Kangaroo Island Photography Safari, South Australia

Photographing Kangaroo Island offers so much – rural landscapes, diverse bush, macro opportunities of tiny terrestrial orchids, spectacular coastline, and of course, extraordinary wildlife. 

Explore iconic places and local gems, and be at the right place at the right time. Our long history of guiding means you access wild images, usually only possible in captive settings. Your guide will work with you to get the best from your Island visit and ensure you enjoy excellent local food and wine.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Experienced and enthusiastic local guides
• Flinders Chase National Park and the iconic Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch
• A Zodiac trip to learn about the Citizen Science project, which tracks wild bottle-nosed dolphins using video and digital images
• Cygnet Park – a large-scale bio-diverse rewilding project important in the conservation of the local glossy-black cockatoo
• Private guided access to Seal Bay Conservation Park and the Australian sea-lion colony
• Meeting local ecologists and learning about the role played by trail cameras in post-fire wildlife recovery surveys
• Excellent alfresco dining with local food and wine

AT A GLANCE

Travel Dates

24–26 April 2022
2–4 December 2022
(If the dates listed are not suitable, please contact our team travel@australiangeographic.com.au or call 1300 241 141 to enquire about alternative dates if you prefer to travel with your own private party)

Activity Level

Easy 

Duration

3 days, 2 nights

Prices

From $2740 per person twin share
From $340 single supplement

Group size

Minimum 4, maximum 10 guests

Featuring region

Kangaroo Island, South Australia

ITINERARY

Day 1 – Welcome to Kangaroo Island

Pick ups will commence from the hotel or airport from 9.00am. If you would like to arrive in Kangaroo Island earlier, contact our friendly team to book additional nights for your stay on Kangaroo Island. The tour begins with a visit to Duck Lagoon, a freshwater habitat for ducks (regular haunt for freckled ducks when they disperse from outback waterways), swans and a range of other species. Classic Australian landscapes abound with massive red gums reflected in still waters. These stately gums are home to pardalotes and a range of honeyeaters, including the white-eared, white-naped and brown-headed. This is also a prime spot for koalas, which are partial to the eucalyptus along the creek line.

Continue to a nearby private sanctuary known as Cygnet Park, where a large scale habitat restoration project has converted former pasture into diverse wildlife habitat. Get an orientation to the Island as your guide prepares a delicious barbeque of fresh fish, halloumi, grilled potatoes and salad, served with some choice local wines.

After lunch, board a rigid-hulled inflatable boat operated by Kangaroo Island Marine Adventures to explore the island from the ocean. Photographic opportunities incorporate coastal landscapes, raptors (white-bellied sea-eagles are the most frequently encountered species), cormorants, long-nosed fur-seals and bottle-nosed dolphins. Seasonally, this can include a “swim with dolphins” experience, which offers underwater photography opportunities in shallow water for guests with the appropriate equipment.

End the day on the north coast in the Stokes Bay valley, seeking out the opportunity to photograph Kangaroo Island kangaroos as they emerge to feed.

Accommodation: Kangaroo Island Lodge. Deluxe water view room.

Morning tea and lunch provided.

Day 2 – Flinders Chase National Park, Remarkable Rocks and Admiral’s Arch

After breakfast, experience the southwestern end of the Island and the vast Flinders Chase National Park, a wilderness covering nearly 200,000 acres. On the journey west, keep an eye out for yellow-tailed black-cockatoos feeding either in banksias or radiata pines.

Explore the massive natural sculptures of Remarkable Rocks, set amid coastal heath grading into mallee providing a photographic location. The rounded tors with iconic orange-red lichens are a favourite destination for photographers from around the globe.

Lunch is a picnic enjoyed in the bush and consists of marinated poached chicken, fresh salads, cheeses and fantastic South Australian wine, beer, soft drinks and spring water.

Cape du Couedic provides occasional access to oceanic species such as albatross and shearwaters during strong southerly gales. A range of terns typically roost close to Admiral’s Arch, a spectacular sea cave with the site providing excellent positions to photograph crested, caspian and fairy terns. In recent years there have also been Antarctic and white-fronted terns here. This is an excellent vantage point to photograph the long-nosed fur-seals with territorial battles in males peaking over January at the height of the breeding season which runs from November to February.

Accommodation: Kangaroo Island Lodge. Deluxe water view room.

Morning tea and lunch provided.

Day 3 – Seal Bay, Murray Lagoon, D’Estrees Bay and American River

After breakfast, the day commences with a visit to an Australian sea lion colony at Seal Bay. These photogenic residents bask on a white sandy beach protected by offshore reefs and headlands which provide critical breeding areas. There are ample opportunities to take photos of mothers and their pups, regardless of season as they have a continuous breeding cycle. The beach is also home to birds such as hooded dotterels, crested and Caspian terns, sooty oystercatchers and a number of cormorants.

Murray Lagoon, the island’s largest wetland, is home to an array of bush and water birds and offers a suite of seasonally-diverse landscapes well worth exploring.

D’Estrees Bay is a long sweeping beach which goes from a gentle protected marine meadow with a seagrass strewn beach often frequented by hooded dotterels, right through to a high energy exposed coast to the south. Along the way is Point Tinline which has an eastern osprey nest which has been in continuous use since at least 1853.

Lunch today is a gourmet picnic, served with fresh salad and fantastic local wine, beer, soft drinks and spring water.

Further south are more exposed beaches, followed by a protected lagoon, providing amazing reflections of roosting terns. November through March, it is often frequented by visiting waders such as golden plovers and ruddy turnstones. Depending on conditions, local surfers often frequent a break at the southern end of the bay so we can check on the opportunity for some action shots.

The slopes above American River provide habitat for glossy black-cockatoos, galahs, beautiful firetails, scarlet robins and crimson rosellas. The protected shores provide feeding habitat for many birds. Significant aggregations of black swans, pelicans, musk ducks and a range of waders are common. We have some time to get in those last valuable shots before making our way back to the airport for your departure. Why not stay longer and have some time to explore, ask our friendly team for suggestions.

Morning tea and lunch provided.

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

• 3 full days private touring with exceptional, enthusiastic and knowledgeable Kangaroo Island guides
• Home baked morning teas, daily lunches with quality seafood bbq and local produce, chicken picnic with South Australian wines, beer and soft drinks
• Kangaroo Island Marine Adventures – Half day private charter
• All admission fees included.

COSTS DO NOT INCLUDE:

• Domestic or international airfares
• Pre-registration, late check-out or day use at hotels other than specified above
• Guide services other than specified
• Meals/beverages other than specified
• Tips & gratuities
• Optional tours/services.

COVID-19

Until further notice: from 1st October 2021 we will require that all participants on our tours must be fully vaccinated with a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved vaccine against Covid-19 with the final dose administered no later than two weeks prior to departure. See terms and conditions for more details.

• Accommodation and meals: Strict hygiene conditions apply to the way accommodation is prepared for your stay and in the serving of meals.
• Vehicles, hygiene & social distancing: all activities will involve careful adherence to cleanliness. Hand sanitiser will be available in many locations and in all land-based vehicles and water-based vessels. Social distancing will always be an issue on board vehicles and vessels; it would be sensible for you to bring your own face masks and hand sanitiser. We may not fill all seats in a vehicle to allow for social distancing.
• The SA government approved COVID-19 Safety Plan is in place and all suppliers are Covid Clean accredited.