Lazing around on our holiday within a holiday

Today is our last day on KI. We're booked on the 4.30 ferry back to the mainland tomorrow arvo and we'll make a quick overnight stop at Rapid Bay before spending the weekend in Adelaide, where we hope to catch Martin Martini and his Bone Palace Orchestra.

KI has been a real holiday within a holiday. I do understand that it's hard to engender much sympathy from most readers - especially from those who are having to slog things out during the recession / depression. However, life on the road keeps us generally pretty busy. There's always something to see or do, fix or plan for, and we rarely get time to just do nothing.

KI has provided us with just that opportunity. Two whole weeks here, and we'd pretty much covered it in week one, so we've since had time to go back and spend more time at the places we've really loved.

The wildlife continues to be a hit, the Koala Bears in particular for me. Ness insists they're marsupials and I've added that to something else I was told as a child which turned out to be BS.

Koala's claws are somewhat sharper than their wits and I'm hoping I get to see one try them out on a tourist who gets too close.






To add to the holiday feel Ness had the great idea of getting out our hammocks (for the first time since we bought them in Ubud last March). Can't believe we've left it so long. Up in a flash and an instant winner.

Even the weather joined the party after our first windy and cloudy week. The temps have been back in the 30s and the south easterly howler has been replaced by a gentle cooling breeze. Even the flies are giving us a break, which is surprising as today was our first shower for over a week

The new slimmed down and hirsute me at Bales Beach.










A young seal trying to sleep through the camera clicks. We'll make our third trip to the seal colony at Seal Bay tomorrow, making a paper profit of around $100 each on our Kangaroo Island visitor passes which have given us free entry to all the attractions. They're probably more designed for people who are only here for a few days or who only want to go to places once.




After two more windy nights at Western River we reluctantly gave in and moved along the coast to Stokes Bay where there were at least some protective trees to get the tent up nice and close to. Our best sleep in days, if you don't include the siestas.

The other advantage was we could "eat out" at the beachside cafe. Fish and chips washed down with a bottle of local sauvignon blanc set us up well for the evenings 20/20 cricket (after a nap of course).

The view of Snelling Beach, on the way to Stokes Bay. Unfortunately no camping available here.










After Stokes Bay we made a two night stop at Vivonne Bay, an excellent facility close to Australia's #1 beach (according to a Sydney Uni academic). There was even free power, so the $10 per night was really top value.

I'd probably contest the best beach judgement on a couple of small matters. One being that the water comes straight up from Antartica and is absolutely freezing. The other being likelihood of being munched by a white pointer.

Nevertheless it makes for a top romantic or solo beach walk. It's a whopping 26km from end to end, and the crescent shape provides for sunshine somewhere on the beach from dawn til dusk.
















Late afternoon solo beach time with ipod and some beers. Note potato patch behind unwashed ears.









This morning, after another beach walk, we headed to Little Sahara - a huge dune system.

Probably best tackled during a cooler part of the day but we both managed to scramble over two smaller dunes and then to the top of this one to find a wonderful view of more dunes.













We're going back to Admirals Arch to see the sunset tonight so will hopefully have some top photos to add later on.

I exchanged emails with my cousin Jenny from NZ yesterday who had just read our blog for the first time. She thinks the blog will be a great thing to pass on to our children in the future, so it's probably appropriate to start including some motivational stuff in here, rather than copius references to XXXX Gold and lazing around. I've not given this aspect much though yet so I'll borrow a quote from Aldous Huxley and hope that anyone reading this gets to experience the freedom we've felt since undertaking this wonderful journey.

'Your true traveller finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. It is the symbol of his liberty - his excessive freedom. He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely philosophically, but almost with pleasure.'

Or pictorially what better than a shot of my mate Jonathan Livingston - a seagull, embodying the unlimited idea of freedom.

Be true to yourselves everyone and don't follow 'rules' just because everyone else does.