Itinerary
Tour day-by-day
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Day 1: Island Life
The day begins in the Cygnet Valley, traversing through picturesque redgum forests, narrow-leaved mallee and mixed farmland. This region provides habitat for Koalas, many parrots and bush birds. A delicious home-baked morning tea will be served along the way.
Next up is one of the island's most famed beaches, Stokes Bay, with beautiful white stretches, ideal for spotting shorebirds and seabirds. This region also provides regular wildlife encounters include Tammar Wallabies, Kangaroo Island Kangaroos, with Short-beaked Echidnas, Rosenberg's Goanna (warmer months) and a vast range of woodland birds sighted often.
“Kangaroo Island was an amazing place to grow up, and a lot of things I loved as child – the outdoors, untouched nature, ridiculous freedom – are still the same today. We still have that joyful sense of freedom that a lot of places have lost. We’re able to maintain that.”Craig Wickham - Owner & Guide
Travel inland through some of the island's most productive farmland, before breaking for lunch on a private property amongst the redgum forest. Lunch is an elegant seafood barbecue featuring King George whiting, halloumi, potatoes and fresh garden salad served with local wine, beer, soft drinks and spring water.
After lunch, guests will continue south to Seal Bay, where coastal mallee transitions through coastal heath into dunes.
This is the opportunity to encounter the third largest colony of Australian Sea-lions on a privately guided tour, where guests will learn about the feeding and breeding behaviour of these photogenic creatures.
Overnight Accommodation: There are various levels of accomodation available (3-5 star, farmstay, B&Bs). Please enquire to find out options.
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Day 2: Flinders Chase Focus
Travellers will venture to the west end of the Island where Flinders Chase National Park covers nearly 75,000 hectares (almost 200,000 acres), where the landscape is dominated by coastal mallee and the "bonsai Eucalyptus”.
Sustained winds over millenia have carved out a natural sculpture park from solid granite tors, with the highlight being the aptly named Remarkable Rocks. The high vantage point provides an opportunity to look for oceanic bird species (Pacific Gulls, Australasian Gannets and Short-tailed Shearwaters during the warmer months) as the low heath often reveals Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters, Southern Emu-wrens and seasonally, the incessant call of the Western Whipbird. Break for a delectable picnic lunch in the bush, featuring a range of locally sourced items and local wines.
“The south-west corner of the island including Cape Du Couedic and Remarkable Rocks, is really diverse and spectacular. Along with the Long-nosed Fur-seals, I’ve seen Great White Sharks from the clifftops there. Often through the winter, we’ll also see whales, so all of those wildlife encounters in a spectacular coastal setting is good fun."Admirals Arch provides a spectacular hangout for up to three pinnipeds, namely the Long-nosed Fur Seal, Australian Fur Seals as well as the occasional Australian Sea-lion.
Overnight Accommodation: There are various levels of accomodation available (3-5 star, farmstay, B&Bs). Please enquire to find out options.
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Day 3: Fine Flavours
Discover the Fine Flavours of Kangaroo Island! Go behind the scenes to learn about and taste the best produce Kangaroo Island has to offer, including olives, olive oil, oysters, honey, wine and gin..
Begin the day at Kangaroo Island Olives with a tailgate tasting within the olive grove. The team here produce a range of olive products, including table olives and olive oils.
Pass by Fryar's Free Range Eggs and learn about their fascinating egg farm. For biosecurity reasons, we cannot enter but can view from the roadside. The hens are free to roam wherever they like, under the watchful eye of their Maremma guardian dogs.
The Oyster Farm Shop in American River produces delicious pacific oysters in the waters of Eastern Cove. We'll take a look at the production before taking some oysters with us as an appetiser for lunch.
Lunch is set-up at the other end of town, overlooking the oyster lease. As you sample these oysters, your guide will prepare an elegant al fresco lunch featuring smoked meats, fresh salad and a selection of local wine and beer. From the lunch location, keep an eye out for Black Swans, Pied Oystercatchers, Royal Spoonbills and Rufous Night Herons.
After lunch, we visit Clifford's Honey Farm, who have produced delicious Kangaroo Island Ligurian honey since 1973. Take a tour before sampling some of the various honey types - including Jenny's famous honey ice cream!
