২২ দিন – চুইচ দিন

01/23/17

It is a day of contrasts. To name a few:

• Sunshine vs Rain showers
• Clear blue sky vs Gray overcast
• 38 degrees vs 22 degrees
• Calm vs Hurricane gusts
• Headache / Discomfort vs Fit / lively
• Unclear schedule vs Ferry booked

Curious? We wake up to very warm temperatures, blue sky, sunshine, loud bird chirping (=noise), and a headache (Marco). Maybe we had too much sun yesterday. We have breakfast and we're not sure what we will do today. So we just start driving in the general direction of Adelaide - our next, larger milestone destination.

However, our first stop is Portland. We pause and take a walk. Not so overwhelming and tired from the oppressive heat, we are soon back at Yoshi and continue to Mount Gambier. The hot wind is also quite strong and we have to hold the steering wheel with both hands. Along the way, the thermometer shows 38 degrees... When we arrive in Mt Gambier, it is fortunately 8 degrees cooler. There's also a lot going on. However, after a gust throws a lot of dust in our faces, we take a coffee break. The question that has been occupying us for 2 days is whether and when we want to visit Kangaroo Island (short KI). With or without Yoshi; before or after we hand him over, etc. In the cafe, we come to the conclusion that a visit in the next few days with Yoshi is the best option. But that also means that a) we have to book a ferry and b) we should cover the distance of about 6 hours drive as directly as possible. So we pack our things and head north in a straight line.

In Naracoote (after a total of 3.5 hours of driving / 300 km), our strength is slowly running out and we find a place to rest. In the meantime, it's raining quite a bit and it's a pleasant 22 degrees cool. But now it's time to book the ferry. After a web search, an online attempt, and a 16-minute phone call with 'Sealink', it's done. We're going to KI tomorrow :) Good thing we pushed ourselves today. Another crossing is no longer available.

Finally, we end the day with a great corn-tomato-mozzarella-sweet potato salad. PS. We had planned to make pasta salad, but fortunately we read that potatoes are not allowed on the island and according to the daily motto, we switched the menu.

PS2. Last night, Yoshi's integrated smoke alarm woke us up at 10:45 p.m. Startled, we were able to turn it off and wondered what the problem was. The next day, we changed the battery because apparently it goes off for safety reasons in this case. Luckily not in the middle of the night ;)

PS3. We cross the state border into South Australia and at the campsite, we notice that our watches no longer match Yoshi's. What's wrong here? With the border crossing, we gain half an hour.