Rugged Splendor

Location: Kangaroo Island, Australia

Introduction:

Kangaroo Island (KI) is one of those special places that leaves a lasting impression etched in your memory. Our introduction to KI was a one-day guided tour back in 2008. We couldn’t wait to return with our daughter for a longer stay. We came in the off-season and felt like we had the place to ourselves as we were the only ones present at several of the most popular attractions. The island is sparsely populated to begin with. If you ever want to get away from it all, this is one of those places to do it. The rugged natural beauty of the island’s coastline combined with the diverse wildlife are what make it so unique.

Sights Visited:

Flinders Chase National Park is located on the western end of the island. Despite getting soaked by a powerful rogue rain storm, the short walk to Admirals Arch was totally worth it. The raw power of the ocean waves was on full display while we watched some New Zealand Seals climbing on the surrounding rock ledges. Next up was a short drive and walk to the Remarkable Rocks where we dried off and marveled at one of nature’s masterpieces.

Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is not far from the entrance to Flinders Chase. Here we booked a 90-minute guided walking tour in search of koalas. We were the only ones on the tour and our guide, Kiera, who lives on the sanctuary, did not disappoint. She shared her knowledge educating us on Koalas while helping us spot them in the eucalyptus trees above. We had to work harder to find some kangaroos. She loaded us up in her four-wheel drive van and we went off-road to find some near a lagoon. Adelaide enjoyed our final stop at a makeshift visitors center (the original was destroyed in the wildfire that devastated KI back in 2020). Here she showed us the skeleton skulls of the various animals that inhabit the area.

Seal Bay is a misnomer in that it’s home to a colony of Australian Sea Lions. There is an extensive boardwalk that enabled us to get close to the animals without disturbing them. The backdrop of a steady flow of aqua blue waves crashing onto the beach added to the splendor of our visit.

Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park provided us with a great opportunity to interact with koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, chickens and ducks. There were numerous other indigenous animal and reptile exhibits to explore. The koala encounter was exceptional in that a couple of the koalas came down out of their trees. This was the first time that we’d interacted with any on the ground.

While still acclimating to the time change, we were always up early. So, we took in the sunrise at Flagstaff Hill.

We headed out to Duck Lagoon for a nature walk. The lagoon is shriveling up due to a lack of rain. That said, the remnants of a eucalyptus oil farm and distillery had us imagining what life must have been like here long ago.

We stopped at Clifford’s Honey Farm to break up the ride from the ferry to our accommodations. We learned a little about bee-keeping, tasted some honey and bought some tasty honey ice cream. We also toured Island Beehive and came away with a jar of honey and a bar of soap.

Play:

There was a nice playground by the water’s edge in Kingscote. We discovered another decent playground at the KI Community Education Kingscote Campus.

Accommodations:

We used Airbnb to book a single-family home named Admiral’s Inn in Kingscote, which is about a 45-minute drive from the ferry terminal. It was quaint, spacious and immaculate. The kitchen was well stocked. There was a washer and drier. To make coffee, a French press was provided. The Wi-Fi was good. The location was ideal as it was a 5 minute walk to a trail along the coastline. We frequented the local Drakes supermarket and enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast and lunch at Cactus Café. Dinner at Amadio’s also in town was satisfactory.

Transportation:

We took a Sealink ferry from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw. We booked it through Kingscote Travel, which provided great service and a modest discount. Advance reservations are a must as they sell out regularly. It was right on schedule and took about an hour to reach KI. We brought our rental car over on the ferry. Many of the roads on the island are dirt. Thus, the need for a four-wheel drive.

For Your Amusement:

One of the kangaroo’s Adelaide fed wasn’t quite satisfied with her initial handout. And, telephone booths are still a thing on KI