Western’s View Penneshaw review | SA’s Great Travel Planner

Sitting in front of a warming cast iron wood heater at Western’s View holiday house after a long day taking in the wild winter scenery of Kangaroo Island is a bewitching pleasure.

Sitting in front of a warming cast iron wood heater at Western’s View holiday house after a long day taking in the wild winter scenery of Kangaroo Island is a bewitching pleasure.

The interior of the two-bedroom house offers a comfortable, colourful environment in which to relax and put up your feet.

The bedrooms hold a double bed in one, and bunk beds and another double bed in the larger room, making it most suitable for a family.

The exterior of the house is where the property truly excels. Perched on the rise above Hog Bay at Penneshaw, nestled among a low-density subdivision of houses, it offers panoramic views of the changeable ocean and skies to the north.

The backyard also holds a bounty of fruit trees – oranges and lemons made for a juicy midwinter treat.

If ferries are your thing, you can observe SeaLink vessels bounce and swirl as they manoeuvre into the dock, all from a distance that means the hum of ferry engines doesn’t intrude. The white beach of the bay waits at the bottom of the street.

The town is also the stepping off point for several tourist adventures.

I spent an enlightening, if sometimes bumpy, 75 minutes on a Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari, a large powerboat tour guided by friendly locals who took us in search of dolphins, whales, seals and birdlife along rugged island cliffs and quiet bays.

We scored big on seals and amazing sea eagles and other birds. Other sea life was a no-show, although southern right whales had recently been spotted in the clear, green local waters.

Western’s View holiday house at Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island.

I also headed to the Penneshaw Penguin Centre, where guides take visitors on night tours of the town’s cliffs, home to increasing numbers of little penguins. On a still, cold night, special torches designed not to interfere with the creatures’ night vision, illuminated the tiny penguins scaling the cliffs as they brought the day’s catch back to their rocky burrows.

These little critters would be a natural for the high jump, springing like jack-in-a-boxes from boulder to boulder, intent on getting home for the evening.

Further afield lies a much-changed Kangaroo Island.

Much of the western end of the island suffered the Black Summer bushfires but, even in areas untouched by the flames, I have the sense of a community still adjusting to life after the killing inferno. Everywhere, even among the green pastures to the east of the island, are handwritten signs thanking first responders for their courage. Locals talk of their gloom or their hope post apocalypse – each coping according to their personal cache of resources.

But, wherever I go, from Cape Willoughby to Cape Borda to Flinders Chase National Park, I am welcomed and made to feel at home. And everywhere, there are signs of life reasserting itself over the devastation. Green fringes ring blackened trunks, wildlife skittles across island roads and native birds soar above.

At Flinders Chase, now partially open to visitors, park staff work out of makeshift accommodation as the visitor centre is rebuilt. Off the main park road, Admirals Arch and Remarkable Rocks show their rusted bastions, pounded by giant waves washing in from Antarctica. Side trails were closed when I visited, giving vegetation time to regenerate without human interference.

I also tapped into the island’s art community, visiting the wonderful Fine Art KI Gallery in Kingscote for a long chat with hosts Fleur and Fred Peters. I left feeling enriched with local knowledge and kind hospitality. In Kingscote, I also enjoyed a lipsmacking feed of local fish and chips, a culinary highlight. Just make sure you keep your wits about you if eating alfresco. The seagulls really have their standover tactics down pat.

Reviews are unannounced and paid for by SAWeekend.

This review was first published in October 2020 and had details updated in March 2021.

• Rapide Drive, Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island
• stayz.com.au
• LOCATION Penneshaw is reached via SeaLink ferry from Cape Jervis, which is 108km from Adelaide or 1 hour, 40 minutes by car.
• ACCOMMODATION Two-bedroom house accommodating six people overlooking Hog Bay.
• FACILITIES Cast iron wood heater, TV and DVD player in lounge. Free Wi-Fi. Large, well-equipped kitchen with dining area. The bathroom has a shower only, separate toilet. Washer, dryer and tub in laundry. Outside, shed for wood storage, water tank, private rear garden with productive fruit trees. Outdoor furniture on deck. No carport or garage for occupants’ cars.
• PRICE $1150 (including cleaning and service fees) for seven nights in August for one guest