Granite Island

Monday 26th January

Jean writes:

The trip from Adelaide to Victor Harbour is just over fifty miles so a fairly short journey.  The big attraction, as far as we were concerned, when we booked up months ago was the penguins (named Fairy, Little or Blue) on Granite Island.  On further investigation we had found out that the colony was in drastic decline, possibly terminal.  I emailed way back in August to find out the situation, but had no reply, so we turned up in Adelaide with no idea as to whether we would see any penguins.

I rang this morning to find that the feeding (which normally doesn't happen publicly on a Monday) WOULD be going ahead as it's Australia Day, and a public holiday.  On the other hand, the evening trips to see the penguins come ashore to feed their young, which normally occur on a Monday WEREN'T happening as it was Australia Day! 

C'est la vie.

Granite Island is connected to the mainland with a causeway, less than a kilometre long.  We walked across and made our way to the Penguin Centre in time for the feeding at 14:30.  

We laughed at the penguin road sign! 

The penguins on the island are the smallest kind (on average 33 cm in height) and the only native ones in Australia, a fraction of the size of Emperor Penguins, who can reach 122cm in height.

The couple at the centre look after injured penguins, many of whom have been attacked by dogs, some having only one one eye now.  If their injuries can heal, they are let back into the wild, but one-eyed penguins are at a serious disadvantage so are kept at the centre.  

I spent the rest of my time on the island walking round it, sometimes along the shore, sometimes much higher up with a great view over the rocks and the sea pounding them.  It was breath-taking stuff.  

The prize near the end was a pelican, grooming himself on a prominent rock.  

Dave writes:

Transport of delight - or not? 

Managed to pick up hire car in Adelaide three hours early as staff taking afternoon off on Australia Day. 

Trusty manual as opposed to much more common (these days) automatic and seems just the job. 

Sat-Nav helped us out of the city then one hour down to Victor Harbor via the A21 and A13, which somehow ring familiar. 

Big tourist attraction here is the horse-drawn tram which trundles  a few hundred metres up and down  the causeway to Granite Island.  

But we declined. 

The horses in use looked disenchanted to say the least and although they seemed to manage with ease a full load of 40, to me they looked too small for the job. 

Tourist info assured me they were Clydesdales and in fact a bit lazy but we walked nonetheless. 

Mind you, I am a big fan of jump racing in the UK where three or four horses die each week in the name of sport.