Cape Cassini Wilderness Retreat, Kangaroo Island Hotel, hosted Bed and Breakfast Accommodation
Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Setting the standard; looking to the future:
The only accommodation in South Australia with Green Globe benchmarking
and Advanced Eco Tourism Accreditation
A Holiday with Peace of Mind.
When you stay with us you are treading lightly on the environment.
| Date | Entry |
|---|---|
| 7/12/04 | November has just whistled past, with lots of guests and great weather it has been a fantastic month. The best part is all the animal sightings, when guests come to us they are overwhelmed by the wild animals they see so close to the house. Wallabies eating on the lawn. Last week we had one feeding its baby, much to the delight of all in the house. Our visitors from Japan went for a walk and saw an echidna only 70 metres from the retreat. A few days later we found evidence of echidna diggings on the front lawn, it is not easy to have an outside garden!! Later in the day some guests came back having seen an echidna quite close to the house, we think it may be the same one. We have also had some very big kangaroos feeding in full balcony view. Returning from dropping Alex at the schoolbus, David saw a small tiger snake. He also checked the termite mound where goanna eggs were laid 8 months ago, there is no evidence of hatching and they are overdue to do so, he will keep an eye on it over the next fortnight. Last week David took a guest down to do a Foreshore Walk and noticed a Brushtail Possum in one of the little penguin nests. On the way back they brushed past some bushes and hundreds of white butterflies flew out, it was a really beautiful sight. With the hot weather in November we have seen many butterflies. The lavender bush out the front was absolutely covered in yellow and black patterned ones last week. |
| 25/10/04 | We have had some beautiful spring weather over the last month, and then just what we needed most a lovely day of rain. The bush looks beautiful after rain with the smell of the earth and the dust washed off the leaves, it shines all different colours of green, and with all the wildflowers out at present it is a beautiful time to walk. There are many animals around at present. Over the last few days we have seen a koala on the track, 20 - 30 kangaroos grazing at a spot not far from the Retreat, and five echidnas at various places around the Retreat and island. David took our guests touring on Tuesday and Wednesday. They spent several hours photographing the wonderful wildflower and wildlife displays. We had a local biologist visit on Thursday. She is doing a plant survey of the wilderness around the Retreat. On her previous visit she recorded some 140 native plants. A number of native species are endangered or endemic to Kangaroo Island. It was great to see her enthusiastic response as we came across large numbers of splendid bush pea plants (Pultenaea Villifera) in a number of locations also native cherry and apricot stands,(Pittosporum Phylliraeoids) neither of which are edible. There were lots of other edible plants we discovered including native parsley, cranberry and carrot. A further highlight of the day was to find an echidna near its burrow. |
| 4/10/04 | It is three months since we last added to the diary, too long. This morning I went for my usual walk, it was so special, after a long and wet winter. It was just beautiful to walk and see all the wildflowers beginning to bloom. The bush is just a beautiful floral display, and the birds!! Walking was like being at a flower show with the most incredible orchestra. Morning Flag is a blue flower which is making a mass display around the house. David has been looking for orchids. He came across one at a particular spot with quite a green leaf which has turned reddish brown and is still to flower. He also found quite a few bulldog orchids, but many appeared to be eaten. The kangaroos and wallabies must like to eat them. Occasionally I have seen a baby wallaby peeking out of its mum's pouch while they both eat the lawn, and I was surprised one day to walk into the kitchen and out the kitchen window was Mum kangaroo with a new joey in pouch and older joey by her side. This is the third family we have seen her with. David has seen three unusual insects. A slender stick insect, a black beetle with brown edging to its shell and a colourful but mainly brown butterfly in the orchard. The best surprise is that it is only October and the rocky beach is covered in white sand. Roll on Spring and Summer. |
| 3/6/04 | It is a classic Kangaroo Island winters day. A little windy, quite warm when the sun comes out, with rain showers every now and then. I decided to take my morning coffee to the conservatory where the sun is shining in, it was so lovely and warm sitting there looking out at the boiling sea. Suddenly the two wedgetail eagles flew across and started to dance above the cliff. It was an amazing sight watching these huge birds effortlessly whirl and swoop with each other above the cliffs. I have never thought of adult animals playing but that is exactly what I saw the eagles do. They would drop right down out of sight then swoop up with the wind until they were specks in the sky, then right down again, until they swept cross the sea out of sight behind the house. I had yesterdays paper to read but the eagles were much more interesting!!! |
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