A couple of months ago we booked a trip to Kangaroo Island. Kangaroo Island is a short drive from our beach house and then a ferry ride of about 45 minutes. A welcome short break away from my studies.
We left Adelaide just after lunch and drove to our beach house about 90 kms from Adelaide, rather than an early start from Adelaide the next morning. Second Valley is stunning and we never tire of the view. We are lucky because we are able to enjoy Second Valley anytime, but if Kangaroo Island is on your wishlist, stopping a night on the way at Second Valley and having dinner at Leonards Mill Restaurant makes a great start to the trip.
After breakfast, we made the 15 minute drive to the ferry terminal at Cape Jarvis. We were early, so after checking in we had time for a coffee. We were called to drive the car onto the ferry about 20 minutes before we departed. They ask the drivers to go to their cars to drive them on and the passengers’ board separatley.
It’s only 16kms to Pennyshaw across Backstairs package, it was windy meaning the boat rolled a little on the 45 minute trip. I don’t have great sea legs so it would be fair to say I was happy that it wasn’t too rough. I’d have preferred it to be pan flat as it was one day when I rode my bike across to Cape Jervis and saw a group of jet skiers riding across.
We were quickly off the boat and headed to the Fat Beagle for an awesome coffee. Friendly staff and awesome coffee – the best we had on the Island. As well as enjoying the coffee we used the time to think about the day as the weather was not great. From there we headed across to Frenchman’s Rock about 2 minutes away. The rock has an inscription made by Nicolas Baudin’s crew on their mapping expedition in 1803.
Given the ordinary weather, we decided against a walk along the beach and headed for False Cape Vineyards. As I was driving we had a tasting flight of reds to share. The Rose and Shiraz were delicious.
It is a terrific boutique winery that adopts sustainable winery practice.
From there it was onto lunch at Dudley Wines with the weather now very much improved. We were glad we had pre-booked as it was full. Overlooking the coast, where better to have the delicious King George Whiting pizza with a few prawns as an extra topping? King George Whiting is generally regarded as South Australia’s finest fish (I think its the best fish full stop!), and it makes a decadent pizza topping.
We’d planned to visit the Heritage Museum at Pennyshaw but it wasn’t open. Perhaps it was a casualty of COVID-19 as it was supposed to be open. Not a big issue and so we headed to the local supermarket to buy some provisions for our self-contained accommodation at Cape Willoughby Lighthouse which is about 30kms from Pennyshaw.
Our self contained cottage was built for the lighthouse keepers in 1927 and was spacious, rustic and just what we’d hoped it would be. The two cottages are a stone’s throw from the lighthouse and as someone who has always loved lighthouses and had dreamt of being a lighthouse keeper as a child this was perfect.
My favourite person was feeling the cold so I went for a walk around the coastline. It was rugged, the waves crashing in and I had it all to myself. Just delightful.
After my walk, we had a cup of tea and relaxed listening to some music I had downloaded as we had no internet or tv, something I’d been warned about. Erland Cooper’s stunning tribute to the Orkney Islands was a perfect accompaniment.
Dinner was home cooked olive and pancetta pasta with a glass of red from the nearby Langhorne Creek region, Bremerton Tempranillo and Graciano. Followed by a walk at dusk down to the coast. The wind was still blowing. Again, I was all alone except a couple of the local inhabitants
As the sunlight faded the light from the lighthouse started to glow. Does it get any better? A boyhood dream of living in a lighthouse was not fulfilled but was easily imagined!
With another cup of tea and my book in hand, I settled in for the night, listening to “Springsteen on Broadway”.
