Kangaroo Island
With its rocky cliffs, extensive system of parks and reserves and magnificent views out across the Southern Ocean, Kangaroo Island is truly one of the jewels in South Australia’s tourism crown.
Australian fur seals, long-nosed fur seals, Australian sea lions and little penguins all breed and live on the island, and the chance to observe the animals up close draws visitors from all over the world. The island offers virtually every must-have seaside experience, from fishing or sailing to swimming or eating fish and chips on the beach.
Kangaroo Island will remain one of the best places in the world to get fresh, locally-caught seafood, whether you have reeled it in yourself or one of the local fishers has caught it for you.
Rough seas and hidden reefs made shipping treacherous in the early days of settlement, so Kangaroo Island is known for the quality of its wrecks for diving. Marine parks and sanctuary zones have not changed this, and wreck diving continues to be a popular tourist drawcard.
Deep reefs and offshore islands with caves and overhangs provide important habitats for rock lobster, reef fish, sponges, soft corals, gorgonians, sea stars and molluscs.
View the 2012 Kangaroo Island regional brochure
Significant species
Little penguin
A great favourite with tourists, little penguin colonies are found at various beaches around the island.
Long-nosed fur seals
Breeding colonies and haul-out sites for long-nosed fur seals are found around the island. This Australian native is only now beginning to recover after nearly being wiped out by sealing in the nineteenth century.
Hooded plover
The hooded plover is a small shorebird that breeds on the island’s remote beaches. It is endangered and its numbers are dropping, with fewer than 3000 birds left in the wild.