Kangaroo Island

  During you Kangaroo Island holiday in Australia, meet native animals or loose yourself in the beauty and tranquillity of the area. You can see little penguins waddling to shore in Penneshaw and Kingscote or sea lions in their natural habitat at Seal Bay. An Australia holiday to Kangaroo Island offers you the opportunity to see historic lighthouses, Admirals Arch and Remarkable Rocks which was sculpted by eons of wind in Flinders Chase National Park. Hanson Bay is a great place to hike and you can explore enchanting caves caving in Kelly Hill Conservation Park. The island’s beaches invite you to swim, surf, fish, dive shipwrecks, swim with dolphins and dive or snorkel from the island’s northern beaches.  

  Kangaroo Island is a haven for Australian wildlife. Kangaroo Island holidays in Australia provide excellent opportunities to see tammar wallabies, brush-tailed possums and kangaroos when they are most active. Bushwalk on Murray Lagoon in Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park and observe some of the 267 species of birds found in various habitats on the island. Flinders Chase National Park offers the opportunity to see hundreds of peaceful kangaroos.

  Discover the awe-inspiring formations of Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch as you walk through Flinders Chase National Park during your Kangaroo Island holiday. Trek through forested valleys or along remote cliff tops, or cycle the island’s quiet open roads. Surf the sand dunes at Little Sahara or enjoy the diversity of the Hanson Bay Hike.  

  The island’s cellar doors have stunning views to whet your palate. Feast on fresh, local produce across the island such as honey ice cream and sheep's milk cheese and Ligurian honey from farms in Kingscote and MacGillivray. Dine on King George Whiting, American river oysters or local marron as you overlook the ocean.  

Regional Express (REX) provides direct flights, taking just 30 minutes from Adelaide to Kingscote Airport, 14 kilometres from the town centre. If you’re not flying to Kangaroo Island, you’ll be on the ferry, in your car or on a coach. A couple hours' drive from Adelaide, the SeaLink ferry takes you across the water to Penneshaw. There are three departures each day and extra services during peak times.

  Some things never change regardless of when you go on your Kanagaroo Island holiday in Australia. 

  Friendly people, cool breezes, uncrowded beaches and geological wonders are on offer which ever time of year you choose to go. This truly makes a Kangaroo Island holiday in Australia appealing at any time of the year. Each season in Kangaroo Island does however offer give new life to the area and there are spectacular changes in landscape colours to experience.

Summer: December – February

  As the summer approaches, wildlife retreat to bush land to shelter during the heat of the day. The land is a contrast of golden pastures against summer wild flowers and the new growth of native trees. Kangaroos and Tammar wallabies are seen predominantly at dawn and dusk. Little penguins moult all their feathers at the end of the breeding season and can lose up to half their body weight. New Zealand Fur seals give birth to chocolate-brown pups and the Australian Sea-lion breeding season begins with pups born from January to June. Heath goannas lay 10-17 eggs in the warm, stable, humid atmosphere of termite mounds which act as a perfect incubator. Koalas, wallabies and kangaroos give birth to tiny young, which are naked and blind.

Autumn: March - May

  Pastures begin to green and waterways and catchments begin to flow. Autumn is a time of transition, with some rainfall gradually providing the wildlife with fresh growth to feed on. Glossy Black cockatoos and Little Penguins begin nesting and black swans begin their courtship behaviour of wing-raising, neck-stretching and loud trumpeting. You will see fungi start to appear on damp ground and rotting wood.

Winter: June - August

  Winter is spectacular with lush green countrysides, flowing rivers and abundant wildlife: it's Kangaroo Island at its most appealing. Nocturnal land mammals who are predominantly night, dawn and dusk feeders for most of the year, frequently come out by day. Koalas emerge from the mother's pouch and begin to ride on her back and kangaroo and wallaby joeys start to emerge from the mother's pouch and feed by her side.   Echidnas form 'mating trains' where up to eight males will follow a female for around four weeks. See waders, on their migration from Siberia, as they begin to arrive and experience ospreys as they show off to their mates in spectacular courtship fights. Southern right whales pass the shores on their migration from Antarctic waters to the Great Australian Bight to calve.

Spring: September - November

  Spring is the season of rebirth. It is a wonderful time to see the spectacular array of wild flowers, birds and mammals. There are approximately 40 endemic floral species found on Kangaroo Island and these are seen in abundance during the spring. Eucalyptus oil is in peak production as one tonne of leaf can produce up to 30 litres of oil.