Today was a rest day. Traditionally rest days involve not riding, and wherever possible as little as possible of any other activity. The only difference between today and the last few days was that I was only carrying one pannier.
To be fair it was never going to be a positively restful day, with the goal of Cape Du Coelic lighthouse and The Remarkable Rocks in mind I was always going to have a big day ahead of me.
The ride out to the cape is really the big challenge of the day. It traverses the solidified sand dunes for 16km with constant rises and the odd steep climb, add 5 days and a lack of stretching and believe me, I will feel it.
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- Is there a nicer lighthouse anywhere?
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- Remarkable Rocks in the Distance, you can tell they will be remarkable can’t you!
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- Amazing coast line. I can’t say anything more than that.
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- An Australia Sea Lion playing merrily in the sea.
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- The amazing rock formation that is Admirals Arch provides a lovely sheltered bay for the Seal Lions to play, and looks stunning. Beware the funky smell though.
Despite this it is well and truly worth it! The light house, the archway, the seal colony and the Remarkable Rocks are as good as the names suggest.
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- So much amazing coastline.
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- The jumble of worn and weathered granite boulders sits proudly on a headland in contrast to the stunted heath around it.
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- This beautifully sculpted rock looked like a very comfortable bench, but I couldn’t bring myself to sit on it.
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- Beauty is so simple, but the physical and chemical processes that cause it are amazing.
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- My favourite view of the rocks.
The ride out of there is just as fun as the ride out. Just make sure you get back to the visitors centre before 3:30pm, because once the kitchen closes you will miss out on the opportunity to a get delicious and well earned hamburger with proper golden crispy chips.
I also did the ambitiously named “Platypus Walk” which has lovely signs like “walk quietly because the platypus may be in their burrows sleeping installed to cover for the fact that the walk is around some murky ponds that are pretty much all fired up. I saw an echidna though so I was pretty happy with the whole walk!
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Also at during the day I got stopped by the several times by bus drivers and tourists with comments like “Excuse me. Cyclist Man”. That made me happy!
Categories: Australia, South Australia
Tags: Adventure, Australia, camping, Cycle Touring, Cycling, Kangaroo Island, National Parks, nature, outdoors, photography, photos, travel
The Graceful Cyclists 
I’ve always wanted to go to Kangaroo Island, but I need to start by getting to Australia in the first place!
Well when you do rest assured that it is an amazing place to ride and worth every minute!
What a massive achievement, that wouldn’t be an easy ride! Yes I agree though that the reward at the other end is worth it and you have some gorgeous pics to prove it!
Thanks Monique! It was a great ride, though some of the dirt roads are a little interesting. I’m already planning my next ride on the island so there are plenty more photos to come! I have to say Sealink was great with the ferries and the bus service back to Adelaide so pass on my thanks to the team.
You know, sometimes I wonder if government departments that run National Park visitor centres want to make it as hard as possible for people to visit them. I thought closing the visitor centre at Wilsons Prom (in Victoria) at 4pm was a bit rich, but 3:30pm here? When we’re out walking that’s often lunch, not dinner! Thanks for the heads-up.
No worries. It is particularly important info as far as I’m concerned.