A slight case of sea sickness

Come to Kangaroo Island, they said.  Support the economy after the terrible bushfires.   We will  greatly reduce the price of fares on the ferries, Sea Link said.   

So we decided to go for the day. It was after all, only a 45 minute journey for a 16 km crossing.   What could go wrong.  

For a start, the weather was cold, wet and miserable, which was unusual in early February.   It turned out not to be the warm and sunny day that we expected at that time of year.

And secondly, the strait is hazardous, narrow and dangerous, with strong currents coming from different directions, tidal swells and steep breaking seas.  It is known, interestingly as Backstairs Passage, which is a courtroom term.   And so named in 1802 by Matthew Flinders.  

And thirdly, the ferries are catamarans, and we know from experience that they pitch and roll around in rough seas.

We had fond memories of a trip made in August 2006, when Darren took Walter, Margaret, and a 4 year old Jay, and me to Kangaroo Island for a few days.   We stayed in a lovely apartment, and travelled around the island by car, enjoying all the lovely areas, with Darren acting as a tour guide.  Although it was a rough crossing, the ferry appeared to be just pitching in the waves.  Or perhaps we were better sailors in 2006.

On the day in February, we sat at the front of the ferry.   Another mistake!   On catamarans one should sit at the back.   Interestingly the one we took in New Zealand from Bluff to Stewart Island, another very rough crossing, the captain told passengers who were not good sailors to sit at the back, and the company also supplied ear plugs.   The advice was to put a plug in the ear opposite to the dominating hand.   Apparently it works.

No advice when boarding the Kangaroo Island ferry, just plenty of sick bags around, always a sign that the crossing was going to be rough.

And it was.   Within seconds the ferry starting pitching and rolling, both at the same time.   'Rocking and rolling' the captain said to the passengers.   We disappeared from the front of the boat very quickly, out into the fresh air at the back.   Trying to keep our balance as we staggered along the passage was difficult, and we must have looked a sight.

Walter had a miserable 50 minute boat trip, standing in the small space at the back of the boat. I ended up going up onto the top deck with plenty of fresh air around me, even though the pitch and roll was worse up there. I kept my eye on the island in front of me, as watching the horizon only made it all worse.   Getting one's line of vision is important.

It was such a relief to arrive in Penneshaw, 50 minutes later, not 45 minutes as promised in the advertisement.   Five long minutes!

We got off the ferry, shakily, but relieved, and waited for the land to stop moving, or our heads to stop spinning.

The view of the terminal as we left Cape Jervis, on the southern edge of the Fleurieu Peninsula.   It was raining.  

The view of Penneshaw as we neared the port there.   The sea was a little calmer by this stage.   And compared to the hugh swells in the English channel, the waves were never that high anyway, but it was what goes on under the surface that counts here.

Penneshaw.   So pleased to see the wharf.

Now the fourth mistake we made was to assume that there was something to see and do in Penneshaw.   We had already checked that a tour would have to be pre booked, and there would be no buses to and from the main town, Kingscote.   They only run first thing in the morning and in the early evening.

But we thought there might be some shops in Penneshaw.   Well there were very few, as we found out, and as school holidays were finished, most venues were closed.   There were two cafes, the supermarket, Post Office, pharmacy and one pub open.   The ferry had been full of people, but they dispersed very quickly.

So first off, a cafe, to recover from the trip.   And the strong and excellent coffee certainly helped considerably.   Excellent service and good food there too.   Not that we even considered that.

Then we visited the Post Office which had second hand books for sale, so we bought a few books.   Then to the pharmacy where we looked at all the sea sickness remedies for sale, and there was a whole shelf full of boxes.   I think they have plenty of sales here in this line.

The last shop we visited was the supermarket where we purchased some Kangaroo Island honey.

We were having trouble spending our money.

But what to do now, we had walked around the town, and still had a couple of hours to fill in before lunch at the pub.

When we walked around the bay we noticed a walking path around a quarry which advertised a sculpture walk.    And it was very interesting too.

A view over the bay at Penneshaw.

Walter looking much happier now that he was on land.

Canvas accommodation, which included bathrooms, in the camping ground.   Very impressive.

Quite a deep quarry.

The view back towards the jetty.

Some of the sculptures.

A small wallaby hiding in the bushes.

We spent the rest of time on Kangaroo Island, in the pub, where we had a lovely fish lunch, no alcohol for us though.   After lunch we sat in very comfortable chairs and slowly sipped our coffee, and read our newly purchased books.   It was very pleasant.

The view from the pub.

Finally we caught the ferry back.   Walter took some sea sickness tablets and sat at the back of the ferry.   I stood on the deck at the top, and altogether it was a much better trip back.  Perhaps the currents in the water were going the way we were travelling.

It took days for us to recover our sense of balance.   Walter reckoned the effect from the taking the tablets was worse than feeling seasick. 

We vowed never to travel to Kangaroo Island again.

In all fairness, it was assumed that people would use the cheap ferry fares to take their cars across with them, and stay for a few days on the island.   Even though many of the tourist places were destroyed and consequently closed to visitors, there was still plenty to do and experience.