Kangaroo Island: An Underrated Paradise

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„Three week’s on Kangaroo Island”!!? , asked an Australian friend a little bit exited. “Mate, that’s done in three days”. Of course, he might be right, when you drive extremely fast on the bitumen road and pick only the top tourist attractions. Anyway, there are people who have written books about the island, so there must be a little bit more to discover than Seal Bay, and the Remarkable Rocks.

First of all I have to get my Holden Rodeo out of the shed and make it ready to hit the road again. The car was stored with friends in Adelaide for six month. My Holden is a twenty year old utility vehicle, two wheel drive, alloy tray and canvas canopy. The ute (coll. for utility vehicle in Australia) took me well around Australia on my previous trips. After a week of a jet lag recovery and preparations, the Holden and I sneak a bit underpowered uphill the Main South Road.

My first destination is the Kangaroo Island ferry in Cape Jervis. It is an easy one and a half hour drive. A typical cool Aussie with sunglasses from Sea Link gives me direction to get my Holden into the catamaran. “That’s perfect mate, just pull the handbrake” is the friendly comment of the Aussie character after I circled my car backwards on the allocated spot. Up to 63 cars fit in the catamaran which is about 50 metres long. Today the number of cars is a bit less because two semi trailer trucks take a lot of space. Departure is on time at 9am. After a 50 minutes voyage across the Backstairs passage (15 km wide) i reached Penneshaw at the east coast of Kangaroo Island.

My first way is to the Gateway Information Centre. I get some camping permits for the campgrounds operated by the island administration. At the time of my trip in 2002 you could stay at a caravan park in Penneshaw but this location doesn’t exist anymore.

On the next morning I make my way on a rough corrugated gravel road to Cape Willoughby, the most easterly point of Kangaroo Island. Here you get a first impression of the terrific 480 kilometres coastline of the island. A lighthouse was built on top of the steep cliff in 1852, and the ranger runs guided tours. Organised sightseeing is actually not my thing but the island pass includes the entry fee and except me there is only a couple from Melbourne who likes to have a look to the lighthouse. Ok, no mass tourism, why not having a closer view to the location.

We get lots of information about the history of the place. Next the weather station: Every 30 minutes a computer records all the climate data and sends it to the weather bureau to Melbourne. At the wall you can see pictures with extreme weather conditions.

The lighthouse is fitted with modern technology. The navigational light can be seen for 36 km when you have a clear view. In case of a power failure a diesel generator can provide energy for at least six days without replenishment. Big batteries secure power as a second backup for three days. The system is regularly maintained every three month.

The Backstairs Passage is a busy route for cargo ships which heading from the south through the Gulf of St.Vincent to Port Adelaide. From the west the ships travel trough the Investigator Strait along the north Coast of Kangaroo Island. In an adjoining building of the lighthouse you can see a map with the positions of 69 shipwrecks around the island.

It is quite windy on top of the lighthouse but somehow the temperature is just too hot for some more sightseeing. Just after midday I arrived at Antechamber Bay. What a great place! The five kilometres long beach is perfect. Except me is nobody there. I enjoy the quietness, the peace and the sound of the waves. Not to forget the sunrise over the ocean. Yes you look towards the east that means sunrise over the ocean. That is real quality of life.

Penneshaw is located on the Dudley Peninsula. The area is connected via a very narrow land bridge with the rest of the islands land mass. That point is about 24 km west of Penneshaw. Here is also the turn off to the picturesque Pennington Bay. If you like to swim be careful, there are dangerous currents in the bay. Opposite the turn off is Pelican Lagoon. Have a walk up to the lookout of Mt.Thisby, which gives you a much better view of the Lagoon. A short side trip to American River. The small settlement is located next to the Pelican Lagoon, so you can imagine that everything is related to fishing. You can hire a skipper including a boat or just hire a canoe and paddle yourself.

My destination for today is Murray Lagoon, the largest on Kangaroo Island, with an expanse of water of one thousand hectare after the winter rain. Murray Lagoon is home to about one hundred different species of birds. You can’t miss the black swans and the Cape Barren Geese, even those people who have no idea about birds. Nice is the walking track via Bald Hill to Curley Creek (11 km incl. return). The way offers good views at the Lagoon and you can walk also close along the water edge - Birdwatchers paradise. After a night camping at the lagoon (place near ranger office) I discuss my hiking plans along the Cape Gantheaume Coastal Track with the ranger in charge. With camping permit and the “ok” of the ranger I drive on bumpy roads towards D’Estrees Bay.

D’Estrees Bay is cove-lined with nice beaches. Several lookouts invite the traveller for photo stops. The Tinline Reef is located near Wreckers Beach. This place was the final destination for the steamship “Osmanli” on the 25th of November 1853. The steamer was on her voyage from Melbourne to Adelaide. The “Osmanli” hit Tinline Reef and stayed upright at the spot for over two month. Several attempts to refloat the vessel failed. A severe storm smashed the “Osmanli” into pieces on the 31st of January 1854. Even today you can find some remains of the wreckage.

