Exceptional Kangaroo Island
2019-02-08T01:46:14+00:00
Main Information
Former wildlife ranger, Craig Wickham has assembled an expert team of guides who want to show you the best of Kangaroo Island. Their motto? ‘Good food, good wine and wildlife in the wild’.
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Armed with his passions for tourism, conservation management and farming, as well as three years’ experience as a National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger, Craig has designed half- and whole-day touring experiences that cleverly blend understanding, environmental awareness and hospitality.
Of course, with knowledge and experience comes connections and access, so you get to visit natural (often spectacular) habitats to see the animals that have made KI famous.
On tour, your guide also becomes your chef. Depending on the focus of the tour, lunch might be taken in a private bush setting (perhaps a seafood barbecue of King George Whiting and grilled local haloumi cheese) or a picnic served on a clifftop taking in the magnificent views of the Southern Ocean.
Since 1986, Exceptional Kangaroo Island has been crafting a very special experience for visitors to the island, focusing on its wildlife, natural history and heritage, and finding places that are off the well-beaten tourist track. The Telegraph (UK)
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is famous for its abundant wildlife species and natural beauty. Covering almost 4500 sq km (a third of which is conservation land), the island is relatively free of feral species allowing animal and bird populations to thrive.
See koalas in millennia-old native forests, walk among sea lions on pristine white-sand beaches, dive historic wrecks to see the famous Leafy Sea Dragon, watch Ospreys wheeling over rocky headlands…
Rich farmland and fertile seas have supported spirited island communities that are rich in history, culture and cuisine. Today, the passions of art communities, wine growers and artisan food producers help complete this extraordinary off-shore escape.
Exceptional Kangaroo Island operates day tours and collects guests from all accommodation venues or Kingscote airport. Tours can be on a share basis with a small group of other travellers, or a private charter where the tour itinerary is tailored to suit your interests.
Couples
Families
Honeymooners
Small Groups
Solo Travellers
Island Life Itinerary
Get an introduction to Island life – an island where things take time, an island where drivers wave as they go by, or even stop for a chat…
Have a cuppa with some home-made cakes before taking a walk down a country track through tall eucalyptus trees where koalas snooze overhead. Travel through some of the Island’s best farming country to the North Coast and Lathami Conservation Park.
Walk quietly through the bush with your guide. What makes that noise? Whose tracks are those? Look for wallabies which are almost extinct on the mainland, and a kangaroo found only on KI.
Break for lunch and enjoy a delicious meal featuring local produce and fine South Australian wines at a private location. At Seal Bay Conservation Park, walk with your guide among Australian sea lions on a beautiful sandy beach. Watch pups nursing, or playing in the surf, see old bulls bearing the scars of territorial disputes and learn about their unique breeding biology. The remainder of the afternoon is spent exploring more of the south-east region of the island with destinations and experiences chosen to reflect seasonal opportunities.
Full Day East End Explorer (Temporary Itinerary)
The Dudley Peninsula which forms the east end of Kangaroo Island is a microcosm of the rest of the island. The north coast has hills rolling down to the sea and white sand beaches. Roadside vegetation forms an avenue overhead many of the narrow roads. Ice-age dunes and rugged limestone cliffs dominate the south coast, which is indented by high-energy beaches.
Start the day at Pennington Bay situated at the narrowest part of the Island. This Southern Ocean beach is a popular fishing and surf spot. Enjoy home-baked morning tea overlooking extensive wave-cut platforms and contrasting deep aqua water.
Travelling east you will get endless views of the serene marine sanctuary which is Pelican Lagoon. Adjacent the lagoon is excellent kangaroo habitat and the tea-tree thickets harbour tammar wallabies sheltering from their constant predator – the wedge-tailed eagle. The deep alluvial soils of Willson River overlying limestone are perfect for grapevines. The team at False Cape Wines have a newly opened cellar door experience overlooking well-established wines. Sample their range of wines and then enjoy a local produce picnic overlooking the vines. Cape Willoughby Lighthouse, established in 1852, stands tall on an exposed headland.
Explore the lighthouse precinct and the granite canyon known as “Devil’s Kitchen”. This lighthouse shines a warning for sailors traversing the treacherous Backstair’s Passage. The headland provides protection from ocean swells for Antechamber Bay.
Take a walk on the long white sandy beach or seek our birds on the quiet backwaters of the Chapman River estuary. End the day in Penneshaw which we can access via a 4WD trail known as Binney’s Track. This runs adjacent to Baudin Conservation Park which provides habitat for a range of wildlife including glossy black-cockatoos, kangaroos, wallabies and echidnas.
Nearest major City/Town
Kingscote, the largest town on Kangaroo Island
Adelaide, the capital of South Australia
Air Access
Regular daily scheduled or charter flight from Adelaide to Kingscote is approximately 30 minutes.
Sea Access
Sealink operate regular ferry transfers from Cape Jervis (South Australian mainland) to Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island.
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