Discover the beauty of Kangaroo Island
25 Jun 2019
This South Australian island is full of wildlife, great produce and some wild winter walks.
Wander to Reeves Point, near the township of Kingscote on Kangaroo Island, and you’ll find a lone mulberry tree. The mulberry, still faithfully producing fruit, is the last surviving tree of hundreds planted on the island by South Australia’s first European settlers.
While it has flourished for more than 180 years, life for the settlers didn’t prove as fruitful.
Within four years of their arrival in 1836 most of the settlers had moved to the mainland. Sealing and whaling vessels continued to call in, but only a few stubborn settlers remained to try and make a living from sheep, cattle, wheat, barley, and, of course, fishing.
Fortunately, for today’s visitors and the island’s population of about 4,500, the isolation that made life challenging for the first European settlers has become a force for good.
Located 16km across Backstairs Passage from the mainland, the island’s relative isolation makes it a haven for wildlife of all kinds.
Protecting the wildlife
In the early 1900s, some forward-thinking naturalists, observing the demise of animal species on the mainland, lobbied for 27 years to have the island’s unique environment protected. Thanks to them about half the island’s original wildlife habitat is retained in a combination of National and Conservation Parks.
So sightings of short-beaked echidnas ambling along on the edge of the road; mobs of endemic kangaroos or Tammar wallabies; and koalas snoozing in gum trees are not unusual.
Bird-lovers should keep their binoculars handy too. There are about 270 identified bird species on the island. You might spot wedge-tailed eagles soaring overhead; pelicans and black swans gliding on lagoons; Cape Barren geese; fairy terns; banded plovers or the endangered glossy black cockatoo.
At Seal Bay, one of the island’s two marine parks, visitors can be privy to the feeding and breeding activities of the third largest colony of Australian sea lions.
And at Cape du Couedic where a towering lighthouse reminds you just how treacherous these waters can be for passing vessels, New Zealand fur seals call in for some rest and relaxation after riding the ocean swell.
Animal encounters
But you don’t have to rely on chance encounters to interact with the island’s wildlife.
Among the avenues of eucalyptus trees at Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary visitors tilt their faces skyward, exclaiming over dozens of koalas sleeping the day away.
At Raptor Domain audiences are introduced to everything from a falcon to a barking owl, wedge-tailed eagle and black-breasted buzzard, in an entertaining presentation, that also teaches people what they can do to help preserve the environment of some of Australia’s threatened and endangered birdlife.
And there are opportunities to hand-feed kangaroos and wallabies at Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park and Aquarium. Not sure how to spot the endemic kangaroo (a subspecies of the western grey kangaroo)? They are smaller, darker, and have longer fur than their mainland counterparts.
It’s these kangaroos that inspired the island’s name. When Matthew Flinders first ventured to the island in 1802, he took 31 kangaroos back onboard the HMS Investigator to replenish their meat supplies.
In gratitude he named the island after the kangaroos.
These days visitors tend to visit the island to replenish their soul. Australia’s third largest island (after Tasmania and Melville Island) has deserted white sand beaches aplenty, lagoons, and coastline that will take your breath away.
First-time visitors are often surprised by its size. It stretches 155km from east to west and 55km at its widest, with 1,600km of sealed and unsealed roads.
Those who make the trek to Flinders Chase National Park, at the western end of the island, can visit the striking wind-sculpted granite boulders aptly named Remarkable Rocks and the cavernous Admirals Arch with its dripping stalactite formations at nearby Cape du Couedic.
While many holidaymakers visit in summer to enjoy walking, snorkelling and swimming, those who visit in winter experience another side to the island. When you stand on one of its rugged limestone clifftops being pummelled and buffeted by the wind, it’s impossible not to feel fully alive.
Perhaps it’s that enlivening wrestle with the elements that made those few game settlers grit their teeth and hang on. Today, some of the island’s most renowned industries have been born of a similar determination coupled with ingenuity.
Emu Ridge, a family-run business, is South Australia’s only commercial eucalyptus distillery. Essential oil is distilled from the leaf of the Kangaroo Island narrow leaf mallee and is made using the traditional method.
The island is also a sanctuary for Ligurian bees. Originally brought to KI in the 1880s, it is now the only place in the world where a pure strain of the Ligurian bee exists. At Clifford’s Honey Farm, about 10,000kg of honey are produced annually, and queen bees are exported round the world.
In such a pristine environment it seems fitting that the food scene is driven by quality and purity, with local seafood including marron, sheep milk cheeses and honey often making an appearance on menus.
Whether you’re drawn to Kangaroo Island for its food and wine, flora and fauna, or simply rest and relaxation, you’ll return home fully satiated.
SeaLink’s Two Day Best of Kangaroo Island Tour departs daily from Adelaide. Prices start from $629.50 per person, twin share including morning pick-up and evening set-down at selected Adelaide CBD and Glenelg hotels, return SeaLink coach and ferry travel to Kangaroo Island; two days of expert commentary by a local driver/guide; two days touring in an air-conditioned coach, all activities, daily two-course lunch and choice of accommodation including breakfast. SeaLink 13 13 01; sealink.com.au
Accommodation options include the Aurora Ozone Hotel at Kingscote, with its stunning views over Nepean Bay. Local wines and produce are a feature on the menus of the onsite Zone Bar and Restaurant. www.ozonehotelki.com.au
®