Totally amazing!!! Thank you, Bokhara!

helen63, I actually thought the same thing – that the Great Ocean Road had some visual similarities to Highway One. I was just mentioning it as a bonus, because it is how you drive to Cape Otway.

Still, I have to say that I've yet to see any kangaroos in Big Sur. ;)

Although I did spot a couple of llamas on a farm near Julia Pfeiffer Burns beach!

Oh, and you asked about joeys being born in the spring, but don't forget you'll be visiting in May, when it is autumn in Australia.

Rje,

There are sea lions along Highway One :) they are wildlife too..

Yes, unfortunately, no kangaroo or koalas... Well, I had to use some excuse to eliminate one place or another - we only have 13 short autumn days... If I heard about wildlife around Cape Otway earlier, I would definately looked into this... I was kind of set on Kangaroo island since I started thinking about Australia like 5 years ago.

Yes, I know, we are visiting in autumn... I asked wether joyes only born in spring, or other times, so we have a chance to see them in autumn. So if they are born around spring or summer, and stay in a pouch for 7 month or so, we may get a chance on seeing them

We've seen still in the pouch joeys on both winter trips.

At one time there WERE kangaroos on Hearst Ranch :) Today you can still see the zebra along Hwy 1.

Here's a bit more about kangaroo joeys for you.


http://www.kangaroofootprints.com.au/about-joeys.htm

We occasionally reared one at home, using a cut-down wheat bag filled with wool to simulate the pouch. Hung on a hook near the big wood oven at night to keep them warm. They were hard to rear, we didn't have the special formulas available today. They're curious, mischievous, affectionate & intelligent.

Interesting information about rearing joeys, Bokhara2. Thanks for sharing the link.

About 20 years ago we met a very young joey being reared by a lovely lady who lived not far from Cockington Green. She explained how difficult it was, and how the success rate was not high. I have a feeling she was an "official" orphaned-joey raiser. We often wondered whether or not that particular joey made it.

helen63, you're right, those sea lions are amazing. As are the otters! I have fond memories of them swimming alongside us as we walked on the beach, peering at us from the water.

And if you'll forgive me for throwing this thread even more off-topic, I'll contradict my earlier rash assertation and offer my discovery that in fact there are kangaroos living wild on the Pacific Coast:

http://tinyurl.com/kaxtfc4

@#$!#, you can't edit posts on Fodors after they're submitted.

That should have read:

"...there are kangaroos living wild on the Pacific Coast Highway in California:"

I love this off topic discussion!

Next time we will be better prepared for driving Highway One :)

And now I am dying and cannot wait to see kangaroo and their joeys...

The Kangaroos on KI are VERY friendly, especially in Flinders Chase NP picnic/camping ground. So friendly in fact, that there are pens to keep the humans in so the roos don't get too close to your picnic. Fair dinkum - the picnic tables are in gated pens.

The record when we were last there was 7 roos in a two man tent. They come in the front door but make their own exit. That record may have been broken by now.

True story. I was sitting reading a book, when a roo came up close to have a look. I thought it was only going to sniff my book. It tore out several pages and ate them!

Seriously though. DO BE CAREFUL. They are cute and the young ones are adorable, but the men folk do get jealous and will come in and can easily knock you over. That is why you don't feed them. And whatever you do don't "box" with them. When they have had enough or simply want to win they will balance on their tail and rip you open with both hind legs.

So pat them and get your photo taken with them - no problem, but don't spend too much time with any single roo. Share your love around.

Like any wild life have your wits about you at least they won't actively hunt you like lions and tiger and bears (oh my).

I am not confident we will be so lucky to have kangaroo so close to us... I would not mind sharing my Lonely Planet with them :)

You know - my friends drove themselves on KI, and saw almost nothing...

Apparently, they either did not research a place well enough, or luck is very important.

Unrelated question- do we need a 4WD in Uluru? We will be there for 2 days, and only drive around and Kata Tjuta.

<i>my friends drove themselves on KI, and saw almost nothing</i>

I honestly don't know how that's possible. We even stopped counting the number of dead roos along the roads. Never been anywhere with so much road kill!

Patty, I have no idea. My gilfriend even wrote a trip report stating that Kangaroo Island has everything BUT Kangaroo :)

And I know someone else (they were driving as well) who said that KI haa a nice landscapes, but not much wildlife...

I originally thought we would be driving, but when I heard this, I decided on guided jeep tours...

Patty, I stand corrected. I came home and re-read my girlfriend report (KI part). She said, it is hard to see alive kangaroo... She said they saw a lot of dead ones along the road while driving (apparently I did not pay attention to this when I was reading first time), but they only saw alive kangaroo on three brief occasions - one time crossing a road in front of their car, second - somewhere in bushes, and third time around koala walk. They only had one chance to photograph.

We stayed at Hanson Bay (where the koala walk is) and that may have contributed to our sightings though we also saw wallabies right in town in Penneshaw. There were numerous roos on the lawn at Hanson Bay where the walks start and also on the trails around the cabins. You're more likely to see them at dusk and dawn.

We will be staying at American River (Wanderer Rest), and we will be doing a night tour with them. So, hopefully will work for us as well.

PeterSale, how was your recent January trip to Kangaroo Island?

I just wanted to post back to say Thank you to everyone who helped me to plan my trip. It would never be the same without your help!

We had a great time, but just a bit tired, because our schedule was pretty tight.

I am very happy with regions we managed to cover in such a short amount of time, because we could see diversity of this fantastic country and have various experiences.

We loved our time at Kangaroo island with Exceptional Kangaroo Island. We bought a shared jeep tour, but ended up by ourselves on first day, and with another couple on second. The island is beautiful, and we saw so much wildlife. I was SO worry that I would never see a kangaroo )), but we saw many many kangaroos, koalas, wallaby, seals, penguins, and various birds. Outstanding!

Adelaide was nice, and we went to Cleland sanctuary, because I just had to hold that koala!

We had a nice time at the reef, even though we did not get too lucky with weather... We spent time around Mossman Gorge and had a croc cruise.
We had the best couple of days with Alan around Atherton Tablelands, and saw so much wildlife again (thank you so much for recommending Alan!);

The Ayers Rock was a highlight for me, just loved it. We had 2 sunsets, 2 sunrises, but only once we saw the rock changing colors. Amazing! We really enjoyed Sounds of Silence dinner, and starry sky was just incredible on that night.

And then Vivid Sydney... What a great time to be in the city! We really enjoyed that.

Overall, this was a fantastic trip.

Here is the link to some of pics, if any interest

https://flic.kr/s/aHskcAyExQ

And Thank you again!

Glad you had a good time. Thanks for reporting back and for sharing your wonderful photos. Where were the flying fox and fairy penguin photos taken? Glad you saw many joeys.