KI’s wild beaches, historic lighthouses and rugged scenery have been accessed in the past by ranger-supervised roads and pathways. But much of the terrain remained inaccessible to visitors until this year. Opened to the public in May, the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail, a nearly 38-mile, five-day hike, ushers audacious trekkers on a botanically distinctive immersion into the island’s southwest side.
Footers can expect to walk roughly four to seven hours a day, passing colorful flowers dotting heaths, splendid sugar gum trees, acacias and scores of indigenous plant life. In this timeless setting, they’ll likely spot kangaroos, goanna lizards and spiny echidnas. From cliff rims, they’ll peer into the Southern Ocean, where sharks lurk and schools of salmon cluster in flowerlike, protective formations.
The trail includes four camping areas, each outfitted with 24 tent platforms: 12 for self-guided walkers (who must reserve a spot in advance) and 12 for tour operators, who also can arrange lodging options off the trail; www.kangarooislandwildernesstrail.sa.gov.au/home.
Independent trekkers pay about $124 to do the walk; the cost includes the park entry fee, car parking at the Flinders Chase visitor center, and a trail guide and map.
KI is accessible both by air and by ferry; www.tourkangarooisland.com.au.