Kangaroo Island is the country’s premier destination for wildlife – Australia’s answer to the Galapagos. Here you can see kangaroos hopping out of the bush, wander among sea lions basking on the beach, look up at koalas sleeping in gum trees, and watch as Little Penguins hurry home each night. With more than one third of the Island protected as parks, this is a place where you can gaze out over vast tracts of wilderness that look just as they have for thousands of years. The Island also offers a wealth of delicious food and wine experiences, and is home to one of the best luxury eco-retreats in the world, Southern Ocean Lodge. Accessed via either a 30 minute flight from Adelaide, or a 50 minute ferry trip from Cape Jervis, you can get amongst it all in next to no time.

Highlights include:

Seal Bay

Kangaroo Island's most famous attraction is Seal Bay Conservation Park on the south coast, which is home to a colony of rare Australian Sea-lions. Watch them laze around on the beach, nurture their young and recover from days spent at sea. Join a tour with a park guide and walk among them for a truly close encounter with these extraordinary giants of the sea.  

Flinders Chase National Park

Its rugged coastline is spectacular, and acacias, banksias and tea-trees grow right down to secluded beaches, while also providing a haven for many fur seals, sea lions, sea eagles, osprey and numerous other species of wildlife. The undisturbed forest and grassland is home to kangaroos, wallabies, brush tailed possums, echidnas, goannas and the elusive platypus. Koalas are also abundant on the Island, and it’s one of the best places in Australia for visitors to see them in the wild.

Little Penguins

Little Penguins make their nests in the sand hills and rock faces around Penneshaw and Kingscote. The only species to breed in Australian waters, they wait until dusk before coming ashore. Take a guided tour to see these adorable creatures, just after sunset when the penguins return to their burrows after a day at sea. 

Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch

The impressive Remarkable Rocks form what appears to be a cluster of precariously balanced granite boulders high above the crashing waves of the Southern Ocean. Their curious, tortured shapes have been carved over thousands of years by wind, rain and sea spray, and their colour changes throughout the day, providing a stunning backdrop for photos. Nearby Admirals Arch is also naturally sculptured, and under its suspended cliff face, New Zealand fur seals frolic in the waters or rest on the rocks.

Island Produce

Kangaroo Island produces a range of delicious produce such as honey from the world's only pure Ligurian Bees, marron - a delicious fresh water crayfish, and fabulous sheep's milk cheeses.  

Beaches

The Island's shoreline is dotted with some of Australia's most beautiful and secluded beaches; long stretches of golden and often completely deserted sand. Vivonne Bay, on the South Coast, was recently named Australia's best beach while beaches like Emu Bay, Stokes Bay and Browns Beach on the north coast of the island are the safest for swimming.  

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