How to See Kangaroo Island in a Day
One can catch a ferry from the mainland of South Australia to Kangaroo Island in about 45 minutes or alternatively hop abroad the Queen Mary 2 (read about my time aboard the QM2 here) and cruise in absolute luxury from Melbourne to the island in less than two days - I mean it's a no brainer.
As the island is seven times the size of Singapore and we had only a matter of hours to gain an overview of the island we elected to hire a car. This is a must to really explore the island, especially if you only have a limited time, as the major sights of the island are fairly spread out. Plus, hiring a vehicle provides you with greater flexibility, as opposed to one of the many organised tours that have a fixed schedule.
We picked up the vehicle in the town of Penneshaw, on the east coast of the island, where the tender dropped us off at (and all other ferries coming from the mainland arrive at) and drove first to Vivonne Bay, more specifically the jetty - just over an hour's drive. Unfortunately, it was quite overcast so the images I'd seen of the bluest, clearest water - obviously taken on an idyllic summer's day - was not so.
The next stop was to visit the sandstone Cape du Couedic Lighthouse, in Flinders Chase National Park, on the west coast of the island. This drive took approximately 45 minutes, from Vivonne Bay or an hour and 45 minutes from Penneshaw, where we left from, and where we soon had to return to in only a matter of hours - needless to say, we were always looking at our watches, conscious of time - we didn't really want to miss the boat.
But, this lighthouse. I challenge you, to find a pretty lighthouse. It was perfect; with its little red top. Needless to say, I took a lot of pictures here, especially because the sun had come out.
Literally a thirty-second drive down the road from the lighthouse is what is known as Admirals Arch. Here is an ideal vantage point to observe the New Zealand fur seal colony, that has established itself below the naturally-created landmark.
Further on, still in Flinders Chase National Park is another impressive naturally-created landmark, known as the Remarkable Rocks; they can be seen from Admirals Arch and the lighthouse. It took 500 million years for rain, wind, and pounding waves to create these aptly named granite boulders - truly a sight to behold.
It was then time to head back, to drop off the car and return to the boat, which would embark on its journey back to Melbourne.
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