Today we planned to explore the central north area as we were moving to American River for 3 nights and check in was 2 o’clock. This gave us ample time to look around the region and sample some of the local produce.

First stop was the Emu Bay Lavender Farm. We strolled through the lavender plantation marvelling at the many different types of lavender being cultivated.

Inside the shop and café were a huge array of lavender-based products, including lavender scones which Trev honed in on straight away. They were huge and very tempting so we all decided it was time for morning tea and had coffee and scones. After a few purchases at the gift shop we drove on the Island Beehive at Kingscote.

KI is home to the Ligurian Bee which originated in Italy. It is smaller and less aggressive than our mainland bees. KI is the sanctuary to the only Ligurian bee population in the world and so honey and bee products are not allowed to be brought to KI to protect these rare and precious bees from diseases, and to keep their breed pure.

We saw a bee colony in action and purchased some honey from the store then back on the road to continue our gourmet tour of KI.

The next stop was KI Eucalyptus distillery where we watched an informative short video on the history of eucalyptus oil on KI. Trev and I got the prize seats in the old wagon and Gordie ended up playing chauffeur.

Most of the eucalyptus oil in the world is now produced in China, so it was great to see that this local family had revived an Australian Industry that had once been large. They are now producing eucalyptus oil and other products such as emu oil locally.

The KI Cider Company was also in the same complex, so we decided to do a cider tasting. Great value and you received $5 off any purchase of cider. Trev decided to buy a 6 pack of the non-alcoholic apple cider (appealed to his sweet tooth) and, as no one else bought any, the girl gave Trev $10 off as he was able to use my voucher as well.

After a few purchases from the eucalyptus gift shop, we went on to the KI spirit distillery to sample some local gins. The KI Spirit Distillery was really well set out with a great outdoor café area set among a garden full of interesting herb and fruit plants such as pomegranates, citrus and a large flowering perennial basil.

The distillery itself was really interesting and they had a well thought out display of the different gins they produced and the ingredients used for each. There were 5 locally produced gins to taste and they were all good apparently. Trev and Clare bought the KIS Mulberry Gin as it was quite unique.

Some of the gins must need an aquired taste

It was then time to drive to American River and hopefully grab some lunch at the Oyster Farm. We arrived just in time, but Kerry was extremely disappointed, as they had NO oysters. The KI oysters were apparently not in season. We all had fish and salad instead.

After our late lunch we drove up the road to ‘Stringybark’, our next home for 3 days. We arrived and had some drama as the key safe would not open no matter who had a go. Clare finally got in contact with the owner who discovered she had made a typo in the email she sent, giving me the incorrect code. The new code worked, and we unpacked and settled in.

The house had a waterfront aspect and the bay had black swans and pelicans cruising around…. And of course, there were 2 JETTIES.

The house was beautifully decorated and well stocked. It was separated into 2 pods. The front pod had the kitchen, living area, laundry, main bedroom and ensuite.

The second pod consisted of the other 3 bedrooms, a second lounge area and a bathroom. There was also some lovely artwork and garden sculptures.

We cooked up a few curries for dinner and enjoyed a relaxing evening.

We had planned to explore the eastern side of the island today including the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse tour and had booked it in for 2pm. First stop was Brown’s Beach which was another unique location with very different rock formations compared to what we had seen so far on KI. The rocks were weathered sandstone, sharp in places but varied and interesting shapes.

Baudin beach, the next beach along, was also very similar – named after the French explorer Baudin, who had done some mapping of KI around the time that Matthew Flinders was exploring here.

We decided to stop at False Cape Winery for an early lunch. The timing was great as it began to pour with rain, so we raced inside and ordered lunch.

The cellar door area was built from local timbers including old JETTY timbers and local sandstone and was well set out. Kerry, Gordie and Dave did a wine tasting and the homemade pies we had for lunch were delicious.

We still had some time before we had to be at the lighthouse so we did a quick detour to Antechamber Bay, which was a lovely location and would have been ideal for a swim if it was sunny and warm.

Driving on to Cape Willoughby Lighthouse, the surrounding landscape became more windswept and arid. The lighthouse and keepers’ cottages stood out on the point as we drove up the road. Sheep were being farmed in the area around the lighthouse.

The lighthouse was built in 1852 and was built without foundations, just very thick walls at the base and can withstand winds of up to 240km/hr. The first light was generated by burning whale and seal blubber. This was replaced with a large glass prism and then eventually a 22W LED the current light source was installed in the 1990’s. The modern lighthouse is not manned but managed remotely.

The waters around KI can be very treacherous and there have been 70 ships wrecked in the area.

The tour was very informative, and we were able to walk up the 120 steps inside and come out onto the small balcony at the top for some amazing views of the coast and mainland.

We decided to head to Penneshaw for coffee and to grab some supplies before heading back to the house. There were no big plans for tomorrow – our last day on KI – we decided to work it out in the morning according to the weather etc.

Our last day on KI had arrived – tomorrow we were catching the early ferry back to the mainland. After some discussion we decided to drive to the lookout at Prospect Hill and walk up the massive staircase for some butt and thigh exercise and to see a bird’s eye view of much of KI.

We walked down the road a bit and had a look at the boat building that was going on down near the American River jetty – they were in the process of building a replica of the ‘Independence’ – the first schooner built here on KI by the Americans in 1803.

The guys at the boat shed were more than happy to give us a tour and tell us the history of the Independence which was built by Captain Andrew Pendleton and crew here in American River. The schooner was 45 feet in length and took 3 months to build. It was used for sealing in the area and then left for Port Jackson in Sydney in 1804 never to return to KI.

There was a model on display of the original Independence. The replica being built has been under construction for 3 years already – a slow process as it is locally funded and being constructed by retirees relying on donations.

We then drove to Prospect Hill and commenced the 512 stair climb to the top. The ‘hill’ is actually a large sandhill which Matthew Flinders had climbed when he was on KI mapping the area – to his surprise he saw sea on the other side – he had assumed it was part of the mainland… He named the hill Prospect Hill.

The views from the top were awesome and gave a good perspective on the shape and differing landscapes of KI. Making our way down the 512 stairs, Trev was left behind. He had started talking to  ‘old mate’, George from Gippsland who also owned a Ranger and a caravan.

We made our way to Kingscote for lunch at the Aurora Ozone Pub and a look around. There was a beautifully painted silo at the entrance to Kingscote.

We walked along the foreshore and saw some old buildings including the courthouse, police station and gaol.

Lunch at the pub was delicious. After a coffee we stopped to get fuel, then travelled home to get organised before our early start tomorrow.