Wildlife and coastlines

My day started with this little visitor right outside the door of our place:

It's a Tammar Wallaby.  It is one of the smallest of the wallabies and although there are almost none left on mainland south-east Australia they are abundant on Kangaroo Island.

After breakfast we were off to the far west end of the island which is all a National Park area called Flinders Chase National Park.  The park is a sanctuary for wildlife (including some endangered species) and home to a few geological phenomena.  

Our first stop in the park was at the Visitors' Information Centre and look what was in the tree right above where we parked our car:

And then we continued right to the south-west end of Kangaroo Island.

And on the rocks below you can see hundreds and hundreds of primarily New Zealand fur seals (with a few Australia sea lions around too).

Admiral's Arch is a spectacular natural rock arch sculpted by weathering and erosion from the sea over thousands of years.  It really does display the ability of the ocean to carve the coastline.

Off in the distance you can see the 'bizarre' granite boulders on top of the cliff called the Remarkable Rocks.

Perched above the sea the impressive Remarkable Rocks form what appear to be a cluster of precariously balanced granite boulders. This stunning work of nature has been shaped by the erosive forces of wind, sea spray and rain over some 500 million years.

The Cape de Couedic lighthouse was built in 1908 and is still a functioning (albeit not by kerosene any longer) lighthouse.

About 1.5 kms away from the lighthouse is the remains of what used to be a storage building used by those who worked at the lighthouse.  Every three months or so a ship would arrive with fresh supplies, and using a then state-of-the art flying fox pulley system, the ship would land at the bottom of the treacherous coastline and supplies were pulled up to the storage house on top.  From there the lightkeeper had to walk his groceries home.

Hanson Bay was our next stop,

and a walk along the beach and over the sand dune looked out on the next spectacular little bay and beach (and it's not important enough to give a name to --- or at least I can't find one on all the maps I've looked at).

Vivonne Bay was named by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin who visited the bay in 1803.  In a survey of 10,000 beaches by Professor Andrew Short, director of Sydney University's marine studies centre, the beach at Vivonne Bay was judged as one of the best in Australia.  Vivonne Bay is characterised by its long, sandy beach and the jetty which is used by cray fishermen for off-loading their catch. 

And then when we got home this little fellow was waiting for me (caught by my friends today) - a yabby who is now called "Edward".  The common yabby is an Australian freshwater crustacean.  Wild yabby populations are strong, and they can often be found in new habitats created by reservoirs and farm dams (which is where Edward was found).  Because there isn't enough of Edward for the five of us who are here to all enjoy, Edward gets to live... for at least one more day anyway.