Feb 17th, 2023 Day 45 of 128

Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island, Australia

Today was a very long excursion day. Lots of stops, lots of time on the bus, and a full day getting to see all around Kangaroo Island. We were up at 7:30 am and grabbed our quick Lido breakfast today. We met our tour group at the Main Stage at 8:45 am. We are a group of about 40 today which is much larger than our group of three from yesterday. We took the tender over to the island and hopped onto two smaller buses and began our adventure. Kangaroo Island has a population of about 4800 people. It has one stop light and it moves around depending on where the road construction is taking place. (Feels like home) People generally come here for holiday via ferry from Hobart. When one of the larger ships come into port, the island population doubles. All water mammals are protected here. There is a $50,000-$100,000 fine for killing an animal here. We stopped first at the Pennington Bay lookout to get a fantastic view and some scenic photos. Next, we went to Emu Ridge eucalyptus oil distillery. The family has owned this distillery for generations and they are still making oil they way they have for almost a hundred years. They had an emu and a couple of young kangaroo’s on the property as well. We also got to try four types of Colony Cove apple cider that is brewed on Kangaroo Island. Our next stop was the Emu Bay Lavender company. We learned a little bit about their fields. They produced two types of lavender there. One is edible and the other is use for the essential oils. We were also served a nice sandwich and a lavender scone with lavender jelly and clotted cream for dessert. Next, we ventured to the Island Beehive honey company. The oldest honey producer in the world. Kangaroo Island is extremely protective of what they import onto the island to protect this precious buzzing commodity. If we are caught taking anything off the ship that is not allowed (basically only water) you can loose your passport and be issued a $5,000 fine. We got to sample three types of honey produced here and honey ice cream. It was kinda of a food fest day. Our next stop was in the town of Kingscote where we were given an hour to shop and relax on our own. Megan and I bought postcards and stamps from the local gift shop and had a bit of a snafu trying to find the post office. Luckily the lady at the shop we popped into for a homemade pizza and another cider, agreed to drop our cards in the post for us so we could run back to the bus and make it on time. Next, we stopped at another scenic overlook where we got a great photo of our floating home out in the bay. When we tried to leave there, our bus decided it wasn’t ready to go to the next stop. There was an issue with the door of the bus and it would not allow the driver to use the accelerator. So bus #1 took their passengers to tout next stop for wine tasting at The Shy Wren tasting room and then came back and picked us up and delivered us to the wine tasting as well. By the time we were done with the tasting a second bus had arrived to transport us all back to the pier to catch our tender back to the ship. It was a long day, just over 8 hours. My back is not happy after sitting all day. I go back to the acupuncturist tomorrow. Today was the first day in a week I did not need a Motrin to make it through the day. But I will probably take one to get me through the night. Fun facts about the Australian flag. It has both an Emu and a Kangaroo on it. Australians consider Kangaroo to be a bit of pest animal. They are actually raised here for meat. But those two animals are on the flag because they can not move backwards. Australian wanted to use them as a symbol of forward progress, ie always moving forward and never backwards. So there is your lesson for today. You’re Welcome. Since we did not make it back onto the ship in time for our 5:00pm seating in the main dining room, we opted for a more casual dinner in the Lido this evening. After eating all day neither of us were very hungry anyway. After dinner we came home to do a little cleaning up. Megan cracked open her jar of honey we bought today and thoroughly enjoyed some. She loves honey. Sweet Dreams to all my sleeping friends and family. Tonight we set the clocks back another .5 hours again. Making it now a straight 6 hours difference between us and CA. Yea!! Makes the mental math so much easier. Hugs and Love from across the sea!