen, bathroom, two double rooms (one with an extra single bed) and a sitting room. Patio doors opened out onto the lawns. It was such a shame we were only there for the night as I could have quite easily spent a week in this unusual but very authentic Victorian style apartment.
The next day we had a walking tour of Adelaide - ending at the migration museum, where the bricks on the driveway were carved with names of people who had settled in Adelaide and where they had come from. Very interesting to see there were some from most of the countries represented by our group. I found one from very close to my hometown of Leeds - which was great to see, and we had great fun looking for familiar names/places.
Next, we headed to the ferry port at Cape Jervis and set sail over to Penneshaw Kangaroo Island. This was something I had been looking forward to doing since my arrival in Australia. I love wildlife and nature, and as much as I love a bustling city - I love peace and quiet as well. We arrived in Kingscote and checked into the Friendly Ozone Eco Hotel where we had dinner.
The rooms here were lovely, and I would definitely recommend this hotel. Spacious bright rooms, some overlooking the sea. My room was on the ground floor with a little garden area instead of a balcony which was lovely. The next morning, we began our tour of the island. It is not a huge place, so a full day will give you plenty of opportunity to take everything in. There are a few places to stay on the island however so if you wanted to stay for a few days peace and quiet and wildlife watching you certainly wouldn't get bored.
We were able to walk amongst kangaroos in their natural habitat - although we didn't get too close as they can be quite aggressive, and boy are they big! We also saw the koalas snoozing high up in the trees, like little soft and cuddly teddy bears. Apparently, koalas are only awake for an hour a day to feed, then straight back to sleep. What a life!
We had an inspection at the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat - absolutely perfect for a bit of luxury whilst living side by side with nature. The hotel staff told us of possums that had been found curled up on the guest beds like kittens when doors had been left open, and echidnas and wallabies roaming freely around the communal areas (which is all outdoor). The rooms were luxurious given the surrounding on the edge of the Flinders Chase National Park.
After a spot of lunch here, we took to the track again and through Flinders Chase to the Remarkable Rocks. They are exactly as described - what a beautiful formation created by nature. Truly remarkable.
Next stop was Seal Bay Conservation Centre. No explanation needed of what we saw here. There seemed to be thousands of them on the bay - so noisy and my gosh did they smell!
Back to Kingscote after this, and time to head back to Adelaide where we opted for a flight back. This was a little 39-seater plane, which took around 45 mins to reach Adelaide.
The next day we headed out to the Barossa for some wine tasting at two very different wineries. One was Peter Lehman wines which I knew my dad enjoyed back home, so felt I should buy him a bottle to take back as a gift! Then we had an inspection of the Novotel Barossa before heading back to Adelaide to check in for our flight to our final destination – Melbourne.
To be continued.....
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