Australia From a Young Person's Perspective

I used a company called Southern World (reffered by Susan Reder, Co-Owner of our agency.  They are also part of the Signature Travel Network.
Kangaroo Island
Day 1- Arrived to KI on an airline called Regional Express, which is a 30 min flight from Adelaide airport. We stayed at a very small bed and breakfast on the American River side of the island. We loved this place as it was so quaint and charming. For all of my tours, I used a company called Exceptional KI.  They did a great job and definitely thought of everything.  We saw all the great stuff there.
Flinders Chase Day Tour:
This was a small group tour, with 5 people in an air-conditioned van.  Our tour guides name was Gaynor. She lived on KI with her husband, who was also a tour guide. She had 3 boys who all grew up on the island. 2 were married with children. They had returned to KI to raise their families, and 1 worked in the Mines.
We drove by a eucalyptus farm, which was not on our agenda, but Gaynor stopped anyways and let us go inside. This was a very, very cool experience.
From there we headed to the south west side of the island. We drove through a private empty field where we saw kangaroos and wallabies in their natural habitat. We drank tea and coffee (a cuppa is what the native call it) and ate carrot and walnut bread and homemade Lamingtons (foamy textured cake covered in chocolate and coconut flakes).   I sure wish they had this delicious treat here in the states!
We continued on to one of the highlights of the tour, The Remarkable Rocks. Located overlooking the water, the remarkable rocks are truly a sight to be seen. You definitely don’t want to miss this.
You can observe, climb, or meditate whatever you want to do while visiting these large stones emerging from the cliff. The only thing separating you and the ocean are metal sticks put in place a few feet from the edge.
After learning about how the rocks formed, we hopped back into the van and headed to the New Zealand fur seal colony at Cape De Couedic. A photographers dream, Cape De Couedic is ideal for watching the Indian Ocean waves crash against the mountains and see the seals swim and play in their natural zoo.
Earlier in the day clouds moved in and out and there were slight scattered showers. When it was time for lunch, the skies cleared and there was a slight breeze. Gaynor decided it was a perfect day for lunch overlooking the remarkable rocks and the Southern ocean. Lunch started with local KI cheeses (KI is mostly farm land) and wines. Fresh salad, chicken, and this amazing beat chutney completed the meal. The view was something that this city girl had never experienced before. Malibu, CA  is beautiful, but this was at least 10 times better.
On the way back, Gaynor took us to a field that only their company was allowed to venture into.  It was a dirt road leading to more kangaroos and wallabies.
Ayer’s Rock:
A big red rock located in the northern territory of Australia. It is surrounded by nothing but land and sky. Uluru is the aboriginal name, for what the English call Ayer’s rock.
I stayed at the outback Pioneer Hotel. Perfect for people who are on a budget and who like to drink, since the only “bar” is located at this hotel. There are 5 hotels to choose from in this area, as well as a camping site.
The first night I arrived, I toured with a company called AAT Kings.  We went on a sunset viewing tour. They took us to a viewing area to watch the sunset. I was not the biggest fan of this tour because there were about 100 people at this one viewing site. To complete the experience, we  were offered  champagne, wine and small nibbles.  When the sun sets, they recommend taking pictures every 7 minutes to see the differences in the red color on the rock.
In the morning I did a sunrise tour provided by SEIT. The tour began at 5:30am. There were a total of 8 people on this tour. I felt this was much better than the previous night’s amount of people. Our tour guides name was Sarah and she was from Brisbane. She and her fiancé were working in Ayers rock to save money.
This tour is a 6 hour walking tour around the base of Ayer’s rock. Breakfast was provided. By the end I was spent, but it was worth every minute.
That evening I did the Sounds of Silence Dinner. A three course meal consisting of a pumpkin ravioli appetizer, a buffet main course with locale delicacies such as kangaroo, emu, crocodile and lamb, and desert which I did not end up tasting, because I was way more interested in the star gazing. The astronomer pointed out the Southern Cross, Orion, the planets Jupiter and Mars as well as other constellations. It was a magical night!
There is a complementary shuttle that takes you to and from the airport. There is also a complementary shuttle that takes you around all of the hotels. They have free daily activates such as indigenous art making, dance classes, garden walks, bush yarns, spear and boomerang throwing, and many more. 

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