Day 53 (Friday 8th December 2006)

We packed up one of our backpacks, lobbed it in the back of 'Fran' and headed off on our little mini trip to Kangaroo Island. We arrived at Cape Jervis shortly after 11:00 and just in time for our ferry.

As we meandered through the scenic valleys of the Fleurieu Peninsular, Marc was adamant he spotted a huge goanna, strutting its stuff through a farmer's field. However, we all know what his eyesight's getting like these days, so the likelyhood was that it was nothing more than a large dog or a sheep or something!

It was a beautiful day with brilliant sunshine and at one point the thermometer hit a whopping 42*C. There was little or no wind, which made the notoriously bad crossing through the 'Backstairs Passage' that little bit easier and we arrived in Penneshaw still with a little colour left in our faces. As advised by Uncle Ian, we dropped into the tourist information centre there and the helpful lady gave us plenty of maps, guides and lists of accomodation and attractions.

With so much to do and see we got straight back in 'Fran' and headed towards Bales Beach on the south coast. We needed fuel and ignorantly unaware of how primative things still were on the island, we had to make a slight detour to Island Beach to fill up.

It was a good job we did because if we hadn't, we would never of met Sandy Kerry. Sandy was a good old Aussie Sheila with a petrol pump on her land and when Marc came wandering in to ask for fuel, he found her out the back strumming away on an old guitar.

After filling 'Fran' with a bit of juice and telling us just about everything we needed to know about her island, she took us inside to see the cute and adorable 9-month old roo she was hand-rearing. We fussed over the little skippy for a while, before realising that we didn't actually have any cash on us to pay her and this wasn't the kind of place with a 'chip and pin' facility!

In true Australian spirit, good ol' Sandy told us not to worry about it and just to drop the $36 in to her when we were on our way home...what a sheila! The Aussie's are all so friendly, helpful and entrusting - nothing like our own ignorant race.

We said our goodbyes to Sandy and skippy and got back on the road to Bales Beach, stopping once again at American River to get that cash out and once more along the way to absorb the views from Prospect Hill. The views were stunning, but next time we might think twice about walking 512-steps up a large hill when the temperature's over 40*C!

It was getting a bit sticky and we were running out of drink and all we could think was that this was our payback for complaining that 'Australia's supposed to be hot'! Eventually we rolled up at Bales Beach. The beach is right next to Seal Bay where all the Australian sea-lions congregate, but sometimes you can spot them here for free, or so we were told.

We didn't see any sea-lions, but the beach was beautiful nonetheless and we watched as the waves pounded against the rocks. We'd been getting spoilt with all that tropical sea water in South-east Asia and this chilly Aussie water was certainly a shock to the system. After just a few short seconds in the shallows, our feet were totally numb!

Once we'd done a few geeky things in the beautiful white sand, we were off again, making tracks along the South Coast Road to the Flinders Chase National Park. We checked into our new home, Flinders Chase Farm (www.flinderschasefarm.com.au), where we met another of Australia's trusting and helpful people - the bearded farmer. He was trusting because he told us to stay as long as we want and to just pop the money in the honesty box when we leave and helpful because, with all shops and restaurants in a 50km radius closed, he went out the back and fetched us a can of beans and a loaf of bread..."Dinner and breakfast" he said!

After polishing off our beans on toast and having a nice cool shower, with dusk approaching we watched as the kangaroos and wallabies emerged from all around us to graze...it was incredible. This place was simply crawling with wildlife and we began to get real excited about next few days.

Like little kids, we jumped back into 'Fran' to go for a ride and perhaps explore the where abouts of the 'platypus waterhole walk', should we decide to visit it first thing in the morning. Just as well we did, because driving past the Flinders Chase visitors' centre, up ahead we saw a park ranger closing off the roads.

A little worried, we pulled alongside him and it was then that he revealed that the park would be closed tomorrow...Sarah's Birthday!!

The whole of South Australia's state parks were declared closed by the department for environment and heritage due to extreme weather conditions and a total fire ban. The biggest disappointment for Sarah however, was learning that this day of all days would be the first time that this particular park had ever been closed since it opened, way back in 1919...their timing was impeccable!!

..no platypus walks for us then...but, with half of Australia burning down as we speak, it beats being burnt to death in a forest fire!

