Wild about Kangaroo Island

Posted on by Miriam

I was recently asked by my blogger pal Plotlessone whether I’d been to Kangaroo Island.  I’ve been twice, once before we had kids and more recently with them. So this is a great excuse to post on a place that I absolutely love.  Australia’s third largest island, 13kms off the mainland. If you haven’t seen any of Australia and you like to explore without the crowds this place has it covered … scenery, wildlife, great hikes, gastronomic food.

Rugged KI

The island, which I’ll call KI for short, is reached by a fast ferry ride from the mainland. You can  hire a vehicle, take your own car (which is what we did) or do an oragnised tour, but I reckon the best way to see KI is independently.  It’s easy to get around and the pace is slow and relaxed (there’s no traffic lights on the island.  Forget the clubs and bars here, the most night life you’ll see on this island is the hopping and furry kind.

Driving on KI

We spent five days on the island which gave us plenty of time to do it justice.

Swimming on KI

Plenty of time to find the best swimming spots.

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Plenty of time to find the best beaches you can drive right onto. Then it’s out of the car and straight into the water. But there’s much more to KI than just beautiful beaches.

Here are my must do places to visit on Kangaroo Island

Flinders Chase National Park – Cape de Couedic

This National Park has some of the most spectacular coastline on the island. Inside the National Park you can visit the lighthouse, hike along rugged coastal cliffs and visit the dramatic Admirals Arch where a colony of New Zealand Fur Seals steals the show.

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Sea lions on KI

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In some places on the island, like Seal Bay, you can get pretty close to these guys – they are absolutely adorable creatures, just don’t get TOO close.

The Remarkables

The Remarkable Rocks are set high above the sea and are a true work of nature.

The Remarkables 2

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They really do live up to their name.

Birds of Prey

The Raptor Domain Birds of Prey is on the road to Seal Bay. Shows are held every day of the year so If you’ve ever wanted to get up close and personal with an owl, a falcon or a magnificent Wedge tail eagle, this is the place for you.

Birds of Prey

This is Dave the handler, doing what he loves best, interacting with these amazing birds.

Birds of Prey 3

But I wouldn’t want to be a mouse.

Birds of Prey 2

Then it was my turn with something a tad smaller. Do I look a bit nervous?

Paul’s Place

For more wildlife this is a crazy place and so full of fun. Paul takes in orphaned animals and looks after them and his wildlife encounters are undoubtedly up close and personal.  Pat a snake, cuddle a koala, bottle feed a kangaroo, meet some emus. Yep, you’re bound to come away with some whacky photos and a heap of fun memories.

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Me in the shearing shed. Don’t ask.

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The other half getting friendly with the reptiles.

Doug and the emus

And even friendlier with the emus, ouch!

Little Sahara

In Little Sahara you can hire a sandboard or toboggan and slide down some massive sand dunes. This is guaranteed to give you a huge adrenalin rush and get you fit as, once you reach the bottom, you get to trudge all the way back to the top again.  My tip: don’t go down on your stomach.

Little Sahara

We had loads of thrills, and plenty of spills, as we rode the dunes to the bottom. Anyone doing this is guaranteed to be picking sand out of their crevices for weeks. But what fun.

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Wilderness Areas

There are so many brilliant bush walks on the island, amongst rugged cliffs and coastal heathlands. Take a map, plenty of drinking water and wear good walking shoes. This is a nature lovers paradise.

KI Coastline

Old pier and history KI
The jetty ruins at Cape de Couedic – wouldn’t want to tie a boat up here now.

Gourmet food

KI is renowned for its food and wine, its Ligurian honey and much more. My tip: if you only go to one restaurant on the island make sure it’s the Marron Cafe.  It has some of the best seafood on KI with the island’s prized freshwater crayfish an experience not to be missed. It wasn’t cheap but it was worth every cent.

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So there you have it, a snapshot on Australia’s wildest island. Hopefully it’s whetted your appetite Plotless1..

Has anyone else been?

 

 

 

 

78 thoughts on “Wild about Kangaroo Island”

  5. Another Wow! That looks amazing. No you didn’t look nervous with the hawk, but you looked a tad “sheepish” in the sheering shed!
    Someday I will get to your part of the world. It’s the only other place I want to go.

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  10. I visited just before I started high school with my family. It was the first time I tried haloumi, got a little too close to a fairy penguin and we almost lost my brother who was probably two at the time. Somehow he managed to let himself out of the Kingscote Pub. Luckily a friendly local found him! I hope to return this year and have a look at some of the walking trails the Parks department have been working on! I keep seeing lots of photos too of KI so it must be a sign!

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  13. Thanks, this really sounds like a place that we have to add to our bucket list of things to do in Australia! We have been looking at this little dot on the map before, but had no idea what to expect there.

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    1. The Island is not huge so it’s pretty easy to get around. And many of the attractions are fairly close to each other. The first time we went we actually spent a week there and we saw all this plus more. Depends on how much time you have and how leisurely you want to make it.

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        1. Stay in Kingscotte or American River (the twi main tourist hubs) and there might be a chance! Otherwise you’ll just have to settle for the locals. How long are you spending in Australia?

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        5. Vivonne Bay is a nice place on the island to stay. It’s pretty central to every thing and you could probably rent a nice house there. Shouldn’t be too hard to find something by the water. Visitors Information Center in Adelaide will have a big listing of places to stay. But feel free to ask away! I’m happy to help any way I can. 🙂

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  28. I have never been but it looks like a place my hubby and I would enjoy! I would think that going down on your stomach on those sand dunes will end having sand for lunch lol The emu pic of your husband is hilarious! And the water looks spectacular! What an amazing trip!

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