On Day 16, we arrived at Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island at 1 pm.
We skipped breakfast and had lunch in the Bistro. I had the Flavors of Mexico sampler--empanada, fish ceviche, taco, guacamole, Mexican salad, braised chocolate mole beef shortrib and chicken flauta. You got a sampling of each, all presented in one large platter. The mole was delicious! My husband had the fish ceviche as a starter, a Boston Salad and the Ocean Perch Filet with capers, butter and lemon for his entree. The perch was also delicious! For dessert, we had the coconut cream pot with rum raisins and the banana split. The banana split was piled high with chocolate sauce--yummy!
We had to take a tender into Penneshaw, the 2nd biggest town on Kangaroo Island The population is only 300 and it was mostly cruise passengers wandering around. We walked the 15 minutes to the Kangaroo Island Visitor Information Center, which was opened by the caretaker only after we arrived. It contains the original Frenchman's Rock, inscribed by the members of Nicolas Baudin's crew on the ship Le Geographe in 1803 on their expedition to map the coast of New Holland (now Australia).
We also visited the Penneshaw Penguin Center to read about the colony of little penguins who live there. They come on shore around dusk. The only way to see them is to wait on the beach at dusk or take a guided tour after they have arrived back at their nests for A$13, Since we had to catch the tender back to the ship before dusk, we didn't get to see them.
We walked to the replica of Frenchmen's Rock on the beach. It was under a white concrete roof.
Afterwards, we continued walking to Baudin Conservation Park. It was a fabulous park and we were able to see wallabies and kangaroos in the wild. The trail is fairly flat and easy to do with just sneakers.
After finishing at Baudin, we walked to the Kangaroo Island Sculpture Trail. There were numerous sculptures to view and we saw some more wallabies.
Tours scheduled for the day included a visit to Kingscote, 59 km away. It's the biggest city on KI. There were also excursions to Seal Beach and Flinders Chase National Park. I was happy we didn't go on an excursion and enjoyed our day exploring Penneshaw on our own. There's a small grocery store in town but not much shopping. Potato chips are outrageously priced.
Back on board, we had dinner in the Grand Dining Room--Potato Fritter & Caviar with Vodka Chantilly, Tuna Carpaccio, Marseillaise Fish Soup, French Monkfish, Braised Duck with Fennel and Green Olives, Truffle Mac & Cheese and Blueberry Souffle. We had purchased a bottle of Vasse Felix Sauvignon Blanc while in Busselton and had it with dinner. It was delicious!
2023 12 06
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