Tag: south australia

Farewell to Kangaroo Island and South Australia

October 3, 2009 • Blog • no comments

On our last day on Kangaroo Island, we made a trip to the Island Pure Sheep Dairy located at Gum Creek Road which is off Cygnet River. It was one of the farms which we haven’t explored yet during our three days visit and we thought it would be good to see how a sheep farm compares to a goat farm (which we often visited in Singapore). We also spent some time in the Northcote area having our lunch and strolling around, before departing from the island later on and from Adelaide the day after.

From a distance, the sheep farm and diary looked a little blurry. Was it the whole dreamlike quality of the vacation or a special setting on my camera? Unfortunately no. What happened was that I accidentally put too much water into the camera lens while trying to clean it!

The Beautiful Birds and Beasts of Parndana

September 27, 2009 • • 2 comments

On our last day on Kangaroo Island, my family and I decided that we should maximise our remaining hours there by visiting the real stars of the island. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are talking about the kangaroos that are indigenous to this bucolic paradise. Our craving for comfortable creatures brought us to the Parndana Wildlife Park, an award winning sanctuary for South Australia’s macropods (kangaroos, wallabies), cockatoos, koalas, and other beautiful beasts. The animal attraction was charming and unpretentious, allowing us to venture up close and personal with God’s wonderful creatures.

These tall and shady Eucalyptus trees provided a nice natural look to the park. However, they are also…

On a Cold, Dark and Still Night…

September 20, 2009 • • 3 comments

After a fun-filled day of climbing windy cliffs, gawking at gaping pelicans, and strolling amongst slippery sea lions, we made our way back to our resort at American River of Kangaroo Island. The night was cold, very dark (street lights are infrequent on Kangaroo Island) and extremely quiet. Not a soul was stirring as our rented car trundled past the dirt path nearing our residence at Casuarina Suites.

Until suddenly, I thought I spotted something with two bright shining eyes staring right at me beside the fence on the road.

Strolling Among Sea Lions

September 13, 2009 • • 5 comments

One of the best things about Kangaroo Island on South Australia is its abundance of wildlife beyond just kangaroos and other marsupials (the traditional hallmark of Australian fauna). As a sanctuary for many marine-based birds and animals, the island attracts a wide diversity of wildlife both avian and aquatic. Many of these animals are indigenous to the island, and they include the Australian Sea Lion and New Zealand Fur Seals, members of the well-loved Pinniped family of marine-based mammals that exhibit interesting social behaviours.

To catch those blubber-coated creatures up close and personal, we ventured to Seal Bay at Kangaroo Island on the second day of our trip there. Here are some photos of our journey.

Seal Bay is both a conservation park, wildlife reserve and a tourist attraction rolled into one. Here’s a usual pose by the sign post.

Sandy Beaches, Windy Cliffs and Artistic Rocks

August 23, 2009 • Blog • 1 comment

One of the most amazing things about Kangaroo Island is its vastly varying landscapes and breathtaking environment. From one end of the island to the other (which is at least a two hour drive considering the distance), you can experience the South Australian wilderness in a wide spectrum of rustic surroundings – sandy deserts, craggy cliffs, luxuriant forests, sparkling rivers, to rolling hills and scenic bays. Drives along the winding roads of the island are always pleasant as there are very few cars around, plus the fact that virtually every square kilometre of the island is bursting with gorgeous scenery.

Our first scenic stop was the renowned beach at Vivonne Bay, which was once voted as the best beach in Australia in a survey of 10,000 beaches on the continent and its islands.

Buzzing Blissfully with the Bees

August 13, 2009 • • 1 comment

Island Beehive at Kingscote of Kangaroo Island

Located just off the road from Kingscote (near the Emu Bay Lavender Farm) is Island Beehive – an organic honey farm located at Kangaroo Island. One of the biggest organic honey producers in Australia, Island Beehive produced and distributed a wide range of apian products like honey, royal jelly, propolis, beeswax candles, candies, pollen and more. Apparently, some claim that honey is one of the best foods offered by nature, with antibacterial and wound-healing properties. A dollop of honey (together with lemon) is also widely used as a cure for a bad throat.

The retail shop of the apiary offered a lot more than just honey. Yellow and black were the thematic colours here.

An Aromatic Afternoon

August 8, 2009 • Blog • 1 comment

As a pristine pastoral paradise, Kangaroo Island boasted of farms offering various primary produces. One of the first places which we checked out during our first afternoon on the island was the Emu Bay Lavender farm, a family owned property located beyond the Kingscote area of the island at its Northernmost tip.

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To give you a sense of orientation, I have included a Google Map above which shows where the place is. From Penneshaw where the ferry landed, it was a breezy drive through the largely empty roads through the farms and wilderness to reach this field of fragrant flowers.

Hoppin’ Happily to Kangaroo Island

August 2, 2009 • Blog • 2 comments

The greatest highlight of my family’s trip back in April to South Australia must be the one to Kangaroo Island, a sprawling sanctuary for nature and wildlife offering some of most spectacular sights I ever saw down under.

While it is seven times the size of Singapore, Australia’s third largest island (after Tasmania and Melville Island) is pretty sparsely populated with close to 4,300 residents. Almost all of its economy is agricultural, tourism (it hosts some 140,000 visitors a year) and fishing oriented. The charming farms on the island boasts of primary produce like honey, milk, wool, meat, fine wines, and eucalyptus oil.

Of course, the greatest thing about Kangaroo Island is its abundant wildlife, both freely frolicking the vast bushes or living in parks and reserves.

Charming Creatures of Cleland Wildlife Park

June 24, 2009 • Blog • 1 comment

Located just a short drive away from the Adelaide City Centre, Cleland Wildlife Park is a haven for native Australian wildlife in South Australia. Nestled within the sprawling Cleland Conservation Park area in the Adelaide Hills region, the government operated attraction is spread over 35 hectares of pristine bushland. All the usual marsupial suspects like the kangaroos, koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils, and echidnas can be found here, as well as native reptilian and avian species. What’s great about this sanctuary for beasts is the painstaking attention it pays to keep its surroundings as authentic and natural as possible.

This photo at the entrance of the reserve was taken by our little explorer Ethan himself.

As in all tourist attractions, the souvenir shop is a mandatory feature.

Happening Hahndorf

June 8, 2009 • • no comments

Just a short 30 minutes drive away from Adelaide in South Australia, Hahndorf is a charming and idyllic little town imbued with historic German influences. Surrounded by picturesque farms (like the Beerenberg Strawberry Farm) and post-card perfect landscapes, Hahndorf offers a perfect blend of rusticity and authenticity in a suburban paradise. Considered as a leading tourist town in the Adelaide Hills region, Hahndorf appealed to one’s sense of nostalgia and longing for a simpler and pleasure-filled life in a bucolic Bavarian setting.

The colours of autumn were fully evident in April, tinting the landscape with glorious shades of red, orange and yellow.