KI last day

After a good nights sleep time for our final breakfast together. All are in good spirits and all agree that they have had a great time and seen and done so much in KI. No one can think of anything that they have missed out on so that's a big tick fir the tour content.

So we and our luggage are all onboard our coach to Penneshaw for the ferry. The weather doesn't know what it wants to do as it is very mild but then grey clouds followed by blue skies in the space of the 45 minute drive. Just like being in Melbourne weather!!!

I collected our tickets and after a short wait we all board the ferry. Unfortunately as soon as we are about to 'set sail' we are advised via the loudspeaker that it will be a bit rough waters so anyone likely to be subject to sea sickness to head to the back of the ferry. As I had briefed our group on the way over to sit near the back at the side and face forward if they don't travel well, we were all already positioned in the best seats and thankfully we didn't have any sickies, although we witnessed a couple of other green travellers near us. I am very pleased that I remembered to take my 'pill' the night before as some of you already know that I am not a good sailor the moment a boat experiences a slight swell! This is probably the reason I don't like baths as they can get a bit of wave motion happening..

We were about 20 minutes late arriving in Cape Jervis but our driver John is waiting for us, so our luggage is packed into the trailer and we all get onboard the little coach for our final bus ride together. Nice drive through the Fleurieu Peninsula with a couple of photo stops to Horseshoe Bay lookout and then into Victor Harbour where we have a hour to wander about and get lunch. I was with 3 of our ladies and we headed to the bakery. I recommend the toasted focaccia with chicken. The flat white coffee was nice too, but we had a table outside and I went inside to get sauce, only to come back to our table to find one of the ladies drinking my coffee, thinking that it was her latte. You should have seen the look on her face when her drink was served and I asked her if I could have my coffee back when she was finished with it!!! Lots of laughing and one very crimson face.

Back on the coach again and a picturesque drive through the southern vales to McLaren Vale where we have a short stop at the Robern Menz shop (chocolates) which happened to be just across the road from the Almond Train and a very short walk from the Hardy wines tasting store. Sadly for me, I only had time to shop for chocolates, and try them, as it was only a 20 minute stop.

We then had our final leg of the drive, where we dropped a few people off along the way as we made our way to the city office. Generally lots of hugs at each departure... And I don't do hugs!!!! But I sucked it up and kept telling myself it is part of the job... And finally at our city office about 20 past 4. Waited for the last of our travellers to get their rides and so it is time for this little black duck to head home... In peak hour traffic!

Everyone agreed that they had a great holiday and thankfully, they all appreciated the extra things I did for them, and .... they think I'm wonderful for making such a fuss of each of them !!!!!! Who knew that?????

So.... To sum up, highly recommend the trip to anyone wanting to see nearly everything that KI has to offer in a short period of time without ruining their own vehicle doing so. Our hotel was good and excellent meals every where we went. Weather was good the whole time and as everything was included the only time anyone had their hand in their wallet was for the occasional extra cuppa or souvenir shopping, so very good value for money.

And that dear arm chair travellers is your lot for this trip.

Where to next you may be thinking???? All I can say at the moment to tempt you travel taste buds is... practice up on your Spanish. Ole!!!

