Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail – 6 Days

Catch the 9.30 flight from Adelaide to Kingscote airport arriving on Kangaroo Island around 10 am.  We will transfer you to your first accommodation where you will pick up lunch and have a safety overview. Today you walk from the visitor’s centre to Rocky River and Snake lagoon through gorgeous eucalypt forest, via swampland and the Platypus pools. Stop for a moment at the rapids and rock pools along the way, and keep an eye out for the stacks of wildlife coming in to take a drink. Expect to see Cape Baron Geese, Wallabies and Kangaroos plus a whole lot more.

Walking: Easy to moderate/ 12km / 3 – 4hrs
Meals: Lunch and two-course dinner
Accommodation: Luxury Cabins at Western Kangaroo Island  Caravan Park with ensuites

From Rocky River, it’s a gentle walk down the river to the Southern Ocean. There’s nothing between here and the Southern Ocean; the wilder the weather, the bigger the show. The views of the massive swells crashing against the cliffs paired with the peacefulness of this splendid remote landscape set the tone for the rest of the walk. From May to September there’s a chance you’ll see whales. The walk follows the coast both on the cliff tops and on the beach eventually heading inland via Hakea Campground to the other side of Cape de Couedic Peninsula. The walk via Weirs Cove and Cape de Couedic Lighthouse to Admirals Arch is one of the real highlights of the trail.

Walking: Moderate with some challenging sections of rocky track / 18.5km / 5.5 – 6.5hrs / 14km option is available
Meals: Breakfast, walkers lunch pack and 2-course dinner
Accommodation: Luxury Cabins at Western Kangaroo Island  Caravan Park with ensuites

Today’s walk starts in a thick Mallee Forrest and arrives at Remarkable Rocks about halfway through the day, making it one of the best lunch destinations in the country. The granite boulders sculptured by the forces of nature have an artistic, almost surrealist feel to them, that would have made Salvadore Dali proud (if he had created them that is). Sanderson Bay and the remote Sanderson Beach is a very peaceful place to wait for your pick up if you are running early.

Walking: Moderate / 13km / 3.5 – 4.5hrs
Meals: Breakfast, walkers lunch pack and 2-course dinner
Accommodation: Luxury Cabins at Western Kangaroo Island  Caravan Park with ensuites

Today’s section is one of the best, if not the best. From Sanderson Bay, it’s back to the coast past Cape Young Husband. The coastal views are stupendous before heading off through cooler mallee and tea tree forest. Today you walk to stunning Hanson Bay and your accommodation. Hanson Bay is one of the most beautiful places on the island. There’s a very safe bay or an estuary to take a swim in, and there are additional beach walks on your doorstep if you feel so inclined. Depending on the time of year, there is likely to be hardly anyone here, so in the evening it’ll feel like having your own private beach.

Walking: Moderate / 11km / 3 – 4hrs
Meals: Breakfast, walkers lunch pack and 2-course dinner
Accommodation: Cabins at Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary with ensuites (alternative accommodation due to fires)

Walk from your accommodation one of 2 ways. Back the way you came in yesterday, along the road and across the South West River on a very ingenious punt-like boat system. Or walk along the beach, over the sandhills and along the river to the same point. The track opens up to large natural grassland, thus the name and an abundance of birdlife. From here we walk around Grassdale Lagoon and then inland to Kelly Hill Caves, through a much taller gumtree forest, before meeting the Burgess Hike. There is a short side-trip here to the old entrance of Kelly Hill Caves. Look out for the many craters which feed water into the caves below. At Kelly Hill Caves Visitor Centre pass through the iron ‘gate’, to mark the end of the 67km Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail.

Walking: Easy to moderate / 11km / 3 – 4hrs
Meals: Breakfast, walkers lunch pack and 2-course dinner
Accommodation: Cabins at Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary with ensuites (alternative accommodation due to fires)

Breakfast is included on your last morning on the island. You will be transferred to the town of Kingscote in the afternoon to explore and have lunch. Your walking holiday finishes with a private transfer to Kingscote airport to catch the evening flight back to Adelaide.

Meals: Breakfast