Western River Cove (Kangaroo Island)

[Kyle]After arriving in South Australia following our crossing of the Great Australian Bight, our first order of business was to go ashore and get a little exercise. Apart from the beach, there were no trails in the area, but there were a few steep and lightly trafficked dirt roads on which we could patch together a walking tour of sorts.

First up was a trip up the main road to a high spot with a view of the ocean. Okay, I'll look at the ocean. No sooner had we left the beach than we spotted our first Kangaroo Island kangaroos, sitting under the shade of a tree. They all seemed big, well muscled and healthy. Following that, we disturbed a tree full of chattering galah parrots. We got the impression they didn't see a lot of walkers.

We spotted our first Kangaroos (under the tree)
not long after leaving the beach

The area was mostly dirt road and (grazing) farmland

Our route then passed upward through sheep grazing land of steep rolling hills of golden grass. These were punctuated with gum trees with branches curving outward into large canopies. Every now and then, a ranch or bungalow would reveal itself, either perched on a hill or nestled in a picturesque valley. Every one of them seemed like a perfectly agreeable spot in which to pass the afternoon sat out on the back porch. Already, I liked South Australia better than WA. I feel a digressive rant coming on, which I will save for a later blog entry, but just know it's really nice here. {Maryanne: Kyle has an 'opinion' here that I don't agree with - so all you WA guys don't get upset until you hear his explanation}

Local Wildlife: White faced Heron, Galah (parrot),
and a Kangaroo-Island kangaroo

Second after the viewpoint hike was a road that went over an even higher ridge to the adjacent cove. That road was so steep that we often had trouble getting enough traction on the gravel. At the top, a gate and a 'Private Property' sign stopped us. Well, so much for that. I guess that saved us the climb back up. We ambled for a while on a non-closed part of the road, enjoying the high-up views of the surrounding valleys. There, we disturbed a yet unseen-to-us parrot, which we think was a Western Rosella.

Once we got back down to the Western River valley, we decided to do another climb up what I called 'Extra Credit Road', just for a chance to burn a few extra calories. We made it to the first bend, with a view of the cove. The afternoon winds had a little more north in them than we had hoped and a swell was now being pushed into the cove. Begonia was pitching up and over increasingly big waves. Her anchor was keeping her off of the beach instead of the much preferred floating out to sea. Even though I knew the anchor was set well with more than enough scope and she would probably be fine, I knew that trying not to worry during the climb would be futile. We cut our walk short and headed back home.

Getting the dinghy launched, getting on board from the dinghy and getting the dinghy hoisted into the davits were three horrible experiences far on the bad end of the scale of each. We flopped into the cockpit battered and soaked afterward; glad to be somewhere where we at least had the illusion of some control.

After a short break, my first order of business was to swim on the anchor. It was a great relief to me that I couldn't even find it. I pulled myself down the chain to where it disappeared into the sand. Even with some digging, I couldn't get the chain loose enough to follow the last ten meters of it to the anchor. I was also able to verify that there was nothing lurking below us within our swinging circle that was waiting to catch a keel or bend a rudder at low tide. Of course, as soon as I got out of the water and dried off, the wind veered behind the headland again and the sea immediately began to smooth out. Within an hour, the water was flat and the beach was in front of us, where we like it. That would make for a much better night's sleep.