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Kangaroo Island

Travel Guide Oceania Australia South Australia Kangaroo Island

Introduction

Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island lies off the coast of South Australia and is Australia's third largest island. Its pristine wilderness and abundant wildlife are its main draw cards, attracting over 140,000 visitors a year. A small population of 4,400 call the island home.

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Geography

Kangaroo Island is Australia's third largest island (after Tasmania and Melville Island). It has a total area of 4,405km² and is 155 kilometres long and 57 kilometres wide, although the narrowest point is just 900 metres. It is located 13 kilometres from Cape Jervis, off South Australia's coast on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

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Towns

Kingscote is the island's largest town and its administrative centre.
Penneshaw is located on the northeast coast of Kangaroo Island and is the island's main ferry port with regular connections to Jervis Bay.
American River is located between Penneshaw and Kingscote.

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Sights and Activities

Flinders Chase National Park covers 33,000 hectares of the island and is home to an abundance of wildlife, including the endangered Cape Barren geese. Land formations like Remarkable Rocks and the Admirals Arch are popular sights.
Little Sahara is a collection of large sand dunes on the southern coast of the island.
Pelican Lagoon, is a bird sanctuary near American River.
Seal Bay is home to Australian sea lions.
Little Penguins have colonies on the island and island and at dusk you can watch them return to their burrows from a day out at sea.
Vivonne Bay's long curved beach is one of the finest in Australia and one of several great beaches on the island.

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Events and Festivals

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Weather

Kangaroo Island has a climate which is somehow comparable to the Mediterranean climate. It has relatively warm and dry summers (though not nearly as hot as mainland Australia) and mild but wetter winters. Temperatures are lowest during August, when it is still around 13-16 °C during the day, and warmest in February, when it's mostly in the 20-25 °C range. It rarely gets very hot or cold, with the lowest just above zero and the hottest just above 35 °C. Average annual rainfall is around 500mm with most of that falling during the May-September period. The central plateau receives almost twice the amount though.

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Getting There

By Plane

REX (Regional Express) and Air South fly from Adelaide to Kingscote Airport (KGC).

Shuttle services can take you from the airport to Kingscote (13 kilometres away) or your accommodation on the island.

Kangaroo Island Transfers - Ph: 0427 887 575
Smartcar - Ph: 1300 887 121

By Boat

Four ferries travel daily from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw, taking 45 minutes to make the crossing. Bookings are necessary and can be made through Sealink.

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Getting Around

By Car

You can bring a car with you on the ferry or hire one on the island. Most attractions can be accessed easily with a regular car.

By Bus

There is a service running two times a day between Kingscote, American River and Penneshaw that connects with SeaLink ferry services.

By Boat

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Eat

Kangaroo Island is known as a gourmet food region, so good food should be in abundance. It is famous for its honey, produced by the only pure strain of Liguarian bees remaining in the world, which were imported in 1881 from Italy.

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Drink

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Sleep

Property	Address	Type	Popularity
Dudley Villa	Adelaide	Hostel	-
Kangaroo Island Central Hostel	19 Murray Street Kingscote	Hostel	59
Kangaroo Island YHA	33 Middle Terrace Penneshaw SA 5222	Hostel	-
Flinders Chase Farm Stay	RSD52 Flinders Chase Service	Hostel	-