Rodney Campbell's Blog

Today we were heading back along the southern cost of Kangaroo Island to Vivonne Bay and the nearby Kelly Hill Caves and Conservation Park.

One of the reasons to head down this was was to check out what was the closest grocery store to where we were staying – Vivonne Bay General Store. It was also one of the closest places to get some fuel for the car.

Note: These images (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

To be honest the range of groceries is very limited and lunch options here are also similarly limited. We opted instead to check out the Andermel Marron Cafe at the Two Wheeler Creek Winery. To be honest it’s a very rough drive on a pretty terrible dirt road – about 15km’s from the Vivonne Bay turnoff. Once there however the cafe was large and airconditioned and the food was suitably tasty (to match the price :)). It was however great to have a good meal.

Then it was back to Vivonne Bay proper – just a short drive past the General Store. Vivonne Bay is characterised by its long, sandy beach and the jetty which is used by cray fishermen for off-loading their catch. A group was offloading their gear just as we arrived – using that trolley on the rails to move back and forth.

After they were done my girls all ventured onto the jetty to take a look at the lovely bay with the spectacular green waters.

Vivonne Bay

NIKON D600 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 66 mm, 1/100 sec at f/8, ISO 100

Greenscape

NIKON D600 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm, 1/320 sec at f/4, ISO 100

and this is what the jetty looks like looking back from the point.

Vivonne Bay Jetty

NIKON D600 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 60 mm, 1/125 sec at f/8, ISO 100

Then it was off to Kelly Hill Caves.

The name of Kelly Hill Caves is a result of the story, how it was discovered. In 1880 a local stockman called Kelsy, riding on his horse Kelly, was chasing sheep that had strayed from his property. Unfortunately both of them fell into one of the big sink holes in the area. Kelsy managed to climb out, but he had to leave Kelly at the bottom of the sink hole. He returned soon with help to rescue the horse, but it was gone.

Straws

NIKON D600 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 48 mm, 1/50 sec at f/2.8, ISO 1600

NIKON D600 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm, 1/60 sec at f/4, ISO 3600

As one of my daughters is now doing ballet this particular cave formation rang a bell 🙂

The Ballerina

NIKON D600 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm, 1/80 sec at f/4, ISO 6400

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