lying on the rocks, soaking up the sunshine
between fishing swims.
While on the boat you also enjoy the views of
the highest coastal cliffs in Australia, which rise
to 200m in some places. These cliffs define the
island, making it a natural fortress. The layers
of the sedimentary rock in the cliffs go back
millions of years, and display history of when
the island, the mainland and Antarctica were
joint in one land called Gondwana.
If you haven’t spotted sea lions out at sea,
don’t be disheartened. Seal Bay is home to
Australia’s third largest colony of sea lions
and is a must visit while on Kangaroo Island.
An 800m boardwalk offers fantastic views of
the colony, as well as breathtaking scenery
in the distance. Being endemic to South
Australia and the south coast of WA, the
sea lions of Seal Bay are the rarest species
of seals in the world and unfortunately their
breeding pattern is not in their favour for
quick population growth. The females have
the longest gestation period out of all sea lio
species, lasting 18 months, while only being
able to have one pup at a time. This means th
thebreedingseasonchangestimefromyear
toyear,butifyou’reluckyenoughtobevisitin
attherightmoment,you’llbeabletowatch
theseplayfulpupsrollingaroundonthebeacpractising their fighting skills. It is a truly
unbelievable experience to be able to observe
them in their natural environment, going on
about their day to day business.INTO THE DIRT
Once you’ve explored the island from the
outside, it’s time to get inland. For an island
that size it’s not surprising that it has plenty
to offer. Whether you’re a keen 4WDer or like
to hike, there’s something for you. Our pick
was a quad bike adventure, and gee did we
have fun! With sand and gravel tracks, open
grassland, winding tacks through the nativernshatngh,Millions of years of history
bushland and rocky climbs and descends, the
island is a quad biking paradise.
After a couple of hours of fun using the power
of quads we decide to test our own quad muscles
climbing sand dunes. Little Sahara is the place to
do it, with natural sand dunes rising up to 70m
tall, it’s a sand-boarding heaven. The way down is
fun, fast and exciting. Expect to fall over a couple
of times too, but getting dug into the sand is
all part of the fun. The way up is much tougher
though, knee-deep in the sand, it’s a workout
not for the faint-hearted. After an hour we feel
like we’ve done our exercising for the day, so we
head further.“Being endemic to South Australia and the south coast of
WA, the sea lions of Seal Bay are the rarest species of seals
in the world ”