A bit further west is one of the biggest attractions of Kangaroo Island, I mean Seal Bay, the probably most visited site on the Island. After paying an entry fee people can walk with a ranger right into a colony of seals. Our group has a size of three people; the ranger explains in 25 minutes interesting facts about seals.

Seven kilometres west of Seal Bay is a very special creation of Mother Nature. Big white sand hills called “Little Sahara” sitting in the middle of some bush land. It is very windy again; I find sand in my clothes for the next couple of days. My camping spot for the next night was at Vivonne Bay.

Another day: Bushwalking is on my list. I have chosen the track between Kelly Hill Cave and Hanson Bay. The distance is 18 km long (incl. return), a full day is recommended. You get a little bit of everything along the track. The nice Yacca trees which grow only one centimetre per year attract my attention. After that, wonderful Pink Gum Trees before your reach a lagoon. A few steep sandy sections lead the hiker onto an elevated area; there is a good view of the surrounding country. The cliffs of Hanson Bay appear in a distance and you can hear the sound of the waves. I thought that I get close to the finish. As if! It was still one hour to walk. The track guides the hiker across a cleared area which was part of the Grassdale Farm. Further on the South West River, where it looks at some places like being in a rainforest. Finally a couple of sand dunes and there it is - Hanson Bay! Now - nothing can beat a nice swim and a picnic before you walk the whole way back to the car.

The Western KI Caravan Park is a great place to stay when you travel in the western part of Kangaroo Island. The Flinders Chase National Park is close by. Quite busy is Cape Du Couedic with attractions like the lighthouse, Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch. There are only a handful of cars on the road to West Bay. I enjoyed bushwalking on Rocky River- Sandy Creek- and Breakneck River Track. All walking trails ending at beautiful beaches framed with fantastic coastal scenery. The Flinders Chase National Park offers some bush camping areas. I stayed one night at Snake Lagoon and at West Bay.

The north-west corner – Cape Borda: Another sightseeing tour of a lighthouse. I might get hooked on lighthouses. Ranger Dan explains a lot of things and we have a look into an old hut which was used as a storage room. It was a save place for oil used to operate the navigational light in the old days. Now travellers can book the hut as heritage accommodation for 12 $AUD per night (might be a bit more now). Yes, that’s it! Staying a night in the old storage shed, that thought crossed my mind. I moved in the next day. The little shed s called Woodward Hut, has a size of approximately 9 square metres and one small window. From here you can see the lighthouse and of course the ocean. What a feeling – you sit on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. The navigational light turns slowly around and around and the sun disappears on the horizon. Ranger Dan records at 9pm the last weather data for today and explains the lights positions of the Investigator Strait. Tonight is a fresh breeze from the west; I put a jumper on and sit until midnight on the bench at the old lighthouse of Cape Borda.

After all the cheap camping spots I have some money left so I can afford a scenic flight around the Island. I have an appointment with the pilot Dave Halloran at his place approx. 15 km south west of Parndana. “Oh you’re early” says Dave, smiles and rolled up his sleeves. “Do you like a cup of tea”? Now I realise that I just disturbed his breakfast. Dave offers me a seat, I get my cup of tea and we introduce ourselves. My pilot is multi talent he drive trucks and bulldozer, is fire fighter and farmer, yes, a real Aussie. Twenty minutes later we get the aircraft out of the shed. Just a quick check, I get headphones and here we go towards the airstrip which is just a mowed stretch in a paddock. We’re up in the air in no time, heading south to Seal Bay and then westwards always along the coast. The scenery is stunning, no doubt, but the flight is very bumpy and is difficult to get good photos. I get the feeling that my stomach will cause problems in a while. Then a steep turn at Cape Du Couedic, the aircraft is going up and down, it feels like dancing – ooohh sh….

Dave has a lot of fun and apparently everything under control. I can hear his “ojj” and “ups” through my headphones. “You’re all right”?, is Dave’s question to me. “Yes just” is my short answer. On the right hand side is Flinders Chase National Park. Now you get a impression about the size of the island. Kangaroo Island is the third largest island of Australia with a length of 155 km and a width of 55 km. The second largest Island of Down Under is Melville Island and the biggest one is Tasmania. The flight is quite all right along the west and North coast. Dave does a turn over the rock pool at Stokes Bay and my stomach causing real problems….
Back on earth Dave introduced me to two of his mates who came around for a chat. After one hour talk about bush fire, fishing, trucks and four wheel drives I get on my way to Penneshaw. Finally two days relaxing at the beach before the ferry takes me back to Cape Jervis.

© 2009 - 2012 Walter Leven