Distance: 155km + 50min Ferry Ride
Dep: 9:00am
Arr: 2:30pm
Temperature: 17°C - 29°C
Total distance to date: 1403km
Route:
- Kingscote
- Penneshaw
- Cape Jarvis
- Spirit of Kangaroo Island (Ferry)
- Penneshaw
- Kingscote
Caption: Nena at a lookout point while waiting for the Spirit of Kangaroo Island to come to shore.
Australians find it difficult to comprehend when people don't know how to swim. This country has one of the world's longest coastlines, complete with warm and inviting water, so it's no wonder Australian-born citizens may as well have gills on the side of their necks. My response to them is to imagine being close to the arctic circle, so much so that winters have 6 hours of daylight. Some Canadians may be able to swim, for sure, but many also lean toward ice and snow sports rather than spend time in the (freezing cold) ocean.
In short, I can't swim, and open water terrifies me. Guess who has to get on a boat with her bike to get to Kangaroo Island?
We meandered over to Port Elliot under the recommendation of more than a few friends - the bakery there is meant to have famous pies, and they did not disappoint. The weather was beautiful, I had just done a fabulous U-turn on a fully loaded Beemer, and the pie was delish. Life was good, except that I had to get on a boat.
Caption: Awaiting the 1pm ferry to Kangaroo Island.
It only took 45 minutes to ride to Cape Jarvis from Port Elliot, though the road that leads into town (if you could call it a town) has a sweeping decline with an incredible view of the ocean. We loved it so much we went back up, spun around, and did it again.
We checked into the ferry terminal and had 5 different staff members tell us to go 7 different directions. We finally settled on a place off to the side while highly skilled semi-truck drivers reversed their trailers into narrow lanes on the ferry. They held everything from live sheep to petrol to cargo. The passenger vehicles loaded on, then it was us. Getting onto the ferry itself meant you had to ride over some gravel, then a flat, smooth, wet piece of metal, a metal grate, then wood flooring lined with more smooth metal. We were fine, though the staff seemed highly concerned that two women were riding bikes with gear that came up to their shoulders. They offered to help move the bikes of course, but we declined.
Caption: Bikes bracing themselves against the ferry walls (they were tied down later)
Once on the ferry, a Valium, sunglasses, AirPods, and dance music made the trip bearable and suddenly we were pulling out of the ferry and straight onto the highway.
Kangaroo Island sounds like it should be small, but it's actually so much bigger than we had realised. For example, getting to the main town is 45 minutes on a mostly 110kph highway with plenty of straight sections to do more. The island has a raw and natural beauty to it, and parts of it looked like we should be somewhere in the outback, while other parts look straight out of Victoria or Tasmania. Red and white dirt roads often lead off the main highway and I couldn't help but wonder where we'd end up if we took them.
We were treated to snippets of the shoreline as we rode past Pelican Lagoon. The island is teaming with wildlife, and there is reason to be cautious when riding here, though we haven't found a single animal on the road other than a lost goana who was sunbaking on the tarmac.
Caption: Room with a view.
We pulled up into the hotel which is on a hill, straddled on both sides by slightly gravelly uphill driveways. I'm convinced at this stage that all of South Australia is covered in a layer of gravel just to keep motorcyclists on their toes.
Once up at the top, we checked into our rooms with a plan to unload the bikes, get back into the saddle, and explore the island a bit more. It was only 2pm afterall, and we were keen to see the sights.
Caption: An evening stroll around Kangaroo Island - perfect weather!
We should've known that opening a laptop for "a few minutes" to "check a few emails" would result in 5 straight hours of working. We accepted the fact that riding that evening would not happen, our shops were open and Slack messages were coming through in full force. Seafood pasta fixed things right up, followed by a walk under the stars back to the hotel.
Tomorrow we take on Kangaroo Island!
