On a walk, we came across wallabies. They were in shadow, and not easy to photograph. There were kangaroos too, but they were even more challenging because they moved around more.

In the middle of the day, we were in the middle of the island at a sheep station. We went on a walk through dense native bush. 

Then down to the sea to Seal Bay. Here you can see some of sea lions taking a nap in the sun.

Here is a close up of three of them. One just awoke, one is asleep and the third wants everyone to know he’s important.

The larger sea lion below just walked up from the sea, flopped down and put a flipper over the smaller one.

The still photographs may deceive; some of the animals are always in motion. On the other hand, some are upside down in the sun. Here’s a short video of the beach action, with the sound cut out.

After dinner, we went on a night wildlife tour. Photographs do not really capture it. We saw many wallabies and kangaroos before driving to the far east side of the island where we visited the Little Penguin viewing area at Penneshaw. We saw eight or ten but they ran pretty quickly to get out of the light (we had flashlights). 

Next morning, we got back in the small tour bus and motored over to this fine beach.

Then it was over to Remarkable Rocks. They are part of Flinders Chase National Park.

Here’s a photograph from the rocks. There is a road out there by the cliffs. Their height may be gauged by looking really hard for a bus on the road!

Here is the Cape du Couedic lighthouse. It has an interesting history, and is very much in an isolated area.

The Cape is home to another type of seal, the New Zealand Fur seal. These seals were not easy to photograph, as they are down on rocks being pounded by the sea. 

Our guide said in December, as many as 15,000 would be in this area.

Both species of pinnipeds on Kangaroo Island enjoy laying on their backs.

Here is a short video showing the surf; at the end a seal is seen running up the rocks.

Another short video showing the two nearby Casuarina Islets.

After lunch we visited a sanctuary in Hanson Bay where we finally came across kangaroos we could photograph in the daylight. This is mom and her joey. In the short video below, they hop and settle down to eat grass.

Here’s another short video.

Another koala, this one napping. 

Here are some colorful birds called galahs, a type of cockatoo.

Then we went back to the airport and flew back to Adelaide. Kangaroo island was a really special place. In addition to the accessible wildlife, it offered wonderful local produce and agriculture, including wine and honey from Ligurian bees. We wish we had one more day to explore more of the Island. 

Postscript:  We were heartbroken to hear about the devastating wildfires that consumed Kangaroo Island in January 2000. The company we traveled with has a page about them. The wildlife, especially the koalas, was decimated, although valiant efforts saved, rehabilitated and relocated many animals. It remains a very special place in our hearts and we wish it a full recovery.

The next, our scheduled wine tour from Adelaide to McClaren Vale was cancelled, so instead we went to the Adelaide zoo and the National Wine Centre of Australia.

Time to go home. Here are two maps. The upper one shows the whole package, 19,816 statue miles/31,893 kilometers. The second one shows the last leg of the trip, from Adelaide to San Francisco, via the always stressful transfer at Los Angeles.

We arrived in Adelaide in the late afternoon. After a day looking around, we’re going to fly south to Kangaroo Island. 

Next— A long trip, Adelaide to Sydney to California and home.