Kangaroo Island Part the First
September 22, 2007 by Kevin
We were up at 6 dang o’clock in the morning to catch the 6:20 shuttle to Kangaroo Island. Already we ran into a problem. Apparently here in Australia, whether by land or air, when they say 6:20, they mean “The bus/plane is pulling away at 6:18 whether or not you’re there.” We’ve seen this several times already. If you mean 6:15, SAY 6:15. Stupid Australians.
But on its second loop around we caught the bus and headed south down the so-called Fleurieu Peninsula in the direction of Kangaroo Island.
It was a two hour drive along the coast through amazing terrain, with vineyards and sheep right and left. Mary Beth slept through most of it and I snapped fuzzy pictures through the window.
Finally at the tip of the peninsula, next to the lighthouse and the wind farm, the bus stopped and we transferred to a gigantic car-and-person ferry to make the 45-minute trip to K.I., visible in the hazy distance.
Our stop was Penneshaw, a sleepy town of a few hundred (they don’t even have a police station) right where the ferry let out. We were met by Rex, owner of the beach house where we were staying, who gave us and our wine-heavy bags a lift the 1.5 km to the house, near a picturesque inlet called Christmas Cove. The house itself was a cute little number overlooking the sea with three bedrooms and (the exciting part) a full kitchen. We were promised that fairy penguins were nesting in the back yard, though we weren’t to see any.
Nothing else was planned for the day, giving us a nice lazy time watching the waves crash against the rocks a few feet below the front yard (and eating the cookies Rex brought). We walked up the hill to the local supermarket and bought groceries for the next couple of days. Now, we’re used to Aussies being friendly, but the checkout lady almost broke our brains when she offered to DELIVER the groceries to us at the house when she headed home for lunch in half an hour. We happily accepted, though not without mind-boggled expressions on our faces.
Aussies are FRIENDLY.
We searched in vain for penguins in the back yard. Unsuccessful, we watched TV instead, waves crashing a few feet out the door. Tacos were for dinner, thanks to tortillas from Old El Paso, and we went to bed proud of our lack of productivity for the day.
