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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 Figures

Geography

This 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.

Climate

The 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 Economy

About 4,100 inhabitants live on the island. 1,400 of them in Kingscote in 1991. The economy is mostly agricultural (vine, 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).

Wildlife and its Protection

More than half of the island has never been cleared of vegetation. About 1/3 is conserved in National and Conservation Parks, including five Wilderness Protection Areas. The main protected areas are:

• Flinder's Chase National Park
• Sealbay Conservation Park
• Cape Gentheaume Wilderness Protection Area
• Cape Bouguer Wilderness Protection Area

Because of its isolation from mainland Australia, foxes and rabbits are absent on the island. The Kangaroo Island Kangaroo, Tammar Wallaby, Brushtail Possum, Short Beaked Echidna, New Zealand Fur Seal are native on the island, such as six bat and frog species. The Koala, Ringtail Possum and Platypus have been introduced and still survive there.

Tourism

General Tourist Information is located in Penneshaw, Howard Drive and open 7 days a week.

Places of Interest

It is a very popular destination for tourists wishing to spend between a few days and a week there. Popular sites are:

• Seal Bay with ranger guided walks among basking Australian sea lions
• Flinders Chase National Park with the lighthouses at Cape Border and Cape du Couedic and the koalas close to the ranger station at Rocky River
• Remarkable Rocks
• Cape Willoughby
• Kelly Hill Caves with guided cave tours
• Little Sahara, huge sand dunes on the south coast
• the island-lookout Mount Thisby with a 360 degrees view around the island

Restrictions

For quarantine reason it is prohibited to bring honey products and bee-handling equipment to the island. Potatoes brought to the island must be in new packaging and vine cuttings and soil in which grapevines have grown are not to be brought without prior inspection. Rabbits are not permitted on the island.

Lifestyle

Safe 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.

Camping is permitted in approved local government camping areas, designated areas within National Parks and Caravan Parks. In other areas it is prohibited.

Accomodation can be found all across the island and should be booked in advance.

Shops and petrol stations can be found in the major villages Kingscote, Parndana, American River, Penneshaw (once called Hog Bay) and Vivionne Bay. Basic trading hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5.30pm and Saturday 9am to 12noon.

The major Australian banks have branches in Kingscote. Automatic teller machines (ATM) are situated in Kingscote, Penneshaw and Parndana. Major Credit Cards are accepted in most places.

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, warfare, 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.