Kangaroo Island is known for its amazing native wildlife experiences and some of the best attractions are found in Flinders Chase National Park. It is one of South Australia's oldest national parks and covers 33,000 hectares at the western end of Kangaroo Island. It is important because of its natural state, wildlife, and lack of introduced animals such as foxes and rabbits. Here you can quietly ‘go bush' and see native Australian animals and birds as they were meant to be seen - in the wild. It’s a great place for watching the abundant wildlife, or going bushwalking along trails that open up to stunning beaches - some of which you may just have all to yourself.

 

The park and the adjoining 41,000 hectare Wilderness Protection Area incorporates almost 20 per cent of the island and much of it is home to a variety of fauna and flora unique to Kangaroo Island. You will see plenty of wildlife, including kangaroos, Tamar wallabies, koalas, echidnas and the endangered Cape Barren geese. At Cape du Couedic you can see some of the 10,000 healthy New Zealand fur seals in their colony at Cape du Couedic at close range, and at Rocky River it is possible to view koalas in the nearby trees.

 

The are some scenic geological formations including Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch. The Remarkable Rocks are large wind-sculpted granite boulders balanced dramatically on a granite dome which plunges 75 metres to the Southern Ocean below. At Admirals Arch there is a perfect sweep of rock where the powerful forces of nature have cut through the headland to create this natural arch, where New Zealand fur seals play and the surf pounds.

 

At Cape du Couedic there is a lighthouse which was established in 1909. The nearby lighthouse keepers residence is available for accommodation now that the lighthouse is automated. Make sure you drop into the new award-winning Flinders Chase Visitor Centre located near the entrance of the park. Here you will find an innovative and exciting interpretive centre, friendly staff ready to point you in the right direction of the parks many highlights and an inviting licensed café. The centre contains exhibits that make for an exceptional sensory experience including eye-catching murals portraying life-size megafauna, computer touch screens and touch tables. There is even a fossil dig pit that the kids (including big kids) will love.

 

Don’t forget to visit Point Ellen at Vivonne Bay, which was rated Australia’s best beach when Sydney University evaluated 10,000 beaches across Australia (rating them on things like clarity of water, privacy and cleanliness). Vivonne Bay offers five kilometres of untouched white sandy beaches and incredibly clear water. It is the only safe harbour on the south coast of Kangaroo Island and is used by cray fishing and game fishing boats. Four world record tuna catches have been made off these shores.