Judy & Brian Tour Oz: Stokes bay, Emu Bay, Peugeot, old cars, ducks, duck lagoon, Pardana, Kangaroo island

Today we did the north part of the island, well as far as the tarred road went, we weren't really up for the 80km of rough-as-bags dirt road right down to Cape Borda. Instead we went to Stokes Bay, which was a pretty enough little rocky bay. At one end there is a sign on the rocky headland pointing into the rock and claiming that there was a beach. True enough, there was a kind of tunnel through the headland that brought you out onto a truly lovely beach, talk about your hidden gems.

To put the record straight, during the winter months there is nothing at these places. So for a feed or anything else, one had to retreat to the last town, which in our case was Parndana, a sleepier hollow than any you are likely to find. We chose bakery/IGA over the hotel and were rewarded with an excellent bowl of pumpkin soup and a home-made sausage roll. The owner was kind enough to give us a bit of history which included the information that the 'tunnel' was man made by a couple of 'cockies' with a few sticks of jelly and a lot of time on their hands.

On our way back to Kingscote, we took a turn to the quaintly named Ducks Lagoon and were glad we did. Obviously, it is a lagoon (yes, there is a heap of water laying around on the island), which they have set up as a bird refuge with hides and the like. It also skirts around a paddock of a farm which the farmer walked off in 1967, leaving behind a few old cars and machines and sheds and the like. Not to mention the now defunct eucalyptus distillery with accompanying rusted old stills and other equipment.

Last on the agenda for the day was a visit to Emu Bay, just north of Kingscote, which is so much more upmarket than anything else we've seen, we were immediately reminded of Double Bay. There's nothing there except magnificent houses overlooking the sweeping vista of the unspoilt bay, but as we found out, it's enough to quadruple land values. There was also a nicely set out serve-yourself van and tent camping ground. One just has to work out how one gets a van over here on that boat, which obviously can be done.

It was schnitzel night at the Queenscliffe (old name for Kingscote) Family Hotel so how could we refuse? Suitably sated, we have retired for the night.

Here's a few snaps, birds feature tonight, they balance my shots of old rusty cars!