Koalas, Kangaroos, and Kookaburras... Oh My!
October 26, 2011 1:52 PM Subscribe
Tell me everything you know about Kangaroo Island! Side question: If this seems too good to be true, is it?
We've booked a trip to the South Pacific for our honeymoon and my husband's 30th birthday (yay! woo!) We're probably not going to get back down that way for quite a long time, and we'd really, really like to see some marsupials and monotremes in their natural habitat while we're there. I have heard Kangaroo Island is maybe the best place to do this, but I'd love to hear from people with firsthand experience. Where should we stay if we go? How long should we try to stay? What do we need to book ahead, and what is best done once we get there? How do we get there (we'll be flying from Queenstown or Auckland)? Where can we see a platypus, an echidna, kangaroos, koalas, and wallabies? Who should we talk to about guided wildlife hikes? Is there somewhere I can pay someone to let me snuggle a baby koala?
Some of these questions have been cursorily covered by my Google sleuthing, but I'm specifically looking for firsthand experience here. We'll be visiting in mid-March 2012.
Now, the side question: I found accommodation in a nice-looking little cottage that's ridiculously affordable at $100/night. Is this too good to be true? Is there something wrong with this location that I'm not picking up on? I'm in love with the idea of hanging out in a romantic cottage and cooking fancy meals and doing honeymoon things while we're not hiking around the bush seeing amazing creatures, but please let me know if there are flaws in this plan. Preemptive thanks for all of your help, Aussies, and MeMail me your address for a postcard!
We've booked a trip to the South Pacific for our honeymoon and my husband's 30th birthday (yay! woo!) We're probably not going to get back down that way for quite a long time, and we'd really, really like to see some marsupials and monotremes in their natural habitat while we're there. I have heard Kangaroo Island is maybe the best place to do this, but I'd love to hear from people with firsthand experience. Where should we stay if we go? How long should we try to stay? What do we need to book ahead, and what is best done once we get there? How do we get there (we'll be flying from Queenstown or Auckland)? Where can we see a platypus, an echidna, kangaroos, koalas, and wallabies? Who should we talk to about guided wildlife hikes? Is there somewhere I can pay someone to let me snuggle a baby koala?
Some of these questions have been cursorily covered by my Google sleuthing, but I'm specifically looking for firsthand experience here. We'll be visiting in mid-March 2012.
Now, the side question: I found accommodation in a nice-looking little cottage that's ridiculously affordable at $100/night. Is this too good to be true? Is there something wrong with this location that I'm not picking up on? I'm in love with the idea of hanging out in a romantic cottage and cooking fancy meals and doing honeymoon things while we're not hiking around the bush seeing amazing creatures, but please let me know if there are flaws in this plan. Preemptive thanks for all of your help, Aussies, and MeMail me your address for a postcard!
Best answer: I've been to Kangaroo Island, and you do indeed see a lot of animals. (At least I did, the time I was there). We were only there for a day and saw echidnas, kangaroos, and wallabies. Didn't seek out the koalas because I have those in my backyard. That said, I'm not sure what times of year are best or anything like that. We went in April, so it shouldn't be too different from March(?). It is a really great place to visit; I was mainly sad that we couldn't spend more than a day.
The one thing I will note is that the ferry ride over was unexpectedly expensive. We drove down from Adelaide and took the car over to the island (which I highly recommend; it's great to be able to drive around Kangaroo Island on your own). Here's the link to the ferry; if you know when you want to cross, it also might not hurt to reserve things in advance, otherwise you might find yourself bumped to the next one - they do it in order of arrival. We didn't reserve and it was fine, but we were waiting a lot longer than we had planned.
posted by forza at 3:00 PM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
The one thing I will note is that the ferry ride over was unexpectedly expensive. We drove down from Adelaide and took the car over to the island (which I highly recommend; it's great to be able to drive around Kangaroo Island on your own). Here's the link to the ferry; if you know when you want to cross, it also might not hurt to reserve things in advance, otherwise you might find yourself bumped to the next one - they do it in order of arrival. We didn't reserve and it was fine, but we were waiting a lot longer than we had planned.
posted by forza at 3:00 PM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oh, and as for where to see the animals - we were pretty aimless. We just drove around and went on hikes where it looked like it would be nice. I'm sure if you were more targeted than we were you would have even better luck. The whole island is fairly beautiful.
