South Australia (Southeast Region)

Flinders Chase National Park, South Australia’s largest, occupies the entire western end of the island. It became a park as early as 1919, and in the 1920s and 1930s koalas, platypuses, emus and Cape Barren geese from the Bass Strait islands were introduced. The land is mainly sugar gum forest, but the Rocky River Visitors Centre (daily: June–Aug 10am–5pm; Sept–May 9am–5pm; park entry fee $6.50) is surrounded by open grasslands where large numbers of kangaroos and geese graze. Koala signs lead to a glade of trees, where you’ll see the creatures swaying high up, within binocular range. 

Conservation Areas

• Admiral's Arch Admiral's Arch is a magnificent natural arch sculpted by the elements. At Cape du Couedic , it is the playground for groups of New Zealand Fur Seals, which laze on the rocks nearby.
• Cape Borda Lighthouse Opened in 1858, this lighthouse stands on a cliff 155 metres above the sea on the far western end of the island. Nearby stands a small cannon, once used to warn ships of danger. The cemetery close by has thirteen headstones, a stark reminder of the hardships faced by the early settlers. The Cape Borda Heritage Museum displays a collection of relics which depicts the daily life of the settlement and explains the operation of the lighthouse.

• Cape Du Couedic Lighthouse This automatic lighthouse was built in 1906. The remains of a jetty, water tank and storeroom are nearby at Weirs Cove. From here, building materials and other supplies were sent by flying fox to the top of the cliffs. In 1835 the island's largest shipwreck occurred nearby.
• Remarkable Rocks The name says it all, sculpted by the force of wind and sea, Remarkable Rocks at Cape du Couedic stand on a massive granite dome.
• Rocky River Rocky River is a small cleared area in the heart of a forest of the national park, known for large numbers of Kangaroo Island kangaroos and Cape Barren geese that go there to feed. The kangaroos are mostly docile and visitors can hand-feed them. Other animals in the area include emus and koalas. Park Headquarters are at Rocky River.

• Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park Covering the expanse of exposed southern coast from Bales Beach to Cape Linois, Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park extends inland to Murray Lagoon. Thousands of years of elemental action have carved high cliffs and caves along its coasts. Here the vegetation consists of hardy heath. Further inland, mallee provides shelter for kangaroos, bandicoots, pigmy possums and marsupial mice. Only bushwalkers can gain access to this park.

• D'Etsrees Bay This is an attractive, long sweep of beach on the south-eastern side of the island, once the site of a whaling station. Subject to the might of the Southern Ocean, its shores have been the location of several shipwrecks. Today, D'Estrees Bay is popular with anglers and shell collectors after the elusive nautilus shell. Many hours can be spent exploring its length of beach.

• Murray Lagoon An important wildlife haven in Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park, Murray Lagoon covers as much as 2,000 hectares after winter rains. It is a food and breeding area for more than two hundred bird species. Walking trails around the lagoon allow visitors to see many of them. At the park's headquarters at the Seagers Road entrance. Displays provide information about plant identification and the birdlife.

• Kelly Hill Conservation ParkStunted coastal heath and hardy mallee thrive in this park, a large section of undulating limestone ridges on the western edge of the island before Flinders Chase National Park. Walking trails wind through the park to the coast and to the historic village of Grassdale, while at Kelly Hill, an extensive area of caves, caverns and sinkholes is the park's most popular attraction.
• Kelly Hill Caves This popular area features sink holes and caverns which lead to caves of ornate calcite formations. The Kelly Hill Caves contain weird and wonderfully shaped straws, stalactites, stalagmites and strangely contorted helectites. Guided tours are conducted daily and visitors will hear about the history of the caves. Cement paths allow for easy manoeuvring through the cave system.

• Seal Bay Conservation Park Seal Bay is famous for its large colony of rare Australian Sea Lions, estimated to comprise ten percent of the world population of the species. The inhabitants are relatively tame, and do tolerate human incursion into their midst. Nonetheless, they can be dangerous and entrance into the area is restricted to minimise disturbance to both the mammals and their breeding. Guided tours take visitors closer to the large mammals. A Ranger's hut above the beach provides information on the sea lions' living habits. The full length of Seal Bay Conservation Park has been declared an Aquatic Reserve swimming and fishing are prohibited.

• Little Sahara The Little Sahara is an area, not far off the road to Seal Bay, of spectacular white sand dunes completely surrounded by bushland. Surmount the first ridge and you're confronted by a second, larger one with more to follow for as far as the eye can see.