A Hot Hike

In the heat of the day, when the temperature reaches 95 degrees, the only animals foolish enough to walk the trails of Flinders Chase park in western Kangaroo Island are homo sapiens of the tourist variety. Fortunately, we had plenty of water, good hats, sunscreen and raw courage. Actually we did see kangaroos and the relatively uncommon Rosenberg's Monitor Lizard, named after a rabbi who was eaten by one in the beginning of the 20th Century. We completed our hike, called the "Black Swamp" trail in four hours, just one hour longer than the time listed in the brochure. It was 8 kilometers long.

The drive to Flinders Chase was about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from our comfortable villa in the town of Kingscote and took about one hour in our pretty lux Kia Sorrento Diesel. On the drive (and the drive back) in a 90 kilometer stretch on a good two-lane highway I estimate that we did not encounter more than 10 other vehicles. At times it feels as if the highway was built just for us.

On the trip back we stopped at the Pure Island Sheep Farm to watch the milking of the sheep, a very interesting combination of high-tech machinery and human involvement. We bought some sheep cheese and I had their chocolate gelato, my first ice cream of the trip.

Rosenberg's Lizard. This one was about 5 feet long.

Wonderful metal works support the many informational signs

Part of our hike included areas supposedly frequented by platypus.

A sculpture was all we saw of this elusive animal

A beautiful metal wall with insect forms cut out of it.

Detail

Excellent signposting

Typical flora

The sun was so strong my shadow had more energy than I did.

Lunch provided a welcome break, lox and goat cheese with Australian tomatoes and baby cucumbers

Without water we would not have survived.

Typical terrain

Termite mound. Trivia: Rosenberg's Lizard digs in, hollows out and lays its eggs inside.

What could be more enjoyable than a 4-hour hike in 95-degree heat?

Lambs at Pure Island Sheep Farm

Sheep milking and feeding. I particularly enjoyed the way the workers in the central aisle gave a brief massage to the teats to stimulate the flow of milk. Impossible to capture from my vantage point.