Now, time for some more wine! The Islander Estate Vineyards is one of Kangaroo Island's leading wineries. We visit their tasting room to sample their range of stunnig red and white varieties. Only a few minutes up the road is Kangaroo Island Spirits, who have won numerous awards for their gins and liqueurs around the world, including in New York and London.
Overnight Accommodation: There are various levels of accomodation available (3-5 star, farmstay, B&Bs). Please enquire to find out options.
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Day 4: East End Explorer
The exploration of the Dudley Peninsula begins at Pennington Bay situated at the narrowest part of the Island. This Southern Ocean beach is a popular fishing and surf spot and is one of the world's most picturesque stretches of coast. Guests will enjoy a delicious home-baked morning tea, overlooking extensive wave-cut platforms, contrasting deep aqua water, whilst being on the lookout for endangered Hooded Plovers, that often forage at the water's edge.
Guests will then head east to the serene marine sanctuary that is Pelican Lagoon. This is a prime opportunity to observe Kangaroo Island Kangaroos adjacent the lagoon along with adorable Tammar Wallabies living amongst the tea-tree thickets, that protect them from Australia's largest raptor, the Wedge-tailed Eagle.
The deep alluvial soils overlying limestone along the Willson River are perfect for grapevines and serve as the group's idyllic picnic lunch spot. The team at False Cape Wines have a newly opened cellar door experience overlooking well-established wines. Guests will sample their range of wines along with delightful local produce.
Next stop is the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse, established in 1852, stands tall on an exposed headland and is the island's most easterly point. Exploring the lighthouse precinct and the granite canyon known as "Devil's Kitchen" provides us with further opportunities to spot seabirds and marine life, with the option to wander with your wildlfie guide along white sandy beaches or seeking out birds on the quiet backwaters of the Chapman River estuary.
The day concludes in the charming town of Penneshaw, where guests can access a 4WD trail known as Binney's Track. Running adjacent to Baudin Conservation Park, this pristine stretch of coast provides habitat for a range of wildlife including Glossy Black Cockatoos, Kangaroo Island Kangaroos, Tammar Wallabies and Short-beaked Echidnas.
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Tour details
Group Size: Maximum of 12 guests, with a minimum ratio of one guide per 6 guests.
Pick-up and Drop Off Point: Kingscote Airport, Accommodations in Emu Bay, Kingscote, American River.
Pick-up and Drop-off Time: Approximately 9:00am - 6:00pm.
Languages: Translation services private tours available for French, German, Italian and Spanish (must be a private tour)Recent Awards
WINNER TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013
LISTED Top 5 Wildlife Guides by Outside Go Magazine 2015
WINNER Outstanding Contribution to the Tourism Export Industry 2015 by the Australian Tourism Export Council
WINNER World's Best Specialist Guide by Wanderlust 2021How you'll be making a positive impact
We have aligned our sustainability vision with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Citizen Science with Exceptional Kangaroo Island
Exceptional Kangaroo Island contributes observations of flora & fauna via iNaturalist, the world’s leading global social biodiversity network. This platform allows our team to create research-quality citizen science data that enables a more detailed picture of our national biodiversity, and assists bodies such as the CSIRO, ecologists and other decision makers to deliver better outcomes for the environment and our species.
Protecting Subspecies and Iconics of Kangaroo Island
To reinforce responsible behaviours around iconic species unique to the island, Exceptional Kangaroo Island has developed a Wildlife Code of Conduct and Guest Briefing Card referencing responsible behaviours for iconic species including the Glossy-Black Cockatoo, Hooded Plover, Australian Sea-lion, Kangaroo Island Kangaroo and Short-beaked Echidna.
Creating Feeding Habitat for the Glossy Black Cockatoo
Exceptional Kangaroo Island’s tour base in Cygnet River includes an aerobic waste water management unit that captures and recycles water from the office, commercial kitchen, bathrooms and wash bays. That water is then used to water the surrounding plants and trees - including the primary food source for the endangered Glossy Black-Cockatoo.
Developing Partnerships To Meet Sustainability Goals
Exceptional Kangaroo Island have developed a number of partnerships with key environmental organisations on Kangaroo Island and more broadly in South Australia, including Bio·R, Pelican Lagoon Research Station, Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife, National Parks & Wildlife South Australia and Birdlife Australia.
