The French take on Kangaroo Island

Eliane and Catherine, friends from New Caledonia, arrived for their 4 day quick visit to South Australia. Top of their list was Kangaroo Island (KI) which according to our guide is Australia's third largest island with a length of 160km. Even though it is one of South Australia's top tourist destinations and mapped by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin I had never made the 1 1/2 hour trip south from Adelaide to Cape Jervis to take the 45 minute ferry trip to KI. I admit that if it wasn't for the chance to spend time with my friends and the lure of a full day of chatting in French I may still never have gotten to the Island. 

View towards Admiral's Arch

Our bus left Adelaide at 6.45am and we returned at 10.30pm. It was a very long and tiring day. My friends were surprised to meet so many young French people doing the tour. The working holiday visa system has provided the opportunity for many young French people to spend 1-2 years in Australia.

The walk down to Seal Bay with the guide was not far but for some older people they found climbing back up the sand quite difficult. I smiled to myself when I noticed that the seals and I have similar walk. Not a pretty site.

Eliane at the Remarkable Rocks

The Remarkable Rocks looked from a short distance just like every photo I have ever seen. They were interesting but probably not much more than that. I was tempted not to bother with the walk to reach them but in hindsight am glad that I did overcome my initial reluctance. Up close, it was a completely different sensation. I am not sure if it was their size, their grandeur or their majesty but I certainly found them awe-inspiring. 

Raptor's Domain birds of prey free-flight show

The tour also included seeing a birds of prey free-flight show, Admiral's Arch, Flinders Chase National Park and a chance to see koalas and kangaroos. Eliane and Catherine were surprised I think by the distances that we needed to travel on the island. They commented too on the fact that here was this large island and yet we didn't see any towns or many other people. It was as if there was just the us, the heard of tourists in our bus. Would I do it again?  Probably not. I don't think that KI has enough differences from mainland Australia to bother with specifically going there. I have friends though that rave about the place and really love it so I am sure that there will be many others who will disagree with me.