Sunrise was spectacular as we woke to our last morning at Seas the Day.

We packed up and cleaned and were about to leave when it was discovered by Beryl that Klaus had attempted to steal a towel from our accommodation!! A Branch moment as he had actually thought it was theirs as it matched his face washer….and had packed it right at the back – so had to unpack to retrieve it….

We left Emu Bay having really enjoyed our time there.

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 – a favourite destination of Rosie’s! 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. Trev thought they were the best scones ever – I was not really convinced as I was not keen on the taste that the lavender gave the scones.

Anyway, the majority felt the scones were delicious – and 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 Klaus got the prize seats in the old wagon – Gordie ended up playing chauffeur to the couple!!!

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 Klaus’s 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 – all were good, but we decided to purchase the KIS Mulberry Gin as it was quite unique .

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 – they had NO oysters as the KI oysters were apparently not in season. We all had fish and salad instead – a small fish called a Tommy which is an Australian Herring found in the cooler waters of South Australia often caught off JETTIES – they were delicious. Tommies look a lot like a young Australian Salmon but they have a black tip on their tails and their scales are rough.

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. I 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 – very unexpected!!

This time we drew “leaves” (no straws available) for the main room – and Rose and Dave won getting the luxurious large bedroom and ensuite. Trev and I and Gordie and Kerry had the other 2 double rooms and Klaus had kindly volunteered himself and Beryl to take the bunks….

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 – and all hopped into beds that were more comfortable than the last ones!