Grab your hiking boots! The Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail has reopened

This world class, 66km, five-day walk­ing trail gives you unpar­al­leled access to some of the most rugged, remote and spec­tac­u­lar coast­lines in South Australia.

If you’re plan­ning to take a walk on the wild side, here are some tips that will make your expe­ri­ence as safe and enjoy­able as possible:

1. Plan your trip

Book your trip well in advance. There are restric­tions on the num­ber of walk­ers each day to avoid over­crowd­ing and pre­serve the wilder­ness expe­ri­ence for everyone.

Pack­ing the right equip­ment is the key to an epic adven­ture. When decid­ing what gear to take remem­ber that you are like­ly to expe­ri­ence a vari­ety of weath­er con­di­tions on the trail, so you’ll need to be pre­pared for both sun­ny and calm con­di­tions as well as wet and windy weath­er. Con­sid­er high qual­i­ty, light­weight gear wher­ev­er pos­si­ble as the lighter you pack, the more com­fort­able your walk­ing expe­ri­ence will be.

2. Be aware of the weather 

The best time to vis­it is from March to Novem­ber, how­ev­er every sea­son on Kan­ga­roo Island offers some­thing dif­fer­ent, so you’re sure to have an amaz­ing expe­ri­ence when­ev­er you vis­it. Kan­ga­roo Island’s weath­er is vari­able year-round and changes in tem­per­a­ture and con­di­tions can occur sud­den­ly and with­out much warn­ing giv­en the island’s exposed location.

Depend­ing on the con­di­tions, you may need to change or adapt your itin­er­ary. It’s a good idea to check the Bureau of Mete­o­rol­o­gy for the lat­est weath­er updates.

3. Not for the young ones 

The trail is chal­leng­ing and is not rec­om­mend­ed for chil­dren under 10 years old, giv­en the long dis­tances, exposed coastal ele­ments, and pos­si­ble weath­er con­di­tions. It’s wise to wait until they’re a bit old­er to ensure they can ful­ly enjoy the adventure!

4. Know your limits 

A rea­son­able lev­el of fit­ness is required to walk the trail. You can expect to walk between 3.5 to 5 hours a day.

The amount of time it takes to walk each sec­tion will also depend on your fit­ness lev­els, weath­er con­di­tions, how much weight you are car­ry­ing, and how long you stop to take in the scenery, check out the wildlife, and rest breaks.

If you need to build up your lev­el of fit­ness pri­or to the walk, we rec­om­mend start­ing with a 30 minute dai­ly walk and build­ing up to 6.5 hours. Be sure to tri­al walk­ing with the pack you intend to take so that you feel ful­ly prepared.

5. Share the moment 

Walk with a com­pan­ion or a num­ber of friends wher­ev­er pos­si­ble. The trail is such a mem­o­rable expe­ri­ence – why not share it with your near­est and dearest?

Before you head off, make sure you let a reli­able per­son know your plans, includ­ing what to do if you fail to return as planned.

Plan your adven­ture by vis­it­ing parks​.sa​.gov​.au/​e​x​p​e​r​i​e​n​c​e​s​/kiwt