Beautiful gardens, beaches, gin, food, and good times driving around Kangaroo Island, South Australia on day two.
Emu Bay Lavender, Kangaroo Island. https://www.emubaylavenderfarm.com.au/about
Our first stop for the day was Emu Bay Lavender Cafe. We sat at table No 13. which is our lucky number. We shared a delicious lavender brownie with our coffee. It was a cold morning and quite busy so we sat outside by the gas heater.
The lavender wasn’t in flower which was a bit disappointing as it would have been nice to see and photograph.
I purchased a bottle of lavender essential oil from the gift shop. I think it’s stronger than any other lavender oil that I’ve ever used before. I keep it next to my bed and pop it on before I go to sleep.
Beautiful Emy Bay, Kangaroo Island. What a stunning beach.
We parked up at the Emu Bay foreshore and went for a walk along the beach. You can drive on this beach and it reminded me of Long Beach at Robe. Beautiful white sand and the most stunning blue waters. Facilities included are public toilets, a big lawn area with BBQ facilities, a play playground, and a picnic area.
The caravan park was closed and up for sale. I imagine it would be packed out with tourists if it was open as it’s such a great spot right on the beach amongst the trees. Make sure you check out Emu Bay if you love beautiful beaches.
Emu Bay ‘Lost Soles’ beach entrance.
We found George’s 52,000 Castle Lights by accident and pulled over to see what it was—never expected to see a castle on a dirt road amongst farming land. George’s property is difficult to miss. I couldn’t believe my eyes when we found it.
It’s lovely that George shares his hobby with the public. You can tell that he loves it. A lot of time and creativity has gone into this place.
It’s a little bit run down and it’s also a lot of work to maintain for one person. I’m pretty sure that George told us he was 80. I think it would be great to see the castle at night with the lights on, but it was still fun to explore by day.
A little quirky and very creative. I think everyone can appreciate the effort that’s gone into creating this place. It’s worth a look.
You can find Georges Castle at 1593 N Coast Rd, Wisanger S.A. 5223 https://www.google.com/maps/search/1593+North+Coast+Road,+Wisanger+South+Australia+5223/@-35.614988,137.456559
Stokes Bay, Kangaroo Island.
We planned to have lunch at the Rockpool Cafe in Stokes Bay, but it was closed as they’d just welcomed a baby. There was a sign at the shop. The Rockpool Cafe was recommended to us by some friends who visited K.I. just before us.
It was cold, windy, and rainy so we didn’t stay long. There was a beautiful beach through the rocks which was pretty cool to discover. You walk through a bit of a rock tunnel to pop out onto the beach.
If the beach sign wasn’t on the rock you wouldn’t even know it was there. We’ll have to go back and try the Cafe next time and hopefully score a beautiful sunny day to relax on the beach.
We ended up stopping for lunch inland in a small country town called Parndana.
https://www.facebook.com/Parndanabakerycafe A one-stop shop that was a cafe, take-away shop, and grocery store. They served up a lovely home-cooked lunch with quite a big menu to choose from. Thanks, Parndarna Bakery and Cafe you saved the day as we were pretty hungry by the time we got to you.
Kangaroo Island Spirits. https://kangarooislandspirits.com.au/
The last stop before going home for the day was Kangaroo Island Spirits. In my opinion, this was one of the loveliest places we visited on the island. A garden lovers paradise this place has the most beautiful garden amongst some big gum trees, full of edible plants like our own garden.
We were greeted by the friendliest staff who were super helpful. I think this is also why I loved this place as it makes all the difference to the experience.
A beautiful place for a gin tasting and I think this space would be a great place to have an event. If you’re driving past drop in and check it out. The mulberry gin was my favourite and I grabbed a bottle to take home and a limited-edition gin as a Christmas gift.
That’s a wrap on day two. Come back to my website soon to find day three.
We had a great day stopping off at these places along the way. My personal favourites were Emu Bay where there are no shops, just nature’s beauty, and the most beautiful beach. And of course Kangaroo Island Spirits with the beautiful garden, gin, and staff.
We headed back to our accommodation in the pine forest at Pelican Lagoon to relax and cook dinner together. There is more about this beautiful accommodation place on the blog.
All photos are by Bec Peters unless otherwise credited. You can find more of my photography on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/becpetersphotography/?hl=en
Perentie Pines, Pelican Lagoon. Kangaroo Island.