posted by forza at 3:02 PM on October 26, 2011
posted by forza at 3:02 PM on October 26, 2011
Best answer: The cottage is legit - friends have stayed there and said it was lovely :)
posted by ozgirlabroad at 3:23 PM on October 26, 2011
posted by ozgirlabroad at 3:23 PM on October 26, 2011
I wanted to go to Kangaroo Island in 2007, but a lot of the island caught fire, so they closed the ferry. March is towards the end of bushfire season, but be aware that if there are fires you might have to change your plans rapidly.
I'd definitely recommend hiring a car in Adelaide as the drive down is just wonderful. There's lots of opportunity to stock up on wine at the vineyards on your way down, if that's your thing. I recall when we drove down we were recommended to buy groceries and food and fuel on the mainland, because of the much higher prices on the island.
You'll see wallabies, kangaroos and maybe echidnas if you go walking, and the odds of seeing penguins and seals are pretty high too, I understand, if you go to Seal Bay. Also: lots of snakes, lizards, and birds. Platypus are nocturnal and very shy so you're much less likely to spot them, and if you do see one swimming you've been very lucky.
Is there somewhere I can pay someone to let me snuggle a baby koala?
Your best bet to get close to a koala is probably one of the zoos; I can see the Adelaide Zoo has one, Taronga in Sydney has lots, and (again in Sydney) Wildlife World advertise koala-patting though they note that cuddling is now against NSW's animal regulations. Just between you and me and metafilter, though, koalas aren't very pleasant. They're sharp-clawed, aggressive and they can smell pretty rank.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:41 PM on October 26, 2011
I'd definitely recommend hiring a car in Adelaide as the drive down is just wonderful. There's lots of opportunity to stock up on wine at the vineyards on your way down, if that's your thing. I recall when we drove down we were recommended to buy groceries and food and fuel on the mainland, because of the much higher prices on the island.
You'll see wallabies, kangaroos and maybe echidnas if you go walking, and the odds of seeing penguins and seals are pretty high too, I understand, if you go to Seal Bay. Also: lots of snakes, lizards, and birds. Platypus are nocturnal and very shy so you're much less likely to spot them, and if you do see one swimming you've been very lucky.
Is there somewhere I can pay someone to let me snuggle a baby koala?
Your best bet to get close to a koala is probably one of the zoos; I can see the Adelaide Zoo has one, Taronga in Sydney has lots, and (again in Sydney) Wildlife World advertise koala-patting though they note that cuddling is now against NSW's animal regulations. Just between you and me and metafilter, though, koalas aren't very pleasant. They're sharp-clawed, aggressive and they can smell pretty rank.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:41 PM on October 26, 2011
My parents stayed in a lighthouse keeper's cottage on Kangaroo Island - I assume this one. It's about double the one you're looking at, but on the upside, it's a lighthouse keeper's cottage.
I haven't been to the island itself, but have spent heaps of time in the area between Adelaide & there, and second the idea of hiring a car so you can stock up on wines & foodie delights in McLaren Vale. If you have time, The Coorong nearby is worth a look as well.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:24 PM on October 26, 2011
I haven't been to the island itself, but have spent heaps of time in the area between Adelaide & there, and second the idea of hiring a car so you can stock up on wines & foodie delights in McLaren Vale. If you have time, The Coorong nearby is worth a look as well.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:24 PM on October 26, 2011
Far be it for me to knock your great sounding idea on the head, but there are far easier and more accessible ways to see marsupials in their natural habitat.
Kangaroos, koalas and wallabies can be seen pretty much all over SE Australia (in parks and reserves), while you'd be very lucky to see a platypus in the wild, they're fairly nocturnal.
Please come to Australia and enjoy our wildlife, but don't feel you have to go to the relatively remote Kangaroo island to do it.
If you do want to go there, definitely the way to go is via a flight to Adelaide and then car rental.
But what about flying to Melbourne, seeing the penguins, going for a bushwalk in Kinglake National park, going to Healesville Sanctuary, going to French island for some Koalas...
posted by wilful at 6:44 PM on October 26, 2011
Kangaroos, koalas and wallabies can be seen pretty much all over SE Australia (in parks and reserves), while you'd be very lucky to see a platypus in the wild, they're fairly nocturnal.
