Each morning we have walked into breakfast to be greeted with this misty view of the ocean. It’s like something out of a movie.
On our last day we had two more excursions, as well as a hike along the local beach adjacent to Southern Ocean Lodge. First up was a trip to Flinders Chase National Park, about 20 minutes from the lodge. Here is our super-guide Nick explaining the flora and fauna from this area of the park known as Bunker Hill.
This spot was called Bunker Hill due to the military keeping an outpost here during WWII. It does have a great vantage point!
Our next stop was along the rugged coast near Cape Du Couedic Lighthouse. The swells were pretty big!
An extensive boardwalk system leads you closer to the water. You could have sat here and watched the surf for hours.
There were seals everywhere!
This group of baby seals were all playing together in a tide pool below the boardwalk. Sorry for the lame video…it was pretty far away from the boardwalk.
When our guide mentioned Admiral’s Arch we weren’t expecting something so impressive! We had just walked over this archway to get here. It frames the surf quite well!
Definitely deserving of a selfie! What look like stalactites are actually petrified roots from trees that are now long gone.
One last look to show how thick the Arch is. Amazing spot!
We made a brief stop at the lighthouse, built in 1909. The Southern Ocean off Kangaroo Island has a history of being notoriously dangerous for mariners. From the lodge alone you can see shoals off the coast that are miles away.
We made another brief stop at Weir’s Point, where all the provisions for the lighthouse crew were brought up the side of the cliff via what the guide called a sky-fox (it sounded like he said something else to be honest). Here is the path the provisions took from the water. Part of the dock still exists.
We had to get Nick to stop the van so we could get a photo looking back towards the Admiral’s Arch area.
Our last stop inside Flinders Chase was Remarkable Rocks, and they are definitely aptly named!
These large granite boulders sit 200 feet above sea level. These rocks were formed over 500 million years ago. Millions of years of ocean and weather forces created what you see today.
Some of the rocks almost look like modern art!
Some of the paths through the rocks reminded me of spots in Yosemite with equally large granite boulders.
Of course, with Yosemite you don’t have the ocean in the background!
This photo was on an informational panel near the rocks. This photo was taken in 1910.
Here we are in the same spot, 115 years later!
Kim spotted this rock that looks like it has a face.
Definitely worthy of a selfie!
The orange on the rocks is from lichen. It really stands out in a few spots!
I got some interesting shots from inside the openings in the rocks. Looks like another face with a beard.
This is inside the space of that photo from 1910 (and our attempted replica of it).
Some of the rocks have formed really bizarre shapes!
While some have openings you can actually crawl into!
One last look with that gorgeous blue sky behind the rocks. This is one of those Australian “must visits”!
After another delicious lunch we took a walk along the beach adjacent to the hotel. I hope we don’t get tired of beautiful beaches on this trip!
Here’s a video of the gorgeous surf on this rugged shoreline.
The swells were just pounding the rocks in this spot!
I saw this impressive angle on the Southern Ocean Lodge on the walk back. The hotel really blends into the surroundings!
Back at the hotel, they have constructed this kangaroo out of tractor spare parts.
Before dinner that night we had one last excursion to Hanson Bay Conservation Area, where we got to see our first Wallaby. They belong to the same family as Kangaroo’s, but are quite a bit smaller.
We also saw another Koala who gave us a great pose! There were several in the trees but this was the best photo op, with that perfectly blue sky.
Lastly, I filmed this Kangaroo eating the grass and got pretty damned close. They don’t seem to mind people all that much.
If you visit Australia, make sure you put Kangaroo Island on your list, and if you can afford it Southern Ocean Lodge. It’s a bit of a splurge, but well worth it in our opinion. We’ll never forget it!
Coming up next, we fly back to Adelaide, pick up our rental car, and drive east on the wrong side of the road for a full week along portions of the Great Ocean Road.