Get Your Kicks on Kangaroo Island
When I first visited South Australia in 2013, Kangaroo Island hit my radar. Descriptions of pristine wildlife and turquoise beaches refused to be ignored. I was in the state for the Adelaide Writers’ Week, so making the most of the fifteen hundred mile journey was just smart traveling. That was my excuse anyway. For the next three years, I waited for the opportunity to return and show it to my husband. Eventually, I got tired of waiting and created the opportunity last month. Carpe diem, right?
To access Australia’s third largest island is pretty simple. In barely more than one hour from Adelaide, you’ll be at Cape Jervis where the ferry departs. It’s the ferry cost that can be prohibitive. Well, that and the notoriously rough seas of the Backstairs Passage. For a vehicle and two passengers, the cost was nearly $400 AUD ($300 USD). I’ve taken a lot of ferries in this country and this is the most expensive by far.
For this trip we offset the cost a bit by renting an island house in the off-peak winter season. There are many available on Stayz.com. Bonus, winter is whale migration season! We picked a two-bedroom house with a nice deck and a BBQ at Vivonne Bay. Do you believe that on our first afternoon of arrival, we were waved at by a southern right whale and her calf five hundred feet from the beach? I cannot remember being welcomed anywhere quite so beautifully. I managed to catch the wave on video .
Kangaroo Island is 93 miles (150 km) long and 35 miles (57 km) wide—just big enough to offer a variety of things to see and do while never losing that remote “island” feeling. You can easily traverse the island (mostly) in a normal car without any need for a 4WD. Road improvements have been made in the less-traveled areas in the three years in between my visits to the chagrin of one lighthouse-keeper who shall remain anonymous. He told me a few years ago he hoped they would never improve the road to his lighthouse because too many people would show up. Given that one of the island’s best attributes is its unspoiled natural beauty, I understand his point completely.
The island highlights vary slightly depending on your personal taste, but one remarkable spot that can be enjoyed by nearly everyone is Seal Bay Conservation Park.
Completely unique on the planet, the conservation area allows you an intimate peek into the bedroom of a huge Australian Sea Lion colony via guided tours and an extensive wooden boardwalk. You can watch their antics independently or take a who-knows-what-will-happen tour walking through their beachy lair with a park officer. Interesting fact: sea lions are distant cousins to canines! Watching them, there is no doubt about it: Seal Lion Play .
Flinders Chase National Park is another KI (as the locals call it) “must do.” As a devoted fan of national parks the world over, I know a good one when I see it and this is one of the best. You can spot koalas in the car park, watch New Zealand fur seals nap on the rocks at amazing Admiral’s Arch, and ponder the life of the early colonists as they maintained the gorgeously remote lighthouses. Oh, and don’t forget Remarkable Rocks where you can ponder the power of the southern ocean and the fascinating shapes it produces. If you are very, very lucky, you might even witness Kung Fu kangaroos at Snake Creek!
Deserving of its own mention within the park is serene Cape Borda, located in the northeast corner of the island. The Cape Borda lighthouse is the absolute picture of tranquility, well, aside from the weekend firing of the cannon to amuse the few tourists who actually make it here. Even though Borda is inside the Flinders National Park site, it is out of the way and most visitors don’t have or don’t take the time to visit it. What a mistake that is. I have been here on both visits and the first time I spent the night in the park’s heritage accommodation. As the full moon and the sweeping beacon lit up the night, I was in awe of my surroundings. On my second visit, I couldn’t help but notice how completely chilled out the Borda wildlife is. Two wallabies with their little joeys didn’t mind me poking around one bit.
Chilled Out Wallabies at Cape Borda
But wildlife and natural beauty are not all that KI offers. You can sip some lovely wines at the stunning Dudley Winery cellar door which happens to also serve up extremely tasty wood-fired pizzas. The friendly folks at Bay of Shoals winery will gladly pour you a tasty drop along with a side of history. Fancy a cocktail? Head straight over to KI Spirits to beautifully quench your thirst with a Wild Gin and tonic or one of several other delicious concoctions. But the biggest surprise foodwise? KI True Thai! Imagine a very large shed in the middle of nowhere with the best Thai food truck, the friendliest people, and live music—there you have KI True Thai.
Now that I’ve shared all the facts about this incredible island that I can comfortably fit into a blog, I want to tell you about what you cannot see. Known as the “Island of the Dead” by Aboriginal people who inhabited the island first and for thousands of years, KI has an energy that you cannot put into words. I could call it “intriguing” or “electric” but that wouldn’t do. It has its own spirit, one that sensitive people cannot help but recognize and even those who aren’t will be left scratching their heads over. Perhaps it’s because this is the land where legend says Aboriginal souls return to when they die. Or maybe there is some complex geo-magnetic reason for it all. I will never know. What I do know is that this is a place that makes dreams come true. Make sure you have one ready when you visit. After all, that’s just smart traveling.
(Author’s Note: Sorry to leave you hanging on that last part folks! You’ll have to read my next book–about Australia–for more dream-come-true details… )
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