KI Day 3

Back to having Kevin as our driver today. 8 am start and all are on time. Fair bit if cloud cover and cool so doubt it will get to the 25 or so promised. We head off to the Flinders Chase National Park and as it was about a 90 minute drive we decide it is time to stop at the visitors centre and have a cuppa, then back on the coach to the spectacular Remarkable Rocks. Had a really good wander and clamber all over them. Each person imagined something else from all the different shaped rocks which are the same type if rock as Eyre's Rock, or Uluru if I am forced to be politically correct. Then a quick photo stop at Cape du Couedic Lighthouse which was built of beautiful sandstone in 1906. The top light area was being repainted and the 2 fellows high atop the light house swinging on ropes and scaffolding had better be paid a lot of money as to do the job as you wouldn't get me up there! Then on to Admirals Arch where we saw heaps(don't know what a large group of seals is called... Herd???.) anyway we saw lots of New Zealand fur seals, mainly lazing about on the rocks below. Did you know that seals are in the ocean for 3 days hunting for food the whole time, and then 3 days back on land, lazing about and digesting all their food? As they eat the likes of crayfish and other shellfish whole, they also swallow about 6 or so rocks which crash about their stomachs helping smash up the cray shells, etc. and what doesn't get broken down sufficiently to pass through them gets regurgitated back up, but the rocks will stay inside them forever. I've heard about people having rocks in their head but never about seals having rocks in their gut. Kevin explained it much more scientifically than that, but that's my version of events.
As we are doing well for time we sneak in an extra visit that isn't on our itinerary, and we head to the Emu Ridge Eucalyptus place. Very interesting how the business came into being, and heaps of products on sale in their store. Then on to Andermel Marron farm for lunch. This place is one of the largest best practice Marron farms in Australia, or at least that's what they tell us. A Marron is a step down from a crayfish and a big step up from a yabbie. We had a lovely Marron lunch and citrus tart dessert. Then a demonstration explaining how the Marron are farmed, plus the compulsory bush tucker produce tasting and  Two Wheeler Creek wine tasting!
Back on the coach and we are then off to a working studio and art gallery of Neil 'Shep' Sheppard at Shep's Studio. We got to see him slap oil paint in a canvas and in about 10 minutes create a painting. Not really to my taste and certainly not to my budget. Apparently he is award winning, but no one is saying which award and who decides the awards...
Then, back into Kingscote where we have half an hour to have a wander through the Main Street which is about 300 metres long. Back to the hotel  where there is just enough time for a much needed cuppa and then off to dinner where I had a lovely plate of salt and pepper prawns. No room for dessert but it was nice to sit after dinner with a few from my gaggle and simply chat over a second glass of wine. Then back to the room and pack the case ready for tomorrow's departure.
What was really nice after our main meal, was one of the gaggle did a little speech to thank me for looking after them all so well and ensuring that they had a great time....... Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh shucks, sigh.... So that was a very nice end to our evening and trip.
Back to civilization in the morning. Not looking forward to having to cook for myself again, but needs must.

