Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island is the third largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. There is plenty to see and do on the island from swimming and surfing off of its beaches, exploring the shipwrecks as well as walking through the beautiful landscape and seeing the plentiful wildlife in the many National Parks.

You will see many native animals that have been put on the island free from threat by other animals such as dingoes, foxes and rabbits. Although there are thought to have been early inhabitants on the island they disappeared about 2250 years ago. This was until 1802 when Flinders named the island after all of the kangaroos that they discovered on the island and French Nicholas Baudin explored the island.

The main towns on the island are American River, Kingscote and Penneshaw. American River is situated between Penneshaw and Kingscote and shelters Pelican Lagoon, a bird sanctuary where you can watch pelican feeding at 4.30pm. There are numerous other bays for you to explore whilst on the island as well as some great beaches including Emu Bay, Snelling Beach, Stokes Bay and Western River Cove.

You should also head along the southern coast of the island, which is a lot different to the north. The coastline is very rocky and you can visit the limestone caves at Kelly Hill Caves Conservation Park. Near the caves is Hanson Bay where you will often see little fairy penguins. There are also a couple of sandy beaches as well as the beautiful sand dunes of the Little Sahara. Vivonne Bay is great for fishing, although can be a bit rough for swimming, with Seal Bay homing a number of sea lions.

There are also various tours which take you to the island, including 4WD tours, coach tours, walking tours, diving tours and boat tours, depending upon what you are interested in. If travelling independently you can either drive to the ferry terminal at Cape Jervis and catch the Kangaroo Island Sealink vehicular ferry to Penneshaw or hop on the Sealink bus service from Adelaide to the ferry terminal. Once you arrive at the island Sealink Shuttle can also take you to American River and Kingscote. On the island, unless you are with a tour your own transport would be ideal as the distances between towns is quite large (although cars can be hired on the island from Kingscote. If you are feeling adventurous though you could opt for a bicycle.

Once you arrive at the island there is plenty of accommodation to choose from, as well as some quaint restaurants and cafes around the island.


Destinations within Kangaroo Island

Other Kangaroo Island Destinations
American River Kingscote Parndana
Penneshaw

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