Please come to Australia and enjoy our wildlife, but don't feel you have to go to the relatively remote Kangaroo island to do it.
If you do want to go there, definitely the way to go is via a flight to Adelaide and then car rental.
But what about flying to Melbourne, seeing the penguins, going for a bushwalk in Kinglake National park, going to Healesville Sanctuary, going to French island for some Koalas...
posted by wilful at 6:44 PM on October 26, 2011
I used to live maybe an hour from KI and went there a lot for quick weekend breaks with my family. It is amazing and well worth the trip, I have taken people there from Germany and the US that have seen many other parts of Australia but nothing else compares.
The rent for the apartment seems reasonable, though things will depend on just what is included in the price, sometimes you have to pay extra for bedding and kitchen utensils.
Air New Zealand flies directly from Auckland to Adelaide, is very reasonably priced and very comfortable, though not much leg room on the Airbuses, it is only a 4 hour flight so not so bad.
The suggestion of hiring a car in Adelaide and driving down through the Southern Vales is a great one, if you like wine allow some time to stop and do some wine tasting.
March is the end of summer so the countryside will be very dry and it will still be pretty hot, which can be a bit of a shock if you are from somewhere lush, and there will be fire bans etc to take into consideration. Swimming off of KI can be dangerous as there are lots of rips and currents so make sure you swim only at swimming beaches and be careful. Also the live footage for sharks in Jaws was filmed off the coast there so that might make you think twice about swimming, though you can go on shark watching tours.
The island is packed with seals, penguins, kangaroos, koalas and numerous other wildlife, and there is a huge range of tours on the island you can go on. My mother took my nephew a few months ago and in one day they went to a wildlife park and, saw remarkable rocks, went caving, saw seals, and after dinner went out to see little penguins returning to their burrows.
You would probably only need a day or 2 on the island, though if you like good food and wine South Australia has lots of great places to go, and Adelaide is only a days drive from the Flinders Ranges which is breathtakingly beautiful and has some of the oldest fossils in the world. If you like bushwaking/hiking and seeing wildlife it's an amazing place to go too, you don't even have to hike as you can see flocks of emus just driving around. Up the coast that way you can also do more shark sight seeing, or seal viewing, a bit later in the year there is whale watching too. There is also some amazing seafood if you like that.
I've seen Echidnas all around the place South of Adelaide though they can be hard to see as they blend in very well, you will probably not see Platypuses in the wild they are very hard to see wild, and are rare to find even in zoos as they are hard to keep. Taronga Zoo in Sydney had some last time I was there but that was a long time ago.
There is also a beautiful drive between Adelaide and Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road. Amazing scenery.
OK I sound like an tourist bureau ad for South Australia, but I'm super homesick and think it's a great place, please feel free Memail me if you want more ideas or info.
posted by wwax at 7:58 PM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
The rent for the apartment seems reasonable, though things will depend on just what is included in the price, sometimes you have to pay extra for bedding and kitchen utensils.
Air New Zealand flies directly from Auckland to Adelaide, is very reasonably priced and very comfortable, though not much leg room on the Airbuses, it is only a 4 hour flight so not so bad.
The suggestion of hiring a car in Adelaide and driving down through the Southern Vales is a great one, if you like wine allow some time to stop and do some wine tasting.
March is the end of summer so the countryside will be very dry and it will still be pretty hot, which can be a bit of a shock if you are from somewhere lush, and there will be fire bans etc to take into consideration. Swimming off of KI can be dangerous as there are lots of rips and currents so make sure you swim only at swimming beaches and be careful. Also the live footage for sharks in Jaws was filmed off the coast there so that might make you think twice about swimming, though you can go on shark watching tours.
The island is packed with seals, penguins, kangaroos, koalas and numerous other wildlife, and there is a huge range of tours on the island you can go on. My mother took my nephew a few months ago and in one day they went to a wildlife park and, saw remarkable rocks, went caving, saw seals, and after dinner went out to see little penguins returning to their burrows.
