(This is part of a 5 part series on Kangaroo Island. Click here to read the rest of the posts)
Kangaroo Island is only a one and a half hour drive south of Adelaide. It is 156 km long and 57km wide at its widest point. With just over 3,900 people living here, they are outnumbered by some 4000 penguins, 5000 koalas, 15,000 kangaroos and 1 million wallabies who also call this small island home, thanks largely to an environment free of foxes or rabbits. The rugged coastal cliffs, rolling hills, eucalyptus forests, stunning beaches, make KI a little paradise.
To get there you need to take a 45 minute ferry ride on one of the Sealink ferries, which make about 12 trips across Backstairs Passage between Cape Jervis and Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island every day. They have a few different boats, with the largest having room for just under 400 passengers and 55 cars. If you look carefully, chances are you will be lucky like I was and see dolphins playing around the sides of the boat. The boat carries Vittoria brand hot chocolate.
Over the next 5 posts I will bring you on a trip around Kangaroo Island including a few hot chocolates. We spent 3-4 days on this beautiful island. The ferry arrives in Penneshaw and it doesn’t take long to get your car out and to get going. Penneshaw itself is quite cute. We saved it for the very end of our trip and instead started our visit driving.
It is easy to drive around the island and if you can avoid peak season, the roads are nice and quiet. Most people live on the east side, in Dudley or Kingscote. The main road around the island is paved but all the other little lines that crisscross the map are not so they take a little longer. The roads themselves are not particularly scenic, as both sides are lined with thick bush and beyond that, the rare times you get glipses, there is mostly farmlands, sheep and rolling. The coastline however is stunning and the reason you likely planned a trip here in the first place. We stayed on the northern side of the island and rented a little house with a beautiful private beach where we watched gorgeous sunsets every night. Because we went off peak it wasn’t as expensive as you would expect, so take a look around at all the different accommodation options (we used airbnb). There isn’t a lot to visit along the Northern road, but it is an easy drive to other parts of the island and of course if you can find a place to stay along the coast do. If not, if you find your way over that way stop at Will’s Rare Breeds Farm.
Overall we found it easy to drive. Do watch out for wildlife. There were a lot of kangaroos jumping across the road and we even saw a handful of koalas! The next few posts will look at the east, west, and southern parts of the island.
Verdict: If you don’t have a car you can also choose to do a full tour of Kangaroo Island including the ferry with Sealink. If the waters are calm, the the sea breeze chilly, the hot chocolate may help you to spot more dolphins. Sealink, Kangaroo Island, Australia
