Teddy loves animals too much!

G’day all!

And the travels continue….as we drove further west, we enjoyed seeing vineyard after vineyard. The people in South Australia know how to grow some grapes! We actually found vineyards all over this state as well as in Kangaroo Island. We’ve also learned a couple more tricks about Bea and Teddy. One being how to keep Teddy happy during a meal (when he hasn’t gotten full yet)…a balloon. We stopped at Macca’s on our drive to South Australia and he was given a balloon (on a stick). He LOVED it! He ate every chicken nugget bite with his right hand while holding the balloon in his left hand. Second, we learned that Bea can spot a playground a mile away and she let’s you know! Who knew there were so many playgrounds in Australia! And we’ve stopped at most of them!

I finally took a turn and drove the campervan and man was it different. It’s not much longer than my vehicle at home but definitely taller and it doesn’t turn very easily. I didn’t last long behind the wheel and let Cory drive the rest of our travels. Bless him, that was a lot of driving!

We took a stay in Hahndorf, the oldest German village in Australia, where we enjoyed a smorgasbord of sausages. They were delicious! They have a farm barn where the kids got to feed and pet baby goats, chicks, lamb and calves. Teddy wanted to pet a chick but didn’t realize him strength. Luckily, Cory got the chick’s head out of Teddy’s hand before anything bad happened! They also had kangaroo and Bea is becoming a natural at feeding them.

A couple fun side notes, we learned the black and white bird we see everywhere and hear (they have an amazingly different sound) is called a Magpie. Funny enough, our favorite band sings a song about Magpies. Another is that instead of butter they put yogurt or ice cream on pancakes for breakfast! Bea is loving eating ice cream for breakfast!

On to Kangaroo Island via ferry….we sat right up front so we could watch during the 45 min ferry ride. Our first stop was Seal Bay for Ranger Conrad to lead us on a small tour to see seals up close. We heard a pup calling out for his mom and when she didn’t answer he went to the edge of he water to wait for her! Vivonne Bay came next with
lunch in campervan and playing in the sand on the beach. There was hardly anyone else there and the sand felt like you were walking on kinetic sand. We also took advantage of our campervan and took turns enjoying the beach while the kids took their afternoon naps in the van! Our campervan park in Western KI was full of wildlife where we watched two momma kangaroos and their joeys (one in the pouch and one newly outside the pouch) have supper as well as a hurd of rock wallabys bound around.

The next day was quite different, mainly because of the temperature drop! We drove to Flinders Chase Park to see the rock formations: Admiral’s Arch (amazing rock formations where New Zealand fur seals live on the rocks; the waves here were also unbelievably wild!) and Remarkable Rocks (you can walk on). We were waiting though to see wildlife just on our drive and we got it! A kangaroo jumped in front of our car (luckily we were watching for wildlife) and an echidna (looks like a porcupine) and an eagle. This place is magical! And it didn’t stop there when we went to the KI Wildlife Park. This park is the most raw animal viewing place I’ve ever been to. Upon walking up a cockatoo named Stanley greeted us; he talks, cries and coughs! Bea thought he was awesome! Again, we got to pet and feed kangaroos and wallabys….one wallaby being a momma with her Joey in her pouch while we hand fed her! Teddy doesn’t love the bigger animals. He cried and put his head in my chest when I bent down to get him closer to the kangaroos and wallabys. He did however LOVE the koalas and oohed over them! Cory and I both got to hold Chloe which I forgot how awesome this was! Teddy and Bea both got to pet her while we held her. Then Teddy went too far and grabbed her ear! The zookeeper quickly tried to help as he didn’t want me to get scratched or bit. This park also had peacocks (a white one too), pelicans, penguins, owls, etc. We were truly blown away at this place!

Our time in KI ended and we headed back to Adelaide for an evening to let the kids stretch their legs at the holiday park playground and in our cabin. We ended up getting a cabin our final night in our campervan as we were all tired of sleeping in such tight quarters as well as showering in dorm settings. I also did lots of laundry again at the park.

We ended our time in South Australia at the National Railway Museum on a train ride. We’re excited for a few days on the beach before seeing our Aussie family in Brisbane!

Love,
Cory, Millie, Bea & Teddy

Teddy holding balloon in Macca’s