Kangaroo Island’s beauties blaze a trail for South Australia’s tourism
THE Advertiser takes a peek at Kangaroo Island’s $5.5 million flagship attraction – the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail.
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STANDING on clifftops at the edge of the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail, it is clear the island’s newest tourist attraction will have walkers transfixed by its natural beauty.
The five-day trail, stretching 61km from Rocky River to Kelly Hill Caves, is in the Flinders Chase National Park on KI’s southwest coast.
It winds along wild, untouched coastline, offering anyone with an average level of fitness a chance to experience this culturally rich and diverse landscape.
The trail opens to the public today, and Premier Jay Weatherill will formally open and walk it later this month.
This week, The Advertiser headed to Kangaroo Island for a sneak peek at the $5.5 million flagship attraction.
We met Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail manager Alison Buck at the Banksia campground, the third of four camps along the trail. Each has 24 sites – some raised on wooden platforms for those who can’t get enough of the view – toilets and sheltered cooking facilities for members of the public or walkers on commercial tours who choose to carry their tent and food supplies.
At this point, walkers have already experienced the dense eucalypt woodland regrown after the 2007 bushfire, the coast from Snake Lagoon to Cape du Couedic, seasonal marine life, including dolphins and whales, and historic sites such as Admiral’s Arch.
As we set off on the 13.5km walk from Sanderson Bay to Grassdale, Ms Buck – who has walked the trail year round – says September and October are her favourite times because the plants and wildflowers are in bloom. “(The trail) is a feast of colours – creams, yellow, whites and purple,” Ms Buck said. “And there’s the fresh earth smell after the rain.”
Teams worked on the trail for several months, removing vegetation to clear the path.
Ms Buck said the trail was designed for walking in all seasons, with the coast offering a breeze during warm weather and bushland creating shelter.
From Sanderson Bay along the clifftops, native bird calls can be heard along with the sound of waves crashing against the previously unseen Cape Younghusband.
We walk over sand and limestone, and remnants of coral, hundreds of years old. To our right, the Remarkable Rocks and Casuarina Islands can be spotted in the distance.
As we head toward Hanson Bay, we are treated to a raft of wildlife, from butterflies in “wattle country” to a kangaroo on the trail and a goanna camouflaged among the leaves.
The trail is part of a State Government nature-based tourism strategy that aims to create 1000 jobs by 2020, and inject $350 million into the State’s economy annually.
A spokeswoman for Environment Minister Ian Hunter said they were delighted by the level of interest shown so far.
“We look forward to a time when the trail is as popular as New Zealand’s Milford Track,” she said.