Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Australian Adventure (Wednesday, July 03, 2013)

40 Days Down Under (Day 20)

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

We started the morning by getting a kick out of the caravan park payphone being hosted from an old bakery cart. Looking at the photo, I sure hope I had called 000 for the services of the fire department. How did I not realize the woods were on fire behind me???


After messing around with the phone booth, we took the koala walk from the camp. We didn't find any koalas, but we did find kangaroos.


When we got back to the campervan, we found more kangaroos.


Soon we were heading back to Flinders Chase National Park to the Admirals Arch. We just had to see it in the daylight.


There were so many Australian fur seals and New Zealand fur seals hanging about, and I was enamored by the pups!

One in particular just captured my heart - and, subsequently, my camera lens.





Oh - and the arch was pretty good too.





We next began a serene, multi-kilometer walk to the Platypus Waterholes, but had to clean our shoes first.


We saw plenty of birds, colorful fungi, and some platypus breathing bubbles. We enjoyed the walk and took our time savoring the fresh air and sounds of nature.


When we were done, Kris saw his very favorite Wicked Camper ever.


Our next stop, which wound up as our lunch stop, was Bales Beach where I found leafy sea dragon skeleton fairly intact while looking for sea glass for my friend Britney. Kris found a sea sponge. No luck on the sea glass.








Just around the corner from Bales Beach is the Seal Bay Visitor's Center. We opted to go on the boardwalk for a good look at the endangered Australian Sea Lion. (The arrow is pointing to our shadow as we start our descent.)


These guys sure can climb up into the dunes. It's fascinating to watch their flippers fly!


They fly even faster going down the dunes.


Plus they have amorous personalities. (Or maybe just this guy did.)


I loved looking at their itty-bitty ears.


We checked in at Kingscote Tourist Park and Family Units on Nepean Bay and suspected we'd be the only guests that evening. Everyone else seems to want to stay in hotels during the winter.


We headed to the Kingscote Wharf for their 5pm pelican feeding. The host was a bit of a comedian, but he was overshadowed by the peculiar pelicans and silly seagulls.

Pelicans sure do have trouble flying - and landing.


And, for such social creatures, they sure do act like vultures when it comes to food. They even pick on the juveniles. (The young pelicans have brown feathers.)


The host was filled with all sorts of good information on the pelican. To torment them a bit (not really), he first feeds the seagulls that land on his hat. The pelicans hate it, and some will track the seagull down and fight for the food.


It's interesting. For the most part, the pelicans will mostly wait patiently for food - until one would try to make a break for it. Then all heck would break loose.





Next, he'll feed a few pieces here and there to the pelicans. One guy got a bunch stuck in his gullet. (They are really particular about which direction the fish faces when they swallow it too.)


And then he lets the chum fly. Boy do those birds go crazy.


Dinner for the evening was at Hot Stuff. I got a yiro (as spelled on the menu) and some chicken salt chips. (They soak the sea salt in chicken stock before adding it to the fries.) Very tasty.

Our last activity for the evening was the penguin walk. They have an interesting set of aquariums in the penguin center.


We wound up seeing several burrowing/nesting fairy penguins in the wild. They are the world's smallest penguin and rather cute too. They sure make loud noises for something so darn small.



Yet, somehow, while taking the red-lit photos of the cute penguins, this depiction of something demonic appeared in our camera?!?


Not to worry. We're fine. Plus - we had the clearest view of the Milky Way and Southern Cross tonight! We could clearly see Alpha, Beta, Delta, Epsilon, and Gamma illuminating the evening. Kris, ever the extended shutter photographer, got a phenomenal photo of the sky.


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