Hi,
My partner and I are heading to Kangaroo Island over Easter for a total of 11 days. We are planning to rent a car to get around the Island while we are there. I wrote to the Gateway visitor center for some information and got the response below which I wanted to share. But also wanted to post to the forum to see if there are any "must do" hikes on the Island that people would recommend or any other fun stuff people did they would recommend? Any nice accomodation options in the even that we get a lot of rain and don't want to camp one or 2 nights.
I managed to contact Jody Gates directly and she was very helpful and sent me a copy of her book after I direct debited the $ to her. It was the only way I was able to get a copy as the Brisbane libraries didn't have one and you can't loan from the National Libray. It's a great book and worth the $9.95 ex postage if you are keen to see the great hikes on Kangaroo Island.
Title : Kangaroo Island on foot : a guide to the walking trails in Kangaroo Island's parks / by Jody Gates ; illustrations: Rebecca Brown.
> Author : Gates, Jody.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for your enquiry about hiking on KI over Easter. I don’t have access to the Lonely Planet ‘Walking in Australia’ guide, however I assume that the hike you are talking about is from Cape Borda around to West Bay and then on to Cape Du Couedic?
I’ve called the Flinders Chase Visitor Centre to find out whether any sections of this hike are closed and although they’re not, if you are interested in doing this hike then you will need to have a chat to one of the Rangers at Flinders Chase to fill out some paperwork for safety reasons.
As far as walking trail closures goes, the closures still in place after the bushfires we had a couple of years ago are The Oval hike, the Breakneck River hike and the Ravine Des Casoars hike. These hikes are all in the north-western section of Flinders Chase.
Other hikes you may be interested in include:
· The full-day hike that goes between Hanson Bay and Kelly Hill Caves. It’s 18 km long and it runs through a number of different vegetation habitats, from coastal to grassland to bushland.
· A multi-day coastal hike that runs around the coast at D’Estrees Bay. As per the Flinders Chase coastal hike, it is necessary to speak with the Ranger in charge first to discuss safety and fill out paperwork.
Specific details on the multi-day hikes can be obtained from the Flinders Chase Visitor Centre (08 8553 4450) or from the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) office in Kingscote (08 8553 4444).
If you would like, then I am more than happy to post you a copy of the Parks walking guide so that you can have some more information and make more plans? Please let me know if you are interested in this. Also, if you need any more information or have any questions then please call or email us.
Kind Regards and Happy Bushwalking!
Rachel
Information Officer,
Kangaroo Island Gateway Visitor Information Centre-Penneshaw