Experience

Experience

An expe­ri­ence of a life­time, a jour­ney of rejuvenation

Wel­come to the Kan­ga­roo Island Wilder­ness Trail. Nature’s dra­ma unfolds at every step of the 66 kilo­me­tre five-day trek, with the trail weav­ing its way through the most botan­i­cal­ly unique area in all of South Aus­tralia and show­cas­ing the rugged, remote and spec­tac­u­lar coast­line of the South­ern Ocean.

The unimag­in­able beau­ty of this part of the world has to be seen to be believed. Come and dis­cov­er the mag­ic for yourself.

Kan­ga­roo Island Wilder­ness Trail
Fre­quent­ly asked questions
Trip essen­tials
Nature and history
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National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia

Day 1: Flinders Chase Vis­i­tor Cen­tre to Snake Lagoon 

Day one com­mences at the Flinders Chase Vis­i­tor Cen­tre and takes you to the famous Platy­pus Water­holes. This shared sec­tion of the trail has plen­ty of inter­pre­ta­tion and offers a great intro­duc­tion to the park. When the path joins up with the Rocky Riv­er Trail you’ll be immersed in dense euca­lypt wood­land that is home to a diver­si­ty of bird life and native ani­mals. Reach­ing the Pardalote Look­out you will see the mean­der­ing Rocky Riv­er far below you as it flows out towards the South­ern Ocean. You will then pass through river­bank and mallee habi­tats where wild­flow­ers pro­vide stun­ning arrays of
colour all year around. Tra­vers­ing your way down from the ridge towards the riv­er you will come across the spec­tac­u­lar sight of the Rocky Riv­er Cas­cades. The day comes to a close at the Cup Gum Camp­ground, a peace­ful set­ting for your first night’s rest

Dis­tance: 18 km
Time: 7 hrs

National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia

Day 2: Snake Lagoon to Cape du Couedic

Day two takes you along the Rocky Riv­er towards its mouth at the coast. Not long into the walk you’ll be reward­ed with your first breath­tak­ing view of the mighty South­ern Ocean. The trail then heads south along the island’s wild and rugged coast­line where birds of prey may be seen fly­ing over the land and sea, while on the water bot­tle-nosed dol­phins often sur­face as they hunt for fish. If you’re vis­it­ing between June and ear­ly Octo­ber, you may even by treat­ed to the majes­tic sight of South­ern Right Whales on their annu­al migra­tion to the Great Aus­tralian Bight. Upon reach­ing Mau­per­tu­is Bay you’ll head down from the clifftop onto the bone white beach below. Tucked away in a swale, the Hakea Camp­ground offers you pro­tec­tion from the relent­less coastal winds and will lull you to sleep with the relax­ing sound­track of crash­ing waves on the near­by cliffs. If time per­mits, you may want to ven­ture to near­by Admi­rals Arch to fin­ish the day with a spec­tac­u­lar sunset.

Dis­tance: 14 km
Time: 7 hrs

National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia

Day 3: Cape Du Couedic to Sander­son Bay 

(Option­al side trips — Admi­rals Arch 4 hrs return, 9km / Remark­able Rocks 1 hour return, 1km) 

An ear­ly start is required if you wish to com­plete the option­al side trip off the Wilder­ness Trail to view the pop­u­lar sites of his­toric Weirs Cove or Cape du Couedic light­house and Admi­rals Arch. Walk­ers tak­ing this option will also be able to view the enchant­i­ng antics of Aus­tralian and long-nosed fur seals and Aus­tralian sea-lions that vis­it this sec­tion of the coast. Back on the Wilder­ness Trail the track heads east towards Sander­son Bay and enters dense coastal mallee before break­ing out to the awe­some sight of the Remark­able Rocks. Con­tin­u­ing on, the trail hugs the coast­line and offers cin­e­mat­ic views that inspire both awe and con­tem­pla­tion. At the end of the day’s walk you’ll find the Banksia Camp­ground locat­ed in a shel­tered area close to Sander­son Bay.

Dis­tance: 13km
Time: 6.5 hrs

National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia

Day 4: Sander­son Bay to Grassdale 

(Option­al side trip — Han­son Bay 30 min return, 700m)

Day four offers high ener­gy coastal trekking at its best, with mas­sive swells, tow­er­ing cliffs and extend­ed views along the coast. When the trail mean­ders inland as it heads towards Han­son Bay you’ll be treat­ed to a dra­mat­ic change in veg­e­ta­tion from low coastal heath to tall, dense mallee and tea tree. Upon reach­ing the South West Riv­er you’ll have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to use a boat to cross the riv­er; marks the gate­way to the Cape Bouguer Wilder­ness Pro­tec­tion Area and the most untouched area on the trail. An option­al side trip off the wilder­ness trail to the near­by Han­son Bay beach. Back on the Wilder­ness Trail you’ll fol­low the wind­ing riv­er to Kel­ly Hill Con­ser­va­tion Park and the Tea Tree Camp­ground, locat­ed adja­cent to the his­toric Grass­dale property.

Dis­tance: 13.5 km
Time: 6.5 hrs

National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia

Day 5: Grass­dale to Kel­ly Hill Caves

The final day’s walk is some­what more leisure­ly, but no less spec­tac­u­lar and beau­ti­ful. The trail pass­es through a diver­si­ty of habi­tats, from recov­er­ing wood­lands to fresh­wa­ter lakes and ​‘karst’ cave sys­tems. Reach­ing the stun­ning Wilder­ness and Grass­dale Lagoons, bird­watch­ers will be reward­ed with sight­ings of local and vis­it­ing wood­land and wad­ing birds. A rel­a­tive­ly short walk through beau­ti­ful sug­ar gum wood­land, rich with orchids and fun­gi in the wet­ter months, brings the trail to its con­clu­sion at the amaz­ing Kel­ly Hill Caves. Cel­e­brate your achieve­ment with a pho­to at the trail’s end and con­sid­er tak­ing a guid­ed tour of the lime­stone caves and dis­cov­er how the spec­tac­u­lar dec­o­ra­tions are formed. 

Dis­tance: 7.5 km
Time: 2.5 hrs