We got new additions to our family!

Well, it's been another weekend in paradise! We keep having most excellent adventures and I always look forward to my cleaning days when I report back to you guys. It was quite a packed weekend with so many photos. Paul took more than 400! Alas, we must wait until we can post these pictures because we have run out of data usage. That's the most frustrating thing about Australia. For Internet, you pay for data instead of just the service. Dumb!!! Then again, I'm an Internet junkie, so maybe it is just as well I have to rein it in. Anyway, on to our weekend:

Saturday: There is a reason why in all our photos I look exhausted: I was. We woke up at around 5 AM to catch our 6:30 AM flight. Paul has slowly started to realize that I am not a morning person and has now decided to not talk to me unless I talk first. This is a very healthy step in our relationship 'cause I would kill him if he did.
So, we went off to Adelaide in South Australia and then drove to Cape Jervis to pick up the ferry to Kangaroo Island. We then went off to d'Estrees Bay which literally had no one on the beach. One thing about this island is that it so very sparsely populated. The largest town, Kingscote, had only two restaurants at night that worked. Talk about growing up isolated from everything!

After the bay, we went off to our accomodations, the Wildlife and Wave Cabins. It took us so long to get there because the road was not paved and on top of that it was rough going. We thought either the tires on our rental car would bust or the axle. We also weren't supposed to go offroading...oh well! These cabins boast not only a lovely view of the ocean, but a sea of kangaroos. And we were not disappointed. The sea of kangaroos was not false in any sense. We were so excited to be in a beautiful location.

One important animal we did see right before we got into the cabin: an echidna. I am going to post a picture of this creature because you have to see how awesome and cute it is. It is a monotreme, much like the platypus. Lays eggs like a reptile but gives milk like a mammal. We have had a list of animals to find in the wilds of Australia and echidna is now crossed off!
We have seen: kangaroos, koalas, echidna, possums, snakes, penguins, seals
Yet to see: Tasmanian devil, wombat, platypus, emu, crocodile

After settling in, we went off to Kingscote to go on a penguin tour. Kangaroo Island has a colony of Little Penguins, the world's smallest penguin. And they are! They were so precious, although we didn't get a good photo since it was at night and the pictures are all with a red light since penguins are uber-sensitive to white light and can be dazed for several hours if a light is flashed at them at night. The biologist affectionately called it the "red light district".

Then, it was off to bed...it took us two hours to get home. The rental car company advised us to not drive at night because all the wildlife comes out. It was a night filled with horror because all the roadkill we saw on the road in the afternoon...was being feasted on at night. It was disturbing and I'm sorry if I grossed you out. But you didn't have to see it. GROSS! Wallabies, possums, all of them were out there. Also, Australia's possums are not our possums...they are cute! But not while eating roadkill

Sunday: This is the day of so much fun, but we got so dirty at the same time! I guess the both go hand in hand. We got up early hoping to see the kangas all feeding. Nope. We guess they just like to come to the cabins at dusk to feed. But after brekkie (breakfast) we went off along the coast to take photos and enjoy the sunshine. We loved going down to the beach because the only way there is to go through some big rocks with little spaces. But the beach was breathtaking. I cannot wait to post these photos and have you all enjoy them as we enjoyed taking them.

Then, off to Paul's Place! This is a animal refuge center, with the same guy who ran our cabins...Paul! We waited patiently outside the gates when Paul came out and led us all in...or should I say herded us in with his loud voice encouraging us along. He was very much a Steve Irwin type of guy and we were so excited from the start. In the gate, we were surrounded by not only kangaroos, but a sheep, an alpaca, a goat, ducks and chickens, all swarming to be fed. But first, Paul asked who wanted to feed a kangaroo. Before anyone had a chance, he grabbed my arm, put my arms the way he wanted them and plopped a huge kangaroo on me with a bottle in hand! I was expecting a joey, but that worked too! After everyone passed around the "big baby" kangaroo, we were given the feed to give to everyone else in the pen. The word for these animals would be aggressive. Especially the sheep. He knew if he just could get his big head into the bucket, his weight would bring the whole thing down. He even climbed up on Paul (my Paul) to get to the bucket, and of course succeeded in his task. The sheep also had this one woman who had a purse that he liked. He kept rubbing himself on it. Then Paul (Steve Irwin Paul) laughed and told the woman to give the sheep "Sir Matt" a push. With that, Sir Matt headbutted the poor woman and then didn't have anything to do with her. The same woman nearly got clocked by a huge pinecone that hurt her ankle later on. If it hit her head, I'm sure she would have had a concussion.

Anyway, after feeding the big guys (Oh yeah, an alpaca did not like my Paul and kept spitting at him whenever he had the chance. I loved it), we went on to littler friends. I got to hold a little billby mouse (i think?), a dragon lizard, a baby possum and a joey!! Too cute. But the highlight of course, was koala holding. Koalas are not cuddly. They are in fact, scratchy. I got a nice gash on my shoulder from the koala's claw. But after the initial trauma of latching onto me, he was quite cute and seemed to like to chill with me. If it were up to me, I would be adopting the koala, the joey, and the baby possum. Buncombe needs some brothers and sisters! Later, in the aviary area, Paul (my Paul) had several emus eat off his head. Awesome.

After the exhilaration of Paul's Place, we went off to Flinder's Chase National Park. The attractions here were the Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch. At first, we didn't think it would be interesting at all, but we are so glad we did it! Remarkable Rocks were indeed remarkable. They were just some rocks that had ended up on top of a dome and they were massive! Admirals Arch was by far Paul's favorite and I loved it too. We went down a boardwalk that took us close to seals and ended up in an arch with the most spectacular scene of rocks and water and seals! We then did a hike in Snake Lagoon. I know, it sounds like a death wish and we did come across a snake, but no worries! We avoided them all pretty well. The hike was a little difficult to maneuver with so many rocks, but it ended on the beach and the entire landscape was worth it. We got there right as the sun was setting and we could not stop saying "wow". Then we went home and ate some dinner :)

Monday: Paul had taken this day off and it was so nice to have an extra day to explore this little island so full of surprises. After we checked out of the cabin, we went down to see the seals at Seal Bay. These are a breed of seals on the endangered species list. We were able to get taken down to see them and we couldn't get enough of these guys! A pup waddled right up to us, squalking for his mother. To our dismay, that pup's mom may not have returned from fishing one day :(. So is the life of a seal I suppose.

After Seal Bay, we went off to Little Sahara, a part of the island that literally looks like a desert, with big sand dunes. It was pretty neat and a great way to close our weekend at Kangaroo Island.

I feel like this post was so long, but we did so much! It's hard to remember and type it all. We are so very fortunate to be here. We only have a couple months left here, yet it feels like we don't have enough time to see all that we want to see. Our goal is to go to every state in Australia, to say that we really and truly did see this wonderful country. If you ever decide to take a trip here, you need to dedicate at least six weeks because one week does not cut it. Not even close.
This weekend we are staying home for the first time in a month I think! We are going to an opera at the Opera house (yay for me!) and then on Saturday, attending a rugby match (yay for Paul!). Hopefully Paul can have some time to snooze though. Poor thing! He has just been on the go for so long. Oh well! He can sleep in the States. We miss all of you and hope you are enjoying yourselves. Let us know what has been going on and leave some comments!

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