It wasn't a total loss. There was still plenty to do on the island tomorrow and Marc went a little way to cheering her up by pulling over so she could watch numerous kangaroos, many with joeys, grazing in the scrub...hmmm, how did they think of a name for this island then???

One rather inquisitive little skippy even bounced right up to 'Fran' and we sat there, taking photos in amazement. On the slow drive back in the dark, through the headlights we spotted several brushtail possums, foraging along the road.

We managed to avoid adding to the copious amount of K.I. roadkill, before getting back to our dorm to discover we had the place to ourselves, except that is for a few kangaroos, wallabies and a rather charming praying mantis...bliss!

Day 54 (Saturday 9th December 2006) Sarah's Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME                                                                                            HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME                                                                                             HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ME-EEEEEEE                                                                         HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!

PARK CLOSED

Due to extreme weather conditions and a total fire ban declared across South Australia, the Director of The Department of  Environment and Heritage has closed parks across the state on

SATURDAY 9 DECEMBER 2006

This closure will be effective for at least 24 hours.

With no platypuses to wake up for, we got up casually and had some more beans on toast...thanks farmer! Marc's brekkie got cold however, while he sat playing with a little skink!

First on Sarah's Birthday agenda was a visit to the Koala Walk down by Western K.I. Caravan Park. It was only a short walk, but we still managed to spot countless fuzzy bums in the gum trees, some with babies. It was great to see all these famous Australian creatures, actually in the wild for real. We must have spotted a good 15-20 of the cute things - all the while wallabies hopping out of the bushes in front of us!

Next up was Kelly Hill Conservation Park and a trip into its underground caves. Here we walked through a beautiful and extensive cave system full of ornate calcite formations. Our tour guide 'Luke' explained about the caves accidental discovery in 1880 when a farmer on horseback fell through one of the many sinkholes.

The extensive chambers were lit by state-of-the-art fibre optic lighting and it was pretty cool to see all the stalactites and stalagmites, but the best bit of all, was the fact that it was only 16*C down there...lovely!!

After stepping back up into the seering Australian heat, it was a jolly good time to go visit the magnificent Vivonne Bay. It was absolutely beautiful with a long, curved, sandy beach and wonderful turquoise waters and it was easy to see why it was recently proclaimed the 'best beach' in Australia.

However, Marc; who had left his swimming shorts back at the farm, destroyed some of its natural beauty by baring his white backside and going in naked!!!!

Marc and his 'shrunken Duncan' dried off and we made the short trip up the coast to Vivonne Bay General Store for lunch. We sat outside and ate chicken nuggets and chips, whilst Marc tried on his rediculous new Aussie hat, complete with dangling corks (those with a nervous disposition are advised not to view the photos)!

We hurtled down to Seal Bay to catch the next tour at 15:30. Our guide 'Serious Paul', led us down to the bay where we walked amongst the hoards of blubbering Autralian sea-lions. He was quite a clever guy, talking us through the sea-lions' natural behaviour patterns, without once changing the tone of his voice!

The bay was nice and the sea-lions pretty cool and after the tour the guys at the visitor centre made some radio calls for us to check the status of the national park for tomorrow. We were over the moon to discover that the park was indeed going to be re-opened...wohooooooooo!

On our way back along the South Coast Road we dropped in at Hanson Bay. This was another of the island's beautiful bays and popular with the surfers. Sarah absorbed some more picturesque scenery, whilst Marc was off gawping at a washed up sea-lion.

Kangaroo Island is like a large piece of Cornwall cut out and dropped off below the South Australian coastline. It has cliffs, beautiful sandy bays, rough seas and plenty of ice-cold water and aside from the dead sea-lion and barmy air temperature, we could easily have been on any other bay in the South-west of England!

We returned back to the farm to discover our quiet little farmstay that we had once had all to ourselves, had been invaded by a pair of Germans...gotta' hate the Germans!

We cooked up some fajitas, went for a walk around the farm and reflected on what was a pretty cool 23rd Birthday...s*** loads of koalas, a swim in Australia's best beach, a walk with Australian sea-lions...and all accompanied by Marc and his silly hat...what a lucky girl!

Tomorrow it's up at the crack of dawn to go hunting duckbills. Oh God...the Germans want to come too...!!