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Revision as of 15:26, 23 July 2004 by Urban-b (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Kangaroo Island is Australia's third largest island - after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is situated 112 km southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent, 13 kilometres offshore from Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia.
Basic Facts and FiguresGeographyThis island is 145 km long and between 900 meters and 57 kilometers wide and covers an area of 4,405 square kilometres. Australia's third largest island has 509 kilometers of coastline and the highest elevations are on the north coast plateau reaching 307 meters above sealevel. ClimateThe winters between June and September are mild and wet, the summers usually warm and dry. Tempered by the ocean, particularly on the coastline, maximum temperatures in summer rarely exceed 35 degrees celsius. Average temperatures in August range between 13 to 16 degrees and in February, the hottest month, between 20 and 25 degrees. Between May and September the island receives 2/3 of its annual rainfall, varying from 450 mm in Kingscote to 1000 mm near Gosse. Wettest month is July. Population and EconomyAbout 4,100 inhabitants live on the island. 1,400 of them in Kingscote in 1991. The economy is mostly agricultural (wine, honey, wool, meat and grain). Beside this tourism and fishing play a role. Kangaroo island is famous for its honey and for being the oldest bee sanctuary in the world (since 1881). |
Historical View |
TourismPlaces of InterestIt is a very popular destination for tourists wishing to spend between a few days and a week there. Popular sites are:
RestrictionsIt is prohibited to bring bee-products or rabbits to the island. |
 Cape Willoughby Lighthouse |
LifestyleSafe swimming is possible on the northern beaches, such as Emu Bay, Stokes Bay or Snelling Beach. The south coast has dangerous undertows and is not safe for swimming because of shark attacks on the sealion collonies that are situated there. Shops and petrol stations can be found in the major villages Kingscote, Parndana, American River, Penneshaw (once called Hog Bay) and Vivionne Bay. |
 North Coast near Snelling Beach |
Connections to K.I.
Access to the island is via 30 minutes flight from Adelaide, the Capital of South Australia or by sea ferry with Sealink from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw, which takes about 50 minutes. A passenger ferry is operating between Glenelg and Kingscote and takes 2 1/2 hours.
Island's History
Kangaroo Island was seperated from mainland Australia by a rise in sealevel about 10,000 years ago. Stone tools found, suggest that Aboriginal people occupied the land at least 11,000 years ago; it is supposed that they disappeared in 200 b.c.. Theories about the cause include disease, wrfare, climatic change or exodus.
In 1802 British explorer Matthew Flinders named the land "Kanguroo" Island, after landing near Kangaroo Head on the north coast of Dudley Peninsula. Biggest town on Kangaroo Island is Kingscote, originally established at Reeves Point on 27 July 1836, it is South Australia's first official European settlement.