Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island is Australia's third largest island - after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is 112 kilometres southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf Saint Vincent. At its closest point to the mainland, it is 13 kilometres offshore from Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is 145 km long and between 900 m and 57 km wide, its area covering 4 405 km². Its coastline is 509 km long and highest altitude is 307 m.

Population and Economy

About 4,100 inhabitants live on the island, 1,400 of them in Kingscote in 1991. The economy is mostly agricultural (wine, honey, wool, meat and grain). Besides this tourism and fishing play a role. Kangaroo island is famous for its honey and for being the oldest bee sanctuary in the world. Ligurian bees were imported from the Italian province of Liguria in 1881, and Kangaroo Island now has the only pure strain in the world.

Wildlife and its Protection

More than half of the island has never been cleared of vegetation. About 1/3 is conserved in National and Conservation Parks, including five Wilderness Protection Areas. The main protected areas are:

Because of its isolation from mainland Australia, foxes and rabbits are absent from the island. The Kangaroo Island Kangaroo, Tammar Wallaby, Common Brushtail Possum, Short-beaked Echidna and New Zealand Fur Seal are native to the island, as well as six bat and frog species. The Koala, Common Ringtail Possum and Platypus have been introduced and still survive there. Kangaroo Island had a native species of Emu, the Kangaroo Island Emu; however, it became extinct between 1802 and official European settlement in 1836, perhaps owing to bushfires or from hunting by sealers or whalers.

The introduced Koalas have bred well and are starting to "eat themselves out of house and home". They may require transfer to suitable empty mainland sites, or culling. The government is opposed to this though, blaming the farmers instead for cutting down the eucalyptus trees.

Kangaroo Island is the last South Australian refuge of the endangered Glossy Black Cockatoo.

A list of birds recorded on Kangaroo Island can be found in the List of the birds of Kangaroo Island, South Australia.

Tourism

General Tourist Information is located in Penneshaw, Howard Drive and open 7 days a week.

Places of interest

Seal Bay with ranger guided walks among basking Australian sea lions.
Flinders Chase National Park which includes the Remarkable Rocks, Admiral's Arch, lighthouses at Cape Borda and Cape du Couedic and multiple walking trails and camping areas.
Cape Willoughby.
Kelly Hill Caves with guided cave tours.
Little Sahara, huge sand dunes on the south coast.
the lookout Mount Thisby (officially designated Prospect Hill in 2002 to honour Matthew Flinders's original naming) with a 360 degree view around the island.
Murray Lagoon with its abundant aquatic bird life.

Restrictions

For quarantine reasons it is prohibited to bring honey products and bee-handling equipment to the island. Potatoes brought to the island must be in new packaging and vine cuttings and soil in which grapevines have grown are not to be brought without prior inspection. Rabbits are not permitted on the island. Shoes must be dusted when entering some national and conservation parks to prevent the spread of fungi. Campfires are not permitted within national parks.

Lifestyle

Safe swimming is possible on the northern beaches, such as Emu Bay, Stokes Bay or Snelling Beach. The south coast has dangerous undertows and is not safe for swimming because of shark attacks on the sea lion colonies that are situated there.

Camping is permitted in approved local government camping areas, designated areas within National Parks and caravan parks. In other areas it is prohibited.

Accommodation can be found all across the island and should be booked in advance.

Shops and petrol stations can be found in the major towns: Kingscote, Parndana, American River, Penneshaw (once called Hog Bay) and Vivonne Bay. Basic trading hours are Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to noon.

The major Australian banks have branches in Kingscote. Automatic teller machines (ATM) are situated in Kingscote, Penneshaw and Parndana. Major credit cards are accepted in most places.

Connections to Kangaroo Island

Access to the island is by sea ferry across Backstairs Passage from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw, which takes about 50 minutes. The only commercial airport on the island is near Kingscote.

History

Kangaroo Island was separated from mainland Australia by a rise in sea level about 10,000 years ago. Stone tools found suggest that Aboriginal people occupied the land at least 11,000 years ago; it is supposed that they disappeared in 200 BC. Theories about the cause include disease, warfare, climatic change or exodus.

In 1802 British explorer Matthew Flinders named the land "Kanguroo" Island, after landing near Kangaroo Head on the north coast of Dudley Peninsula.

An unofficial community of sealers and others who had kidnapped Aboriginal women from Tasmania and mainland South Australia was set up on Kangaroo Island from 1802 to the time of official settlement in 1836.

The biggest town on Kangaroo Island is Kingscote, originally established at Reeves Point on 27 July 1836, it is South Australia's first official European settlement.

Climate

The winters between June and September are mild and wet, the summers usually warm and dry. Tempered by the ocean, particularly on the coastline, maximum temperatures in summer rarely exceed 35 degrees celsius. Average temperatures in August range between 13 to 16 degrees and in February, the hottest month, between 20 and 25 degrees. Between May and September the island receives 2/3 of its annual rainfall, varying from 450 mm in Kingscote to around 700 mm near Cape du Couedic. The wettest month is July.

Average Annual Temperature: 11.6 - 19.1°C
Average January Temperature: 14.9 - 23.6°C
Average July Temperature: 8.4 - 14.6°C
Days over 30°C: 10.3
Days over 35°C: 1.6
Days under 2°C: 0.3
Days under 0°C: 0.0
Annual Rainfall: 485.1 mm
Average Annual Windspeed: 14.7 - 17.7 km/h

Kingscote climate averages

External links

Tourism South Australia
Tour Kangaroo Island
Sealink Cape Jervis to Penneshaw ferry service.
South Australia Central
Tourism Australia
Terraserver.com navigable satellite map of Kangaroo Island
Rebe Taylor, Unearthed: The Aboriginal Tasmanians of Kangaroo Island, Kent Town, Wakefield Press, 2002] ISBN 1862545529
- Reference to commentary in The Advertiser of 13 December 2002 p. 19
- ABC Radio National, Hindsight program broadcast 22/02/2004

Islands of Australia | Kangaroo Island | Regions of South Australia

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