Kangaroo Island Things to Do

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A visit through this National Park is a must when visiting Kangaroo Island..Flinders Chase nation Park is a large Park and the largest of the National Parks on the Island...
There are just so many unique animals here to observe and also is a birdwatchers paradise with a large selection of birds, parrots and cockatoos to see..
I chose to camp here in The National Park and quickly found that we had a few problems with the local wildlife stealing our provisions ...so we had to take strong measures to insure that all provisions were protected..This was the only place where I have camped in Australia and had local koalas above my tent.
The ammenities in the camping area were first class with coin Barbeques available and rubbish bins..The toilet blocks were very clean and all that I heard at night was the wildlife..
CHECK WITH LOCAL NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE RANGER ON ENTRY.

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You will need to pay for a tour with National Parks to have them take you right up to the Sea Lions as they rest in the sand dunes and play on the sand (well the cubs do anyway). They are such a treat to see. There are only a few colonies left and this is a visit of a lifetime.
Unfortunately sea lions populations are declining due to sea pollution killing them i.e. plastic bags and plastic ties choking them.

Flinder's Chase Visitor Center is a good place to begin a tour of Kangaroo Island since it is housed in a large new building with excellent interpretive displays of the island's geology and wildlife. There are even touch-and-feel exhibits for childeren to explore. The visitor's center also has nice bathrooms (in case you're camping in the bush and would like a flush toilet and running water to freshen up).

In the parking area you will find lots and lots of kangaroos relaxing and posing with visitors. They may be hoping for handouts, but there is a sign asking people not to feed the wildlife: "Keep the wildlife wild."

The main attraction of the area of Flinder's Chase nearest the Visitor's Center is the Platypus Waterholes nature trail. Platypus are endangered, and in an effort to increase population size, a number were relocated here from the mainland. The trail winds through the freshwater bog/creek area where the platypus have been introduced. There are wooden viewing platforms positioned at the edge of the creek and over the water at intervals along the trail.

These are very shy creatures. Although I *thought* I *might* have seen the tell-tale bubble-and-ring disturbance on the surface of a pond a time or two, I have to admit that the only platypus I actually saw was this bronze one at the trail head.

Walking along the nature trail, you also get a nice feel for the flora of Kangaroo Island. There are spiky, waxy flowers of several varieties, spiky-leafed trees and bushes, trees in bloom (I was there in December--summertime), and so on.

The New Zealand fur seals found here are not true seals but rather a type of sea lion. The information posters at the entrance to the Admiral's Arch area of the park give this and other bits of information about these animals.

Why does it matter? Because sea lions can actually use their back and front flippers to "walk" (sort of like inch-worms), which allows them to climb up on rocks along shorelines of the sort found at Admiral's Arch.

You can't really get very close to these sea lions to take great portraits, but click on the image to see it a bit bigger and you might be able to tell which spots are the sea lions which spots are the rocks they are resting on.

What gives this area its name is a collection of huge, huge boulders that sit on a high outcropping from the headland not too far from Admiral's Arch.

The boulders have been weathered into eerie shapes, and they have patches of orange lichen on the lee sides to give them an even more outer-space-rock kind of appearance.

Most photos of this place will show a formation that looks like an eagle's beak. Another formation looks (to me) like a cute pig face with floppy little ears, yet another might be a dolphin at play. They challenge you to find as many "animals" in the rocks as you can. What do you think the formation in the picture here looks like? Maybe an echidna with it's beak-like mouth.....

The beaches all along Seal Bay and Bales Bay make up the Seal Bay Conservation Park. The waters up to .4 nm offshore are also protected marine conservation areas. This allows the resident population of Australian Sea Lions to make the shore their home for hunting, mating, rearing their young, and resting.

The park is accessible by way of a boardwalk constructed over the dunes from the visitor's center to the beach, ending at an observation platform from which the sea lions can be observed. If you want a closer look, you need to sign up for a guided tour with one of the park rangers.

The photo of the sea lion pup chasing the gulls was taken from a ranger-led walk on the beach.

Among the shyest of Kangaroo Island animals is the native short-beaked echidna. I was very lucky to see this one, which was simply digging around at the side of the road.

Echidnas are sometimes known as "spiny anteaters" because, in fact, they do eat ants, or rather termites. They first root around in the ground with their long, stick-like snouts to disturb the insects' nests. Then when the panicked little bugs come pouring out, the echidna is ready with a ribbon of flypaper disguised as a tongue, ready to lap them up.

It is actually possible to volunteer for a weekend helping research scientists learn more about echidna behavior. If you are planning a trip to K.I. consider tacking on a weekend as a volunteer. Follow the link below for more information.