Bonding with Nature and Wildlife at Kangaroo Island - Part 2

Days 1 & 2 - Kingscote and Districts Region

John and his beautiful birds

     What was the reason for our hurry to get into Kingscote? Our earlier arrival on KI resulted in us being able to catch the 5 p.m. feeding of the pelicans at the Kingscote Wharf. Despite being the capital of KI, Kingscote is still generally a small town, whereby you can just drive around the streets without getting lost. We located the venue for the pelicans feeding without any problem.  To our joy, we found the beautiful birds awaiting. Soon, we were joined by more eager beavers (tourists) and John, the Pelican Man.

    

The Pelican Man delights us with his tales of the birds

The fee of A$5 an adult is a reasonable fee as it all goes into the purchase of the fish for the pelicans and the seagulls that also swoop in to join in the feast. The Pelican Man gives a highly informative and entertaining commentary as cameras click away and the birds feed on.

Malaysian lass with the KI pelicans

It was our first encounter with the graceful yet friendly pelicans and we were delighted to find them almost a touch away. KI’s tagline “A Zoo Without Fences” rings true!

Colourful menu of delightful dishes

KI Tru Thai

     Seeing the hungry birds feasting reminded us that we were hungry too. Our next mission was to find one of the limited dinner places on Kingscote. My food-tuned eyes caught sight of a brightly-painted truck on the field near the Kingscote Wharf. It was the KI Tru Thai food truck, listed as the #2 of 13 restaurants in Kingscote by TripAdvisor! Being a mobile food truck, it operates on several locations around the island and Sundays are when it serves the people of Kingscote.   So our first meal on KI was an Asian meal of rice and Thai curry cooked by Sirintip Panya from north east Thailand…yum! A simple meal in al fresco dining but it cost us A$32 nonetheless.

My choice of sweet & sour pork and  stir-fried squid & prawn in red curry with steamed rice

     With our bellies filled, we proceeded to check in at our accommodation for the night, Kangaroo Island Seaview Motel. Owned and run by the same family that had started this motel back in the 1920s,  the oceanview room that I had chosen was spacious, clean and it provided the views of the Nepean Bay that it had promised. The beds looked extremely inviting, especially to a sleep-deprived traveller like me, but Derrick urged me to follow him to explore Kingscote. We drove around, past Reeves Point (South Australia’s first European settlement) and around the beautiful Bay of Shoals. We met the pelicans again, enjoying the sunset by the Bay of Shoals.

Wistful pelican at dusk

Pelicans enjoying the evening breeze

By the time we got back to our motel room, I was ready to hit the bed after a quick shower.

Interior of the cafe

     The next day, I was awakened when Derrick returned from his sunrise shoot at the Old Jetty. It never ceases to amaze me how he can wake up so diligently for his photography. Our first breakfast on KI was at Roger’s Deli at Dauncey Street.

Cafe as seen from the street

I ordered a   latte to go with my sausage roll while Derrick opted for a cappuccino and meat pie. Mine was quite tasty but Derrick was not impressed with the high salt content in his meat pie.

     Before leaving Kingscote, we stopped at Drakes Foodland to stock up on more groceries. It did have an extensive array of supplies and I was practically jumping for joy when I spotted my favourite lemongrass soap. As petrol pumps are only found in certain towns around the island, we thought it would be wise to refuel before we ventured further. The petrol price of the day was A$1.49 a litre.