In June 2007, I spent two great days touring Kangaroo Island. There is a real diverse selection of wildlife on the Island and if you are spending time in South Australia as part of your trip then I would definitely recommend spending 2-3 days on KI, if not more, as 2 days was not long enough really. It's only about 10 miles off the coast of South Australia, so on the way out I took the ferry from Cape Jervis into Penneshaw. Nice and easy, but the Ocean was calm on the day. On the return, I hopped on the regional plane from Kingscote direct into Adelaide, very quick.The Island is easy to travel round if you have a vehicle, a 4WD is a luxury but not always needed. As with all places in Australia, the Island is much bigger than it looks on a map being about 100 miles by 35 miles, which is big enough to keep most people busy for a while. On the wildlife front there are plenty of Kangaroo's as the name may suggest, but it's the Ocean life that was amazing. Seal Bay is wonderful, as the Ocean waves rush in onto the beach, about 80 Australian sea lions just laze around sunbathing. There is an occasional flurry of action as a younger sea lion gets too close to one of the elders until it is batted away, but on the whole they seem peaceful and romantic old fools as well, see one of my pics.I was slightly disappointed by the Remarkable Rocks. They are quite interesting and as part of the tour then definitely worth seeing, but as a one off I'm not sure if I would call them remarkable.Admirals Arch comes to the rescue though and is a fantastic place - a really great (short) walk along a boardwalk gives you stunning views of the Ocean crashing into the rocks. As you follow the steps of the boardwalk round the coastline you arrive at Admirals Arch itself, where the noise of the Ocean drops away and you are sheltered from the wind. The view of the Arch is really quite amazing, but there is the added bonus of being able to watch maybe 50-60 New Zealand fur seals in the Arch - keep an eye out for some of the cracks in the rocks as these seem to make nice beds for the seals.The other nice thing about the Island is the food and wine - most of it seems to be organically grown or plucked straight from the Ocean. My only advice is don't leave without trying the fresh Marron. I will go back soon enough to see the wildlife, drink the wine and eat some more Marron.
I did a 4 day tour back in 2006 and it was great. I don't think you can beat the mix of the Ocean, the views and the Wildlife. (Although I still have a soft spot for South Africa too!).From a photography point of view, it really is a great place. For the beginner, it is an easy place to get some really nice shots - as the wildlife is plentiful and varied. I will dig out some of my pics when I get a chance.
