March 1-5
Hi All,
Kangaroo Island was spectacular. We have been blessed to stay in a few luxurious resorts in our life time and we are always in search for #1. So far, Post Ranch in Big Sur California, Namale in Savusavu Fiji and Vatulele in Fiji (closed now) are our top 3. Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo came close to breaking into the top 3 but not quite, but very close.
We had wanted to go to Namale to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary in May but our cruising schedule just made the logistics difficult this year. It also looks like Namale suffered some storm damage from Cyclone Winston a few weeks ago, so we will look forward to going back another time. Instead, we decided to try a few resorts here in Australia (another one will be in Tasmania). It is also Kathy’s birthday year (it has one of those dreaded zero’s in it) so a few celebrations on this road trip seemed very appropriate.
“Southern Ocean Lodge is Australia’s first true luxury lodge, offering a unique and exclusive travel experience on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Floating atop a secluded cliff on a rugged stretch of coast, the lodge commands peerless views of the wild Southern Ocean and pristine Kangaroo Island wilderness. Sensitive, intimate and sophisticated, Southern Ocean Lodge is a sanctuary of refined comfort and luxury, Kangaroo Island style.”
We did many of their signature activities…..an afternoon trek to see the native sea lions, a dusk event to see many kangaroos while enjoying some wine and canapès, trip into the Flinder’s National Park to see the lighthouse, Remarkable Rocks, the native fur seals and many koalas, a few hikes along the cliff tops and to the gorgeous white sand beaches and of course, a wonderful afternoon at the spa for a much needed massage!! We even did a night event to see the kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, and possums at their nocturnal activities!!
The food may be the best yet at SOL!!! The food was true gourmet….combining eclectic ingredients into marvelous, sumptuous dishes where the different ingredients somehow combined to produce wonderful flavors. The desserts were to die for…an example, was an olive oil ice cream served with a chocolate flakes and other ingredients I can’t even remember….I had never had this before….olive oil was infused as the ice cream was made and then lightly drizzled on top….it went with all the other ingredients and had me scraping the bowl for more. I was so impressed we ended up having a delightful conversation with the sous chef….wow!!!
Then there were the American River oysters (a local river on Kangaroo Island)….maybe the best I have ever had. But what made the dish was a red wine vinegar granitee on top….OMG….I ended up having the oysters like 4 times through the 4 days!!!!
And finally, in case the food gets to be too much, they have a standard menu that features a gourmet cheeseburger with some outrageous fries. Kathy had this one day for lunch when she needed a break and ended up ordering it again for her last meal….it was that good!!!
Next is 4 days of wine tasting….yes, we are professionals and we are stocking Mystic for the next 2 years as not much good wine available in SE Asia…..2 days in Barossa Valley and 2 days in Clare Valley. After that it is about 1000 miles back to Mystic in about 3 days. We will be back to Mystic on Saturday, March 12 for 5 days before flying to Tasmania for 7 days!
Stats:
Traveled:
Car miles: No driving, yeah; 2775 miles total
Air miles: 1450 total
Train miles: 1600 total
Total traveled miles: 5825 miles
Wrong turns: 3 total
Kangaroo/”Roos”/Skippy count: 75 this leg; ~295 total!!!
Skippy roadside warning signs: 2 this leg, 125 total
Koala count: 15 this leg; 49 total
Emu count: 0 this leg; 85 total
Echidna count: 4 this leg; 5 total
One Way bridges: 0 today; 19 total
Speeding Tickets: 0 today; 1 total
Hotel: Southern Ocean Lodge; decadent, gorgeous,
Food: See above…
LIG!!!! Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
The Southern Ocean Lodge…our room is in the middle!
View from our room at Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island
View from our room
Some of the art in our room
The wooden bathtub!
A unique Kangaroo
Echidna
Wallabie
Australian Sea lions posing in the sun
Two juvenile males starting to act out!
Cute!!
I love being me!!
A young pup feeding!
A seal was waving to us:)))
John and his yummy American River oysters with a red wine granitee
Kathy in her happy place!
Happy John!!
Kangaroo hoping away!!
Whaa???
View from our cliff top walk
Some of the limestone rock formations….looked like the missing apostle:)))
Remarkable rocks……granite pushed up through the limestone and then shaped over the last 500 million years by rain, wind and pounding waves
The orange is actually lichen
Cap du Couedic lighthouse
Koala
Ring tail possum and koala at night!
Wallabie at night….particularly small on Kangaroo Island
Typical presentation – this was a lamb dish
Olive oil ice cream
Kathy looking for treasures!!
Sunrise from our room
