There was a little bit of relief packing up the tent that morning and leaving Western KI Caravan Park. Not that it had been a terrible place, quite the contrary. Knowing that we'd have a chance that evening to pick a new campsite, possible one that was less exposed, made me breathe a little easier as we got ready for the day.
I was also fairly excited since I had managed to talk Mr Carl into being a tourist and coming on a guided tour of Kelly Caves with me. I absolutely love caves and I had been hoping for a chance to get to see these ones. There had been a tour available on the rest day, but we hadn't been sure what the weather would be like, so we decided to sign up for the tour a day later.
Mr Carl had unfortunately contracted a cold and was feeling a bit worse for wear, so our plan was to take it easy. With the rest stop at Kelly Caves a mere 13km from the starting point, this was an easy thing to achieve. However, just to make sure we weren't stressing ourselves too much, we stopped for photo opportunities part way there.
Soon we were at the caves and I signed us up for the tour. The most difficult thing about the tour was walking up the path to the cave in bike shoes. As I had found the day before, bike shoes are not the best shoes to hike in and the caves were at the top of a reasonably steep incline. However we made it and soon we were climbing down a ladder, deep underground.
On a side note, I love the way some of the names for places on Kangaroo Island have evolved. Kelly caves was apparently named after the horse that fell down a hole which made people aware the caves existed. Unfortunately for the horse, having fallen down the hole, it was never heard from again. However the rider eventually made it out in one piece and decided to name the caves after the horse he had to leave behind.
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| Tourist time |
I was also fairly excited since I had managed to talk Mr Carl into being a tourist and coming on a guided tour of Kelly Caves with me. I absolutely love caves and I had been hoping for a chance to get to see these ones. There had been a tour available on the rest day, but we hadn't been sure what the weather would be like, so we decided to sign up for the tour a day later.
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| Posing for the camera |
Mr Carl had unfortunately contracted a cold and was feeling a bit worse for wear, so our plan was to take it easy. With the rest stop at Kelly Caves a mere 13km from the starting point, this was an easy thing to achieve. However, just to make sure we weren't stressing ourselves too much, we stopped for photo opportunities part way there.
Soon we were at the caves and I signed us up for the tour. The most difficult thing about the tour was walking up the path to the cave in bike shoes. As I had found the day before, bike shoes are not the best shoes to hike in and the caves were at the top of a reasonably steep incline. However we made it and soon we were climbing down a ladder, deep underground.
On a side note, I love the way some of the names for places on Kangaroo Island have evolved. Kelly caves was apparently named after the horse that fell down a hole which made people aware the caves existed. Unfortunately for the horse, having fallen down the hole, it was never heard from again. However the rider eventually made it out in one piece and decided to name the caves after the horse he had to leave behind.
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Successful cave photos
Kelly Caves are stunning, with many examples of stalagmites, stalactites and other cave formations. The lady who guided us through was full of information and stories and told us so much about not only the caves we were wandering through but how caves are being managed the world over. I think the scientist in me, having just been involved in putting together some other ecological management documents, was thrilled to hear the amount of care that is being taken with these natural wonders.
The caves were a photographic challenge, but we both managed to get a few shots that were worth while. The guide also talked about the adventure caving that they offer there and I was hard pressed not to sign up for it then and there, but I figured it might be best to continue on with our cycling holiday before jumping head first into something else.
Eventually the guide dragged us back out of the caves, I don't think any of us really wanted to go but another tour was on it's way and we had more cycling to do! Thankfully morning tea was still being served at the caves and even better, Rory the coffee man was on hand as well, as Carl and I had once again forgotten our cups. Admittedly this was a very convenient excuse to indulge in amazing hot chocolate and coffee as well as some fruit cake.
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| The only evidence of rain we saw |
After gorging ourselves we decided we probably ought to roll out and started the trek to our second destination of the day, Two Wheeler Wines. This involved a cruise along the bitumen, then a left hand turn up a dirt road. The effect of the rain was evident on the dirt road, with large puddles running along the edge and a slightly sketchy surface in places. But for the most part it was a gorgeous cruisy ride and I believe we had a slight tail wind, which made it even better.
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| The view from the top |
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| Another view from the top |
The road was mostly undulating but a couple of hills made sure that by the time we reached the winery we were ready for a drink. I probably also needed to recover from the slightly scary experience of flying down a hill and encountering a concrete creek crossing. While the condition of the crossing was quite good, it was difficult to make out from the top of the hill and it required a certain degree of blind faith that speed would get you though. Suffice to say that once we reached the winery, I was more than ready for a drink and the barman was more than ready to oblige.
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| To clear up the confusion |
Strangely enough, I think that Two Wheeler Wines was my favourite place (except the caves) of the whole trip. The barman really made the experience so enjoyable and allowed us to relax after the stresses of the last couple of days. He insisted that we start from the top and work our way down, we weren't allowed to miss anything and really, who were we to argue?
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| Marron |
He told us about the winery and the marron farm and it was really easy to see how passionate he was about both the wine and the food. This was evident in how good the wines tasted, I don't think there was one I really disliked and I was very surprised just how awesome their anise myrtle liqueur was, especially as I don't like liquorice.
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| A happy cyclist |
Speaking of dislikes, neither Mr Carl or myself are big seafood fans, but a friend recommended we try the marron cocktail and after all the wine tasting we thought that was an excellent idea. It was delicious! We split a bowl of chips and a marron cocktail between us and the plates were almost licked clean. Not only was the marron amazing, but the locally produced sauces that accompanied it were just perfect. I think this was the most amazing find of the whole trip as you really don't expect unique, top notch food and wine up a dirt road on Kangaroo Island.
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| Posing again! |
Eventually we had to head back into town and Mr Carl graciously offered to carry the evenings imbibement. He was actually looking a bit second hand at this point in time so I tried to jump on the front and give him a break from the wind which was no longer behind us. After enduring some corrugations slightly reminiscent of the first day of the tour, we rolled into Vivone bay with our wine bottle intact and proceeded to scope out a place to set up the taj.
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| The roads we travelled |
After a bit of investigation, we set up in a secluded area which included our very own koala overseer and a evening frog chorus. It also had the remnants of an irrigation system, which was a little worrying until we figured out that it was well and truly disconnected. After a shower, we headed over to tea to share our bottle of wine and find out what Karen and Brett had been up to. All in all I think this was my favourite day of the tour!
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| Happy Snap! |
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