Kangaroo Island

Key facts

• Kangaroo Island is Australia's third largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It was separated from mainland Australia by a rise in sea level about 9,000 years ago.
• More than one-third of Kangaroo Island is declared Conservation or National Park and it has five significant Wilderness Protection Areas. Flinders Chase National Park is one of Australia's largest, covering 74,000 hectares.
• The Island is approximately 155 km in length and 57 km at its widest point, covering a total area of 4,405 sq km. More than half is native old-growth vegetation.
• At its closest point to the mainland, it is 13 kilometres offshore from Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula, and 112 kilometres southwest of Adelaide.

Full story

When the English explorer Matthew Flinders landed on the large, rugged island off the coast of South Australia in the early 1800s, it did not take him long to decide what to call it. The marsupials hopping about were so abundant; the captain christened it Kangaroo Island.

Today, the marsupials on Kangaroo Island (known as KI to locals) still out number the human population of 4,400. Due to its isolation, the Island has not suffered the usual impacts of human settlement and predators, and as a result, animals, birds and plant life have flourished. Many exist nowhere else in Australia.

The Australian Sea-lion, hunted almost to extinction in the 19th century, is one of the rarest species of seal, but there are more than 600 of them at Seal Bay Conservation Park on the Island's south coast.

Some 267 species of birds can be found among the diverse range of habitats, among them black swans, Cape Barren geese and wedge-tailed eagles. Little Penguins are found living and breeding in sheltered burrows around the coastline and the rare and endangered Glossy Black Cockatoo is found only on KI.

Another species exclusive to the Island is the pure-bred Ligurian Bee, which first arrived in 1884 from Italy. Since then, no other breeds have been introduced and the present-day pure-strain bees are unique in the world.

In recognition of the importance of preserving the unique plant and wildlife species that exist here more than a third of the Island has been declared Conservation or National Park and it has five significant Wilderness Protection Areas.

The Island also has a unique human history. Evidence of stone tools and campsites indicate that Aboriginal people inhabited the Island as early as 16,000 years ago.

The first non-Aboriginal people to live on Kangaroo Island were sealers, escaped convicts and runaway sailors, seeking refuge in the early 1800s, and leading a self-sufficient life trading salt and skins for spirits and tobacco.

A month after Captain Flinders made the first recorded European sighting of the Island, the French ship, Le Geographe, under the command of Nicolas Baudin, also arrived. Baudin mapped much of the rugged south and west coastlines and many of the features along this part of the coastline still bear French names.

In 1836 Reeves Point became the first formal settlement in South Australia under an English Act of Parliament. Challenged by a shortage of water and building timber, the settlement lasted less than four years, but some stayed on and formed the basis of a community that prided itself on its strong sense of independence. Historic sites of note include the first European cemetery, site of the first post office, early house sites, original jetty remains, and the mulberry tree that grew from a cutting brought out from England with the first settlers.

Kangaroo Island has long been a shining example of how the community, tourism and conservation can work together to ensure sustainable tourism. More than a decade ago, as a result of a dramatic rise in visitors, management agencies and the community created a model to keep a watch on the long-term health of the Island.
The Tourism Optimisation Management Model (TOMM) is a partnership between the community, core conservation and tourism agencies responsible for managing Kangaroo Island's resources and ensuring tourism develops in a way that is best for the Island and its residents.

The Kangaroo Island-developed model is so successful it was presented at the International Conference of Sustainable Tourism Management at Heritage Sites organised by the United Nations and the World Tourism Organisation with a view to being adopted by tourism destinations globally.

Things to see and do

• See for yourself why Kangaroo Island is hailed as the best place in Australia to see wildlife by taking one of the many nocturnal tours on offer around the Island. See kangaroos, wallabies and brush-tailed possums in the wild, doing what they do naturally. Don’t miss the opportunity to see the Little Penguins on their nightly parade in either Kingscote or Penneshaw.
  
• Go on a guided beach walk at Seal Bay Conservation Park, the only place in Australia where you can so closely observe the Australian Sea-lion play. For a different experience, pay a visit to Admirals Arch in Flinders Chase National Park, where over 7,000 New Zealand fur seals call home.
  
• Stay in a restored lighthouse keeper’s cottage at remote Cape Willoughby, Cape Borda or Cape du Couedic.
  
• Sandboard down Little Sahara’s white dunes or take an organized Quad Bike tour along the many purpose-built tracks along the south coast.
  
• Watch how the light (and weather!) changes at Remarkable Rocks in Flinders Chase National Park.
  
• Walk the Cape Borda cliff tops and through the Ravine des Casoars wilderness. 
  
• Do the rugged Hanson Bay Hike or go adventure caving in Kelly Hill Conservation Park.
  
• Trek the bushland of Antechamber Bay and nearby Chapman River. Chances are the only other footsteps around are those of Little Penguins or wallabies.
  
• Dive with rare leafy sea-dragons, blue devils and harlequins in the clear, temperate waters off the north coast.
  
• Swim with dolphins and snorkel over cool climate reefs, or one of the 50 plus reported shipwrecks around the Island.
  
• Fish from any one of the historic jetties across the Island – favorites being Emu Bay, American River or Penneshaw.
  
• Surf the uncrowded waves at Stokes and Pennington Bays. 
  
• Swim at Snelling Beach on the north coast, find the hidden beach just down the road at Stokes Bay or head east for the sheltered bays at Island Beach, Brown Beach or Hog Bay Beach in Penneshaw.
  
• Visit one of the Island’s intimate cellar doors. Try some of the liqueurs offered just out of Kingscote, made from some of the very best local ingredients. 
  
• Gain an appreciation of the different varieties of honey produced from the Ligurian Bee at the Island Beehive or Clifford’s Honey Farm. Watch the sheep being milked at Island Pure Sheep Dairy and then taste some of their cheeses or yoghurts.
  
• Sample the fabulous fresh local produce; King George Whiting, Kangaroo Island oysters and Ferguson crayfish. Couple this with scenic locations, secluded beaches, beautiful accommodation and you can create your own restaurant to rival any big city five-star restaurant in Australia.