You would probably only need a day or 2 on the island, though if you like good food and wine South Australia has lots of great places to go, and Adelaide is only a days drive from the Flinders Ranges which is breathtakingly beautiful and has some of the oldest fossils in the world. If you like bushwaking/hiking and seeing wildlife it's an amazing place to go too, you don't even have to hike as you can see flocks of emus just driving around. Up the coast that way you can also do more shark sight seeing, or seal viewing, a bit later in the year there is whale watching too. There is also some amazing seafood if you like that.
I've seen Echidnas all around the place South of Adelaide though they can be hard to see as they blend in very well, you will probably not see Platypuses in the wild they are very hard to see wild, and are rare to find even in zoos as they are hard to keep. Taronga Zoo in Sydney had some last time I was there but that was a long time ago.
There is also a beautiful drive between Adelaide and Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road. Amazing scenery.
OK I sound like an tourist bureau ad for South Australia, but I'm super homesick and think it's a great place, please feel free Memail me if you want more ideas or info.
posted by wwax at 7:58 PM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: When I rented a car and drove to Kangaroo Island the rental agency made a point of telling me "Don't take it on a ferry!" I thought about leaving it at the dock and renting another on KI, but opted not to (and good thing; they were all out on the island!) and just ferried it across without no worries. And I certainly wasn't the only one.
I went originally for two days but ended up having so much fun and enjoying the chilled atmosphere so much I stayed for five.
You'll see incidental animals along the way as you drive, but to make sure you get all your animal watching done definitely go to a zoo.
Have lots of fun, take lots of pictures! (That cottage looks great, by the way)
posted by barnacles at 10:45 PM on October 26, 2011
I went originally for two days but ended up having so much fun and enjoying the chilled atmosphere so much I stayed for five.
You'll see incidental animals along the way as you drive, but to make sure you get all your animal watching done definitely go to a zoo.
Have lots of fun, take lots of pictures! (That cottage looks great, by the way)
posted by barnacles at 10:45 PM on October 26, 2011
Anywhere in Australia remotely close to bushland will let you see marsupials in the wild, even if that bushland is smack in the middle of an urban area. If that place also happens to have regular tourists, chances are good that some of the larger animals (roos, wallabies, possums) are tame - at least, they're happy to let you walk up to them and pat them.
For example, here in Canberra I can duck out to Tidbinbilla and have emu walking around the car park, koalas in the trees and platypus in the water. I can walk around the corner from my house in the suburbs and see huge mobs of roos and wallabies jumping around reserves. Magpies come through my goddamned back door and steal food off the kitchen bench. We were at the coast near Batemans Bay a few weeks ago and the kids got to pet wild wallabies on the beach. There's nothing special about Canberra in that regard - I've done the same in Sydney, and Brisbane, and Townsville...
There are little cottages like that all over the country, so don't feel you can only get the experience you've described on Kangaroo Island. You can get it anywhere in Australia. (Not bagging Kangaroo Island, just saying that it's far from your only option!)
posted by obiwanwasabi at 3:22 AM on October 27, 2011
For example, here in Canberra I can duck out to Tidbinbilla and have emu walking around the car park, koalas in the trees and platypus in the water. I can walk around the corner from my house in the suburbs and see huge mobs of roos and wallabies jumping around reserves. Magpies come through my goddamned back door and steal food off the kitchen bench. We were at the coast near Batemans Bay a few weeks ago and the kids got to pet wild wallabies on the beach. There's nothing special about Canberra in that regard - I've done the same in Sydney, and Brisbane, and Townsville...
There are little cottages like that all over the country, so don't feel you can only get the experience you've described on Kangaroo Island. You can get it anywhere in Australia. (Not bagging Kangaroo Island, just saying that it's far from your only option!)
posted by obiwanwasabi at 3:22 AM on October 27, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! We went ahead and booked four nights at that cottage, and we'll take your advice and rent a car to drive down from Adelaide. If you have specific recommendations for places to stop on the way down, feel free to send them my way. We're also going to take a couple of days to stop in Flinders Range on the way back to NZ.
posted by booknerd at 11:55 AM on October 31, 2011
posted by booknerd at 11:55 AM on October 31, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
I'd book the NZ to Adelaide flights early to get the best deals and note the need for a ferry to get to the Island.
Congratulations and have fun!
posted by the fish at 2:26 PM on October 26, 2011