Hilton Head Island

25th November 2012
We woke up early to watch the sunrise from the beach at Hilton Head Island. Hilton Head Island is the equivalent of Palm Beach in Sydney. A lot of holiday homes for wealthy families as well as individuals who have retired quite comfortably.








There were hardly any people out in the city. Perhaps it was because it was an early Sunday morning. Or perhaps it was because it was in the off season.

People actually have mailboxes like that with their names!

We went kayaking and the man who rented us the kayak had informed us that we might see dolphins. I brushed it aside thinking that it was all hocus pocus and something to lure in tourists. But lo behold, there were so many wild dolphins swimming in the bay, it was insane. I didn't manage to take any photos since you just never knew when it would surface and, more importantly, where it would surface.

Low quality image from a video that I captured. We were so close! At times, the dolphins were a mere 1.5 away

My motor.

We drove around Hilton Head Island, one final lap before heading back to Atlanta. On the way to Savannah, we had taken the interstate which was fast, but it looked the same for most of the way. Sunbear wanted to take some back roads, to see more of the state and to also take a slight detour out to Augusta. Hence, we took the state highways. The upside was that we passed through many towns which was a very interesting experience. Towns that consisted of a church, perhaps one or two dilapidated homes and lots of trailers. Seriously. Trailers. It actually looked really eerie, almost as though someone would storm out with a rifle in hand. We passed by some cotton fields and decided to stop at one since it was just so pretty. We stole some cotton, with the intention of each taking some home. But I gave mine to Sunbear since quarantine in Australia is insane and effectively nothing can be brought in. This may sound odd, but I was so surprised at the feel of the cotton. It literally felt like a cotton ball!















The downside of the state highway was that we couldn't go as fast. Also, there weren't any street lights. This wasn't a problem on the interstate because there were so many cars, but on the state highway where there wasn't a soul to be found it was a little scary. Especially since we didn't have a map, our phones didn't have reception and the entire area was basically deserted. Except for those towns we passed by sporadically. Though I did see a deer (!) which I hadn't seen before, that is in the wild. The only map I had was a pre-loaded map I had loaded via Google Maps, though it is terribly difficult to locate yourself on the map in the absence of street signs or a general idea where the heck you even are. Glad we had enough petrol otherwise we would have been screwed. Luckily, we got out alive and headed to Augusta. Augusta seemed so small. I guess I am used to bigger cities.


My Overall Thoughts
I can imagine that Hilton Head Island is brimming with tourists in the summer. The beaches were so-so. Actually, the whole area reminded me a lot of Surfer's Paradise. I can understand that it is a nice place for a summer vacation. But the best part of the visit was the dolphins and kayaking. Initially Sunbear had wanted to rent some sort of motorised boat. The type of boat escapes me, but basically it was a boat with a motor that could go very fast. Typical. I put my foot down and I am glad that I did because we would not have seen any dolphins if we had gone down that route.

Would I re-visit?
It is the same as Savannah and I would have to say no.