Kangaroo Island is the third largest island in Australia – it is 155km long and there are almost 1600km of roads. It is a quiet place, with only 5000 inhabitants who run wineries, wildlife parks, sheep farms, cheese and honey factories. Only 13km off the coast of South Australia, Kangaroo Island is famous for its Remarkable Rocks, Cape Borda lighthouse, Cape du Couedic lighthouse, and some great wildlife such as cape barren goose, glossy black cockatoo, koalas and kangaroos. Here is some information about the places, and in the end of the page is a Kangaroo Island map.
Penneshaw Kangaroo Island Australia The ferries from Australian mainland arrive in Penneshaw – a small laid-back town with lovely beaches, an old school house and a local Folk Museum with some interesting memorabilia from the island’s maritime past. When Matthew Flinders and Nicholas Baudin moored here in the early 1800s, they carved inscriptions in Christmas Cove and Frenchman’s Rock. The original inscriptions have been moved to South Australian Museum in Adelaide and the Visitor Information Centre in Penneshaw because water was damaging them. Just outside Penneshaw, on the way towards Kingscote, is the island’s Visitors Centre with a lot of information about history and attractions of the island.
Kangaroo Island Australia - Nepean Bay The main road goes west from Penneshaw towards the rest of the island, where there is a turnoff to American River, named by the American sealers who lived here in the early 1800s. Today it is a popular spot for swimming, fishing, boating and enjoying other water activities. West from here is Nepean Bay, and then the island’s largest town, Kingscote.
Kingscote Kangaroo Island Australia Kingscote is an attractive little town with pretty shops and cafes along the waterfront; a salt-water aquarium in the Kangaroo Island Marine Centre; and the Discovering Penguins Walk, although there is a similar penguin-watch, probably better, in Penneshaw. You can have a dip in the tidal pool south of the jetty, but if you really want to enjoy swimming, you are probably better off heading to the neighbouring Emu Bay.
Western River Cove, Emu Bay and Stokes Bay Emu Bay is a sleepy old settlement that was once an important port on the north coast, and nowadays a popular family holiday destination. The jetty, built in 1916, is still used by fishermen, and if you have a 4WD you can drive on the beach. There are several beautiful small secret beaches along the north coast of the island, such as Stokes Bay, Snelling Beach and Western River Cove.
Cape Borda and Cape Borda Lighthouse On the north-western corner of the island is the Cape Borda Lighthouse, built in 1858. The cannon next to it used to be used to warn ships if they were in danger. There are 45-minute guided tours and Cape Borda Maritime Museum also provides some information about this lonely and isolated outpost.
Kangaroo Island Remarkable Rocks South of Cape Borda is the Flinders Chase National Park which covers large areas of the south-western Kangaroo Island. It contains some famous attractions such as Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch, and on the western coast there is a lovely beach at Weirs Cove.
Cape Barren Goose and other Australian Animals On the bushwalking trails through gum forests and mallee scrub there is plenty of wildlife to see such as kangaroos and wallabies, Cape Barren Geese and black cockatoos, ospreys and sea eagles.
Cape du Couedic and Cape du Couedic Lighthouse Turn south from the Rocky River and you come to the Cape du Couedic in the southwestern corner of the national park with the isoalated Cape du Couedic Lighthouse. New Zealand Fur seals are often seen on the beach here.
Hanson Bay, Karatta and Kelly Hill Caves Further east along the southern coast of the island, there is a pretty swimming spot in Hanson Bay. Near Karatta are Kangaroo island’s limestone caves - Kelly Hill Caves with some beautiful stalagmites and stalagtites. You can visit the caves on an organised cave tour. Further east are Vivonne Bay and Point Ellen, with nothing much but a jetty and a little shop, and beautiful blue-water beaches.
Kangaroo Island Australia - Seal Bay Nearby is the Vivonne Bay Wildlife Reserve, a private wildlife park with many walking trails, where wild koalas can be seen in trees. Further east is Seal Bay, home to about 500 sea lions, which can be seen on organised tours that take you down to the beach along walkways and under supervision you can get quite close to the colonies of sea lions laying on the beach.
Kangaroo Island Australia - Surf and Diving You can hire surfboards and river kayaks from KI Outdoor Action, they also run a few tours such as quad bike tours. Kangaroo Island Diving Safaris and Adventureland Diving take you diving where you can see sea lions, leafy seadragons, and other marine life in the action.
Kangaroo Island Australia - Accommodation There are various accommodation options on Kangaroo Island, including KI YHA Hostel in Penneshaw, KI Central Backpackers Hostel in Kingscote, and the KI Wilderness Retreat, Emu Bay Holiday Homes, Flinders Chase Farm and Western KI Caravan Park scattered over the rest of the island. You can bush-camp in the Flinders Chase National Park at Rocky River, Harveys Return, West Bay and Snake Lagoon, book with the Visitors Centre in Penneshaw, or the SANPR website.
Kangaroo Island Australia - Tours If you haven’t got a car or prefer to visit Kangaroo Island on a tour, there are Campwild Adventures, Wayward Bus and Kangaroo Island Sealink that will take you around. The latter also operates the ferries to the island form Cape Jervis on the mainland Australia.
Here's a Kangaroo Island map, where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
