April 9-10 : Kangaroo Island (Day 2)

After a hearty breakfast of toast with yummy Nutella and tea, then it was time to all pile back into the bus to head off to our first destination: Snake Lagoon Hike. The hike wasn't too challenging and had great views along the way. It eventually led us to a private beach, however, it was too windy to truly enjoy it. The scenery was amazing and lucky for all of us, the weather held of just long enough to get back safely to the bus before it started to rain!

Next stop: Admirals Arch!
Home to New Zealand Fur Seals who were everywhere napping and soaking up the sun on the rocks. Breathtaking views of the ocean and rocks, all leading up to the famous Arch. The massive waves turned the water the most incredible blue I had even seen. It was sure windy and chilly checking everything out! Sadly, I don't think my pictures to it justice. But, enjoy!

From there it was onto my favorite stop of the whole trip. I could have spent all day here if I could, but sadly we only had a few hours. It was time to explore the Remarkable Rocks and boy were they quite remarkable!!! They sat right on the edge of a cliff and had been slowly eroded away by the wind and salt water. We could climb all over them and take a million photos. Some had the most unusual shapes, like a birds beak or had a hole missing in the middle that a person could fit inside. Just makes you wonder how long it took them to become this way. So so so cool!!! And this is only a tiny fraction of the photos I took around the rocks!

After spending most of the afternoon around the rocks, we headed to the Kelly Caves for a quick look around before it was time to get a quick fish and chips while waiting for the ferry back to mainland Australia. Overall, a very special trip with lots of unique opportunities and memories!

April 9-10 : Kangaroo Island (Day 1)

My travels began with a weekend trip to Kangaroo Island, which is located off the coast of Adelaide, by taking a 2 hour ferry. Our tour company was through Groovy Grape and they were wonderful! Our guide was very knowledgeable and super funny. We only were there for two days, so each was crammed full with as many activities as possible! First stop, was a climb up Prospect Hill to check out the views of the entire island. Learned all about the history and the explorer's who sailed around the island.

Next stop was Emu Ridge, which is an Eucalyptus Distillery. They are also home of the most adorable baby Kangaroo which the owners rescued and now she lives with them. We arrived just as the kangaroo was about to take a nap and it was the cutest thing ever! They are one of the largest manufactures of eucalyptus oil and products in all of Australia and I think even the world. Wow! They also had Emu's on the grounds we could feed. It smelled so good in their store!

From there it was to the beach to view a colony of Australian Sea-lions relaxing on the beach. We took a guided tour which lead us right down onto the beach and probably only 30 ft away from groups of babies, females, and males all resting on the beach. They fish non-stop out at sea for three days then come in for a three day rest, then repeat. The babies were adorable and looked almost like stuff animals! Being right down on the beach was such an amazing opportunity to get that close to wild-life. I took so many photos but will only put a few up on here!

Last stop (and probably the craziest stop) was at the "Sahara Desert" for sand boarding!! The sky was crystal blue and the sand literally looked like we were at a proper desert. After hiking up a very steep sand hill, the fun part began as I sledded down the hill at pretty fast speeds! I think I did about 5 or 6 trips up and down the hill. So much fun! Sand went everywhere and was all in my hair, but it was worth it. On our way back to the bus, a flash rain storm came through and completely drenched everyone in a matter of seconds. It lasted about 3 minutes long and then pasted, leaving a beautiful rainbow over the hill we had been boarding down!

First day on the Island was great!!! We slept in nice quality bunks for the night and needed lots of sleep for the big day ahead tomorrow!

xoxo