KI Day 2

Very quiet location of hotel, however was quite windy outside last night so my room door kept rattling. Will work out a cunning way to stop the same happening tonight. My little gaggle were all up early for breakfast and we were all on the bus ready for our 9 am departure, well.... All bar one who was a whole minute late. So I deemed it my mission to let her know in no uncertain terms that we were now going to have to cut our tour day short by one minute, and as our last stop for the day was to be a winery, I was not happy at the potential loss of tasting time!!!! It became a standing gag all day that we would miss out on so many things because CB kept us all waiting for 1 minute. Thankfully she took it in great humour and I think she secretly liked the extra attention.
And so to our day, cooler today of about 22 and cloud cover nearly all day, so very pleasant. First stop for the morning was straight to Seal Bay where we joined our guide Tania, for a walk down to the sand dunes and water's edge to see the local Australian Seal colony. It is breeding season so was very interesting to see the young bulls showing off with their 'play' fighting, and the older big bulls sniffing around the young females, where some of the young females who appeared to be flirting then would back away. It kind of reminded me of the old days at the Police Club on pay nights!!!!!
we then went to the 'Raptor Domain' to see the Birds of Prey show which was really interesting and very much hands on for anyone who want to pat owls and hold a wedge tailed eagle. The birds were very well cared for and the 2 presenters were clearly passionate about caring for them. Well worth the visit. Then off to Vivionne Bay (named Australia's best beach, but I don't know who is responsible for giving it that titles) for lunch which was really nice. One thing is for certain, there is no shortage of good meals to be had.
After lunch we all waddled back on to the coach and head towards our next stop, but have a couple of little detours as one of the ladies has asked if we are going to see koalas as she has never seen them in the wild. Our lovely bus driver for the day, Les was able to get us off the main road and over the Cygnet River (which doesn't have any water in it due to such low rainfall ) and Lo and behold we sight 2 koalas up a gum tree. This totally made that lady's day! Lots of photos and back on the coach to the Island Pure sheep dairy where we are informed on the milking if sheep and the cheese and yoghurt production process. The Haloumi is to die for and I'll be buying up the KI Feta when I get home. Our day is not yet done so now we are off to the North Cape and the Bay of Shoals winery for a wine tasting of the local wines. There are 7 wineries on the island and there is a bit of sharing of grapes to make different varietal wines. I was not happy to hear that this particular winery had pulled up their Chardonnay grapes in favour of another variety... Oh well, just as well the Sav Blanc was quaffable. My oldies couple who are very keen on a tipple at any time of the day, bought up big. Not sure how they think they are getting it all back on the ferry though. Maybe they can hide some bottles in the seat of her walker!!! Or possibly there won't be any left for the ferry trip home the way the two of them knock it back. Good luck to 'em I reckon as long as I don't have to pay for it or clean up after them if it all gets ugly.
Lovely views from Bay of Shoals and only about 2 km out of Kingscote, so back to our hotel about 5.30 and dinner at 6.30. After a much needed cuppa in my room, off to dinner with my gaggle and all saying how much they have enjoyed the day. Baked crumbed Hake and veggies for dinner, followed by honeycomb panacotta and rhubarb coullis. Yum, yum. Early night in store this evening as we have an early 8 am get away in the morning. I've given CB a lesson in time telling with reference to where Mickey Mouse's hands are on the clock face. I think I'm lucky that she is such a nice lady that she didn't tell me where to shove Mickey Mouse's hands... Much laughing and hugging and most have retired to their rooms so here's my chance to update today's blog.
There are no larger than life characters as on the NI trip. That's an excellent thing from my viewpoint but may be disappointing to my armchair traveller followers. I did have one cheeky follower suggest that as Big W wasn't coming this time perhaps there would be a 'Target' instead but I sincerely hope that wouldn't be the case, as this implied to me that there would be someone I actually wanted to shoot!!! My current gaggle are quite lovely and as we are now half way through the tour, I'm hoping that they will all continue to get along well, no one gets sick or lost, and no one causes me any more distress than being 1 minute late for the coach. In putting this in print, I just hope I haven't hexed myself.

