This is a continuation of the Victor Harbor Adventure blog post series! Part One is over here, if you wanna read it.
So, after hanging around the town area for a bit, we went to buy groceries from Coles and brought them back to the apartment in the rain. Yes. It rained on us. Sammie and Nigel pretty much sprinted through the shower to get back home faster while the rest of us squelched our way down the street at a steady pace. I am so glad I took my marshmallow jacket with me on the trip. It got sunny again after we were indoors for ten minutes. -__-
So we headed for the horse-drawn tram that takes visitors across the Causeway to Granite Island. The tram was pretty soaked, so we didn't sit down. The driver was really nice though, he came up to wipe the benches down for us and everything.
We took the upper level of the tram, because the view is better there. It was a really nice ride, although I felt a bit concerned about the horse pulling us along. There were a lot of signs everywhere assuring us that the horses are given lots of rest, and that the tram is on ball bearings so the load will be easier for them. Even then, I can't help but feel that the horses look a bit sad. :( Maybe it was the weather? I dunno.
This was a seal carved out of granite. It's pretty cool! Wish I could have gone nearer to check out the detail. I caught this on camera while we were on the tram.
A quick photo and thank you to the horse who pulled us along the whole 650 metres! Ours was the last tram coming to the island, so I hope it got a good rest after it reached the mainland.
It started to drizzle again as we started walking around the island. Our first stop was the Breakwater, a man-made stretch of granite pointing out into the ocean. It's pretty awesome there, as the waves literally come crashing against the rocks, sending a salty spray high into the air.
Check that out. Again, Sammie and Nigel didn't hesitate to start their photoshoot. It was pretty cold and windy - Sammie took off her jacket so she could take pictures, haha! We spent some time hanging out on the rocks before it started to rain again. We rushed for shelter, which was a cafe and gift shop nearby. Unfortunately, it was closed. We stood around trying to dry off for a while when the door to the gift shop opened and a guy asked us if we wanted to come inside. What a nice guy! We went in, some of us got coffee and hot chocolate, and I bought a penguin hat pin, as I collect them. Nick said that the shop guy was watching us from the window while we were on the Breakwater, just in case we got swept away. So nice of him.
It started to brighten up again before long, so we took some pictures with the gorgeous background. I finally tried the panorama mode on my camera! This one above was taken by Nick. We took quite a few panorama shots, but I think this is the nicest. While we were standing around chilling, we saw a woman out on the Breakwater get thoroughly drenched by a particularly strong wave. Poor thing was soaked through. From our angle, it really looked like a huge bucket of seawater was upturned over her head. Felt pretty relieved that it wasn't us in that position.
We started climbing up some steps so we could reach the top of the island. One good thing from all the rain was the beautiful rainbow shooting up from the top of Sammie's head. Yup.
There was something about the cold air up there along with the way the sun's rays reached us. The lighting was stunning - we were surrounded by sparkling blues and shining greens. That slight rise of land in the distance is called The Bluff. It's apparently really good for hiking, but we couldn't visit without a car. We were more than happy with Granite Island though. Walking over the top really made me think of Lord of the Rings and the way the land was spread out in the movies. Little fangirl in me got excited.
Photo credit of this one to Nigel, who was sort of Sammie's personal photographer for the trip. Love this shot, especially since it's with three of my favourite girls. :3
We spent the rest of the walk around the island just admiring the scenery and doing some really cheesy 'My Heart Will Go On' reenactments on rocks facing the wind. The trail we went on was called the Kaiki Walk, which is about 1.5km long. It's supposed to take about 45 minutes, but I think we spent a good hour and a half just taking photos and enjoying ourselves.
Once we came back to the front of the island, we headed for the Penguin Centre, where we would go on a dusk tour and see fairy penguins coming home to their burrows. They're the smallest of all the penguin breeds in the world, and they're adorable! Unfortunately, the tour guide said that the penguin numbers on the island have gone from 2000 to less than 30 within the past decade. The problem is not just people, but also the sudden increase in seals living in the area. :/
This was one of the penguins at the centre who is a permanent resident. Usually the penguins here are rescued and unable to be released back into the wild. We heard some really sad stories about a penguin being attacked by seagulls and losing her eye and another penguin who as a chick was bashed against a rock by some kid who was visiting the island. So horrible. These rescued penguins pretty much live comfortably at the centre with all the food they can eat.
The tour we went on was alright I guess - we got to see a few penguins, about four I think, one of them a chick. It was hard to enjoy the experience, as it started to rain again and the wind was blowing so hard. We were all frozen in our boots, damp and exhausted from the long day. The lack of penguins was probably because of the cold.
The tour guide said so anyway: "It's probably too cold for the penguins!"
"They're not the only ones," Sammie said next to me, shivering in her light coat.
We got to feel some penguin skins before the tour ended, which was interesting. The guide brought a couple with her to show it to us; the reasoning being that if people could touch the feathers, they wouldn't try to do it to the live penguins on the island. It was pretty interesting, but a bit strange, as the skull of the penguin was still connected to one of the skins.
Finally, the tour ended and we brisk walked back home. It was the coldest I've ever been in my entire life. It was so cold, I reached a point where my face just felt like a lump of clay attached to the front of my skull, and I couldn't feel my toes. It was another kilometre before we could reach home, and it was drizzling too. I can't explain just how relieved we were to finally step into the apartment. We were all drenched. It was a good experience though, albeit not one I would ever want to go through again.
We had pasta for dinner cooked by Sha and Fyra - our first dinner as a family on vacation. While waiting for that, we took turns taking showers and just lay around on the sofa beds. I'm thankful for the heater they had in the apartment. We spent the rest of the night playing Monopoly. It was a good day overall, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
My next post will be about day two, so stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment