Adelaide
Every single Australian who heard we were going to Kangaroo Island was simultaneously excited we were going, and surprised that we were going for only a day trip. With 400km of driving on Kangaroo Island today alone per the tour guide, it soon made sense why the locals were all so surprised-- it ended up being a nearly 16 hour day including the bus ride back and forth from Adelaide.
With such a great distance between the wind-swept sights, you actually have predictably few stops on a day tour, even a 16 hour one. Seal Bay for the local sea lions is well worth the time, even if you'd seen sea lions before, with a wide viewing deck and an easy descent down to the sandy beach. Just don't get too close-- unlike the pretty delicious fish and chips lunch that was the next stop, which was quite good, along with a simple but effective apple pastry for dessert.
Remarkable Rocks was next; a gigantic dome on the coastline, topped with some beautiful eroded boulders atop it. Not sure if it was anything other than pretty, but then, natural beauty is very much why you come to Kangaroo Island. Admirals Arch is not too far away, and is quite the opposite-- instead of brown stone, it's a massive dark arch, hammered by the ocean, and populated by a fair amount of fur seals napping on the rocks below. Of the two I would say Admirals Arch is more spectacular, but that could simply be my experience as a (former) rock climber talking-- aka I've seen rocks like Remarkable Rocks much more often than the dark formation that is Admirals Arch.
Final stop of the tour was the wildlife park, which was pretty bog-standard for a wildlife park in Australia with one exception-- you are apparently still (as of this visit) allowed to hold a koala on Kangaroo Island. This privilege keeps getting more and more restricted as time goes on, so this was a rare and unexpected treat, and Elsa was quite calm and apparently had no issues being held by tourists. Quite the experience!
Had a bit of a wait in the ferry building's tiny cafe (felt so bad for the lone employee working), the ferry ride back took about as long as it did in the morning, and the bus ride back was a tad longer due to all the road construction. Scott and I caught up with Erick for meat pies at Bakery On O'Connell afterwards, because what trip to Australia is complete without some of the local cuisine? They may not have been the best meat pies, but Bakery On O'Connell is clearly a favorite local hangout of the younger crowd, and well worth a stop.