Definitely No Wombats!

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

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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.

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!

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.

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!