Boat moored in a nice bay
The south coast
View from the Remarkale Rocks
 
Arch
An adult echidna
Fur seals and terns
Creek going to the beach
 
Lanscape during a walk
|
The morning starts off with an 8-kilometer walk in a forest of tall egum trees until a superb beach on the southern coast, in an opening between cliffs and caves.A few stops later, we discover the Remarkable Rocks, granite blocks on a mount, sculpted in a fascinating way by erosion. Not far away, we see beautiful cliffs sculpted by the strong wind and waves - it is also the resting place for a colony of fur seals which amaze us despite the cold due to the wind. Later, to make up for us not having been able to spot platypus in waterholes, we see kangaroos which are so tame that we can stroke them. They obviously gave their name to the island when a French explorer was able to kill dozens easily when he discovered the island. Another moment of luck when we stop the minivan to follow an echidna close to the road, strange animal looking like a big hedgehog, fascinating lovers of the complexity of animal life (a childhood dream for me with the platypus, as they are the only mammals to lay eggs, a real link in animal evolution). The next day, we continue our journey, unfortunately still full of road kills we can see. Sadly so, the first kangaroo one sees in Australia is often a dead one. We walk 9 kilometers through dense vegetation to a beach located in a superb bay: white sand and waves bouncing on a coral barrier. After that, Seal Bay is undeniably one of the great attractions of the island: we walk on a nice yellow beach in the middle of hundreds of Australian seals, sometimes quite active. Their social behaviour is easy to read - we spend quite some time watching them. Before taking the ferry, we still have time for a 6-kilometer walk next to a lagoon with many birds. Just before going back to the mainland, I show some travel companions one of the penguins I had spotted a few days ago, and which has now finished moulting. In the evening, I explore Adelaide for a while in the search for some dinner, before coming back to the backpacker hostel from which I leave the next morning for a 10-day adventure with a 4x4 in the Australian bush, between Adelaide and Alice Springs, through mountains, lakes, flat desert, ghost and mining towns, then the highlights of the Outback: Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) et Watarrka (Kings Canyon).
|
KI 