Kangaroo Island Day 1

An early start saw me in our city office about 6.45 am and my first traveller was onsite a bit before 7 am. Helen, our interim guide arrived and the other 7 were all there by 7.15 when the coach pulled up. So we were all loaded on and away a bit before 7.30 to collect our remaining 6 travellers en route. The weather was perfect and all in good spirits. Apparently me wearing my red 'IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!' T shirt was a good start to their day. I figured I would stand out in a crowd if they neede to find me in a hurry, but no doubt some of you might already be thinking that I don't need to wear slogan clothing to be a stand out!!!!!! Just as well they were all in such a positive mind set as once they were all onboard I had to explain to them that our Tour Director was sick so Helen was only going with us as far as to the ferry and then we'd meet our KI day guide in Penneshaw. They were okay with that, and then I had to tell them about the cancelled ferry, but was quick to add that as we had a couple of hours to fill till the midday ferry, we had a special treat in store and then a mystery tour. I also told them that everything else on the itinerary was subject to change so expect the unexpected. I figured the latter had me covered for anything else that was likely to go wrong...
Anyway, our coach driver Dennis, gave us a very informative drive pointing out lots of things along the way along the Fleurieu Peninsula and heaps of tidbits of local info. We got to Yankallila about 9ish and stopped at the bakery where we were all treated tea hot drink and any cake we wanted. Well the olds clearly each have a heightened sweet tooth and tucked in like it was their last meal. We all then waddled back to the coach and then enjoyed a picturesque drive through Carrickalinga, Normanville, Wirrina  to Cape Jervis, arriving about 11.30. Dennis loaded our luggage onto the ferry van and Helen got our tickets, bidding us a fond farewell telling us she hoped to meet up with us again. I did start up with a few bars of Vera Lynn's "We'll meet again" but had to cut it short as it was time to board the ferry. While we were waiting to depart we saw a seal in the marina next to the ferry. It was putting on quite a performance rolling around in the water, so was a lovely preface to our ferry trip. Thankfully a very smooth 45 minute ferry ride later we were at Penneshaw where we were met by Kevin our coach driver and Alaine our day guide. Luggage safely loaded onto our little coach and a 1 minute drive later we were at the Ultima Thule cafe for our lunch where we all had huge main meals that were really nice (I had the vegtarian lasagne) and many tucked into desserts as well, but I know when I've had enough (well, some of the time, anyway).
Back on the coach and a 2 minute drive to the Hog Bay school museum for a tour. We were actually meant to go to the Maritime & Folk museum and Visitors Centre but there wasn't time to the little school museum was a pleasant alternative. Then off to Cape Willoughby to see the first lighthouse built in SA (in 1852 if you were wondering ) for a very short stop and then on to Clifford's Honey Farm where most of my gaggle lined up for the honey ice cream. I naturally passed on the offer... Remember, I'm the one who knows when she's had enough!!!! Saw lots of the native Black kangaroos throughout the drive.  Some of them were huge mothers.....
It was now well after 5 pm so we headed towards Kingscote to our hotel. Big tip to anyone considering visiting KI and bringing your own car. The island is about 45 km at its widest and 155 km at it's longest . There are about 1600km of roads and no more that 600 km bituminised so be prepared for very corrugated rough roads much of the time. Oh... And don't ever buy a 2nd hand car from KI as the duco on top might look okay but I'd bet London to a brick that the under carriage would be ruined.
So we arrive at our hotel, the Seaside Inn and are allocated our rooms. It's almost 6 o'clock and dinner is at 6.30 so just enough time to settle into our rooms and then to the dining room where I had a lovely big piece of Atlantic Salmon and then a white chocolate dessert. We all sat around chatting and solving the great mysteries of the world ( I think that's what they were talking about, but I was more interested in my glass of wine at that stage ) and then by 8pm most were happy to call it a day and head off to our rooms. I noticed that 2 of my oldest olds were still at the table when I left and had in fact just bought another bottle of wine, so figured they were settling in for the evening. Good luck to 'em as long as they are ready for the coach at 9 in the morning!
So back in my room and time for a private nightcap and pen my memoirs of the day.
It's been a good day, but a long one. My room is upstairs at the end nearest the external stairs so hope there isn't much foot traffic tonight or too early in the morning. The room is huge and as I am the end room, I have full length windows directly overlooking Nepean Bay which really is a lovely view.  I'm hoping to be back at the hotel tomorrow night before sunset as the view should be spectacular, especially sharing it with a Jamesons while I'm sitting on my balcony......... I'll possibly give a thought to what the peasants are doing, but no promises

Pre Kangaroo Island

Hello dear armchair traveller followers.
As I am about to embark on my next 'overseas' trip albeit a mini version, Murphy's Law has kicked in and it isn't even St Patrick's Day yet! At the beginning of the week I got a call from our Tour Director who is escorting the tour, to say that our 10 o'clock ferry is cancelled for servicing so now we are booked on the midday ferry. Not much of a problem except there are now twice as many people and vehicles on the 1 ferry so we have to scramble with the great unwashed for seats together. All is not lost though so I figure we will make the most of it, and I'll now have twice as many people involved in the community singing I intend leading whilst on the 45 minute ferry ride😛
In keeping on my rose coloured glasses and pretending that I am in control and it is all going to work out okay, I then get a phone call from our Tour Director this afternoon whereby she tells me that she has just returned from the same trip to KI and is as sick as a dog, as were 14 of her 16 passengers. This means that she won't be doing our tour in the morning, and there wasn't any one else in her office available to do the tour full time with us. This means that someone will get all the paperwork to me tomorrow morning at 7 o'clock when we are due to head off and someone will meet us in Penneshaw but won't be able to stay with us the whole time. We will have 3 different coach drivers but the Tour Director is very confident that it is all going to go very smoothly. I'm not 100% confident that her confidence is bankable...
Anyhow, this little Pollyanna now has slightly smudged rose coloured glasses and has re packed her suitcase to ensure more alcohol has been packed!!!
It can only get better.... Right??????????