Above is a picture of Cape Willoughby on Kangaroo Island. You can stay in the lighthouse cottages, which is what QCar did over the June long weekend.
Organised by Brenton and Clinton (big thank you *mwah, mwah*), the weekend saw three cars and 10 people descend onto the unsuspecting isle.
We had a lovely crossing on the ferry, really calm - only took an hour. Rod's, Sal's and Brenton's cars - respectively a diesel Peugeot 306, a Kia Sorrento 4WD and a thirsty Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD made the crossing the rest of us leaving our respective 'means de transportatione' at home.
On the first afternoon we just settled in and took a look around the cape and environs. A brief heavy rain shower ended drinks on the verndah and saw us scamper. Luckily that was the extent of the 'weather' over the weekend. We had sun, sun, sun for the rest of the trip - but it was still pretty cold at night, or in the shade!
That night we had an entree of party pies, pasties and sausage rolls followed by soup - nice and warming.
The next day we visited Seal Bay and then travelled down to the end of the island to see Admiral's Arch and Remarkable Rocks. There were heaps of New Zealand fur seals at Admiral's Arch, more seals than were at Seal Bay and they were easier to see. Although the seals are Australian sea lions at Seal Bay.
Back at Cape Willoughby we had a curry night - we only got back there after dark and we had to take care on the roads not to run into any kangaroos. We saw several.
The next day six of us went to Kelly Caves and then we met up with the rest of the group at the Andermel Marron Farm. It's also a winery and a restaurant so we had a tasting before lunch and then we all tucked into the local cuisine. After lunch we visited the Island Pure Sheep Dairy, which was more fun than it sounds (due to two cute dairy men) and we had a taste of the various cheeses, fresh ones like haloumi and fetta. After that we visited a honey place, took a quick trip around Kingscote and then headed, again in the dark, dodging wildlife, back to home base.
The last night David cooked for the group. The dining room was set for 10 and he served the local haloumi (which Harvey fried) along with warmed Coriole Koroneiki olives and char grilled choizo. He then served a dish made up of layers of tortillas interspersed with layers of wilted greens and parmesan. Done in a frying pan, the cheese melts the layers together. He then served up a beef roast with a heap of different roast vegies and two types of leafy greens.
On our last day we went for a tour of the lighthouse. See panorama above - it's taken rom the balcony at the top of the lighthouse - a great view. Then we packed up and set off for Chapman River Wines which was on our way back to the ferry. It was the most beautiful place with great wines and they served one of the best platters ever. We did a bit of sight seeing around the area and by that time it was time to get back to the ferry and the trip home.
Above: There were dozens of black cockatoos feasting on pine cones at the Chapman River Winery.
Rod (bottom right), Brenton, David, Harvey, Clinton, Bryan, Robyn, Julie, Kay and Sal.
Pictures and text by Harvey
