Kangaroo Island

What It Is and Where

Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island. Flinders Chase National Park covers nearly 75,000 hectares of the west end, home to the Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch. In the 2019 to 2020 bushfires, about 212,000 hectares burned, nearly half the island. Recovery has been a central focus since, and the bush on the western end is regrowing.

What You Do There

• Walk the beach at Seal Bay with a ranger among a colony of Australian sea lions
• See long-nosed fur seals at Admirals Arch in Flinders Chase
• Look for kangaroos, tammar wallabies, koalas and echidnas on guided wildlife drives
• Eat and drink well: the island has its own produce, wine and seafood

Kangaroo Island is also one of the last strongholds of the glossy black-cockatoo in South Australia, with parks set aside to protect its feeding and nesting habitat.

Best Time to Go

The island is good all year. Summer, December to February, is warm and dry. Spring brings wildflowers and young animals. Autumn is calm and settled. Winter is cooler and wetter, but wildlife is still active and there are fewer visitors.

Getting There and How Long to Stay

Fly from Adelaide to Kingscote, or drive about two hours south to Cape Jervis for the SeaLink ferry to Penneshaw, which takes about 45 minutes. Stay at least three nights: the island is bigger than people expect and the drives between sights are long.

Where We Like to Stay

Southern Ocean Lodge sits on the cliffs of the south coast, facing the Southern Ocean. The original lodge was destroyed in the 2019 to 2020 fires and has been rebuilt and reopened. Stays are all-inclusive, with wildlife outings built in.

Read more in Kangaroo Island: Australia's Wildlife Sanctuary and Luxury Australia for Nature Lovers, and pair the island with the Barossa Valley.