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| 7-12 February |
Day 1: Adelaide
On Wednesday morning, Tom and I, along with my parents, made our way to the airport for a one-hour flight to Adelaide. We dropped our bags at our charming East End cottage, and set off on foot.
The capital city of Adelaide is bursting with culture, flavours, and events. It's a gateway to some of Australia’s best wine country and a culinary playground of fine dining restaurants, award-winning cafes, bustling food markets, and boutique bars.
The CBD is smartly laid out in an intuitive grid system that is fully surrounded by parks and gardens. The public transit system is inexpensive and easy to learn. Despite the desert climate, the city was green from recent rains.
We grabbed lunch at the Adelaide Central Market. With over 70 traders under one roof, it is one of the largest undercover produce markets in the Southern Hemisphere, buzzing with life and colour year-round. It is Adelaide’s premier food destination for multicultural cuisine and fresh produce.
With full stomachs, we marched on to the JamFactory in the West End Creative Precinct. For 50 years, this unique nonprofit has been supporting and promoting innovative craft and design through studios, galleries, exhibitions, and shops. Studios in ceramics, glass, furniture, and jewellery and metal provide a two-year associate program for artists, as well as independent studio spaces for emerging talent.
Afterwards, we walked through the outdoor Rundle Mall.
That evening, we strolled down Hutt Street and stopped for dinner at Mediterranean restaurant, Ballaboosta. I suspected that the food scene might fall short outside of Melbourne, but I was pleasantly surprised!
Day 2: Adelaide Hills
SA is home to 18 wine regions and has been aptly named a Great Wine Capital of the World. Just 20 minutes from the CBD lies Adelaide Hills, with its country views and leafy towns.
Hahndorf is Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement. We enjoyed the charming main street, lined with heritage buildings, shops, bakeries, and pubs.
Since 1839, six generations have lived on the Beerenberg family farm. Today, the farm is famous for strawberry picking, but visitors are also welcome to drop by the cafe with homemade jams, chutneys, relishes, and sauces made on site. 
On our drive back to town, we stopped for a swim at Glenelg. Adelaide's favourite city beach is just a 20-minute tram ride from the CBD; the equivalent of Melbourne's St. Kilda. School holidays had just ended, so the beach was very quiet.
Day 3: Cape Willoughby
The next morning, Mom delighted me with a vegan croissant from Coffee & Croissant. Following breakfast, we packed up the car and drove 1.5 hours south to Cape Jervis. We boarded the ferry at 9am for a 45-minute bumpy crossing to Kangaroo Island. Flying into Kingscote and hiring a car from there is another option.
From Penneshaw, we drove 30 minutes southeast to Cape Willoughby conservation park. The lighthouse was built in 1852 on the easternmost point of the island. The visitor centre includes a museum room and trailhead for a 2-km walk. Kangaroos live here!
We lunched at nearby cellar door, False Cape Wines.
From there, it was 15 minutes to our rustic nature retreat in Pelican Lagoon--also inhabited by mobs of kangaroos and wallabies!
That evening, we travelled an hour to the north coast's Snelling Beach. Gastronomo artfully combines the magic of outdoor dining with a flourish of theatre and new, unexpected tastes, nestled within the limbs of an enchanting fig tree. Over 120 years old, the tree's colossal gnarled limbs and canopy of leaves have formed natural rooms to dine during the summer months. It's a truly unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Day 4: Flinders Chase National Park
We explored the south coast on Saturday. Seal Bay has been home to an Australian sea lion population for thousands of years. A new pup had just been born less than 24 hours before our visit!
We explored the south coast on Saturday. Seal Bay has been home to an Australian sea lion population for thousands of years. A new pup had just been born less than 24 hours before our visit!
We grabbed lunch at the Vivonne Bay general store. Once voted Australia’s best beach, Vivonne Bay’s 6-km beach is the perfect spot to soak in the best of island life. Here, white sandy shores meet gently lapping waves.
At the wild and rugged western end of the island, Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is a privately-owned conservancy that has protected the native flora and fauna within its boundaries since 1997. Jim led us on a guided walking tour of the area. I was quickly taken by his palpable, genuine affection for the animals.
Bushfires have played an integral part in shaping the ecology of the Australian landscape for millions of years. Many native plant species are adapted to survive, regenerate, and thrive after fire. The scorching summer of 2020, however, caused KI's largest fire in recorded history. The "Black Summer" bushfires ravaged the island over several weeks, burning nearly half the island.
Koalas have been on KI for a century, but the population dropped 90% after the fire. They sleep 19 hours a day, and change trees every night or so. When not sleeping, they eat eucalyptus leaves from the Manna Gum trees. These leaves are toxic, but koalas have very specific food preferences based on their gut bacteria. They also poop constantly--10 pellets an hour! Their closest relative is the wombat, and babies stay with their mom for the first year of life, gradually transitioning from pouch, to front, to back.
Two rare birds live in this area--the Glossy Black-cockatoo and Cape Barren Goose. The Glossy Blacks are endangered due to loss of habitat. A recovery program has helped the population recover and grow to around 450 birds. During the day, they feed in Casuarina trees, on she-oak seeds. At dusk, flocks return to their Sugar Gum nesting habitat.
Next door is Flinders Chase National Park, named after British explorer, Matthew Flinders--one of the first European explorers to set foot on the island. Covering an area of more than 326 square km, the protected sanctuary is inhabited by native kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, goannas, and the elusive platypus. The Black Summer bushfires burnt 96% of the park, but nature is resilient. The bush is regenerating, with green shoots emerging out of a blackened landscape.
The Cape du Couedic lighthouse was constructed between 1906-1909 from 2,000 pieces of local stone. For many of its early years, the site was inaccessible by land. Stores and materials brought by boat to Weirs Cove were hauled up to the lighthouse by a flying fox winching system.
At Cape du Couedic, a colony of long-nosed fur seals live at the stalactite-covered Admirals Arch.
Remarkable Rocks is a striking coastal rock formation of giant boulders. The natural formations lie atop a remnant granite outcrop. The orange and red hues are a photographer's delight, especially at sunset.
Day 5: Emu Bay
On Sunday, we breakfasted at So Sando in Kingscote--the main town on the island. For the next several hours, we enjoyed the calm waters of the north coast's Emu Bay.
At 4:30pm, we embarked on the ferry crossing to the mainland. Fortunately, the return journey was smoother, and we caught a glimpse of a dolphin pod! Bottlenose Dolphins are common year-round in the waters surrounding KI, particularly along the north and eastern coast.
SA is wonderful, and we are all keen to return. Two important things to note for future trips to KI:
- The island is big, and most roads are dirt. Most importantly, it is dangerous to drive at night due to nocturnal wildlife. To minimise driving, I recommend navigating the island in a circle over at least three nights.
- The island is remote. It's not always easy to find food and water, and cell reception is spotty. Don't forget sunscreen and bug spray!
