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| Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park |
There are no wombats on Kangaroo Island. This
was a pity, as we had booked this side trip from Adelaide in the hope of seeing
some. (Note to self: do not trust the husband to do the research next time.) We
did however get to see a lot of other native wildlife, including of course the
eponymous kangaroos
.
We booked a package through the ferry company,
Sealink which combined two of their popular one day tours, staying overnight in
Penneshaw. The first day was the ‘Seal Bay Discovery
Tour’, first stop Clifford’s Honey Farm. On arrival, we were given a
honey-based soft drink to try, whilst a member of the Clifford family gave us
an introductory talk about the history of the farm. Clifford's was originally a
family sheep farm. They started keeping bees as a sideline 40 years ago, but
the business has grown and now they can produce as much as 20 tonnes of honey
in a good year. They move the beehives every 6 to 8 weeks to follow the
flowers. Local farmers let them put hives on their land in exchange for a
bucket of honey. Honeybees were imported to Kangaroo Island in the 1880s from
Liguria, and these are now believed to be the last remaining purebred strain of
Ligurian bees. Some bee-keepers on the island breed queen bees for export
elsewhere in Australia and around the world. We were shown the container in
which queen bees are packed for travel: about 3 inches long and with three
circular cells for the queen and about 8 other bees. Apparently it is very
straightforward to send queen bees by post within Australia. Overseas
deliveries can be more difficult!
The tour ended in the farm shop where we were
able to sample the honey. (I felt a bit like Winnie the Pooh, having honey at
mid-morning!) We tried three types of honey: spring honey, mainly made from
rape (canola), mallee gum and sugar gum. I preferred the lighter spring honey,
perhaps because it was more like the honey I get at home. The shop also sells
other products, including mead, honey ice cream and handmade beeswax candles.
We then went on to Seal Bay to see the colony
of Australian sea-lions. Unlike seals, sea-lions can move quite fast on land as
they are able to walk on all four flippers. Visitors must keep together in a group and
stay 10m away from animals, both to avoid disturbing them (sea lions cannot
sleep whilst out at sea catching food, so need their rest on land) and for
safety, as they can move faster on loose sand than humans can.
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| Raptor Domain |
Although Seal Bay was supposed to be the
highlight of the day, I found our next visit, to Raptor Domain, a rescue centre
for birds of prey, more interesting. Most of the birds at the centre have been
injured or orphaned and cannot be released back into the wild. They take part
in demonstrations which show their natural behaviours. We arrived just in time
for the 2.30 p.m. free flying demonstration in which Don Irwin and one of his
helpers introduced some of the residents, and demonstrated their particular
abilities. The first bird was 'Shush' the Barn Owl, who was hiding in a hollow
tree and came out on cue when we called. A black-breasted buzzard called Slim
demonstrated an interesting technique for getting into an emu egg.
Visitors have plenty of opportunities to don a
leather gauntlet and hold one of the birds. I got to hold Omen, the Sooty Owl.
Among other birds we saw were Chipps the kestrel; Kylie the hobby falcon, two
wedge tail eagles, and Banjo and Clancy, the laughing kookaburras. Kookaburras
have the ability to hold their head still while their body is moving, which was
very entertaining when demonstrated.
The final visit of the day also involved
feathered friends. John feeds the pelicans at Kinsgscote wharf every day. The
birds had got into the habit of being at the wharf when the fishermen brought
in their catch, as they threw the waste away. After this practice was stopped,
John felt sorry for the disappointed birds, and got permission to feed them. He does it every day at 5.00 pm., at his own
expense, though he charges a $5 donation towards expenses. John's commentary is
very entertaining as he expresses some forthright opinions. He informed us that
whilst there are pelicans elsewhere in the world, the Australian pelican 'is
the biggest and best-looking pelican.' He also spoke admiringly of a pelican
that had justified its existence on the planet by swallowing a Chihuahua!
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| Pelican feeding at Kingscote |
According to him, there are no penguins left on
the island as the New Zealand fur seals have eaten them all. Before he started the
feeding, he warned the audience not to panic if a 'very happy pelican' should
wander among them. The pelicans grew quite impatient whilst John was doing his
introductory patter as they wanted him to stop talking and get on with the
feeding. When he did start feeding, he tried to ensure that the gulls weren't
left out.
Despite the fact that it was very cold and
windy for sitting around on a wharf, this was one of the highlights of the day.
Our next day’s tour, the
‘Remarkably Wild’ tour also started with a farm visit. Emu Ridge is another
sheep farm whose owners decided to diversify, producing oil from the native
Kangaroo Island Narrow-Leaf Mallee. They now have a
harvesting machine that can do in 10 minutes what it used to take them 2 1/2
hours to do by hand, but the still remains a traditional and very simple
process. The eucalyptus is put in the top with water, a fire is lit underneath
and the resulting steam is then condensed to produce oil and water, which are
separated. The oil then goes through a second process to refine it before
bottling. The eucalyptus leaf residue is used as mulch.
They also produce tea
tree oil, and are aiming to diversify into other native plants. There is a shop
where you can buy their Eucalyptus oil and related products (including sweets
and toiletries), which is also a gallery for local craftspeople and artists.
At Kangaroo Island
Wildlife Park we finally got to meet the native Kangaroo Island kangaroos. All the animals in the park are rescued ones
which cannot be released back into the wild and many are tame. We were able to
hand feed kangaroos, and to stroke koalas. There are also free-roaming peacocks
who seem to enjoy eating the kangaroos’ food.
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| Remarkable Rocks |
In the afternoon we
visited some interesting rock formations: Remarkable Rocks and Admiral’s Arch.
The weather had taken a turn for the worse, and some members of the party
decided to stay warm and dry on the coach rather than to go down the boardwalk in
the rain to see Admiral's Arch, but I persevered. It was worth it when I
reached the bottom and was able to see the natural arch formed from a collapsed
cave and the New Zealand fur seal colony that lives there.
Despite the lack of
wombats, we enjoyed our trip to Kangaroo Island, though in retrospect it would
have been even better in summer. If
visiting in winter months, waterproof clothing with a hood is essential!
