6 things to see and do at Flinders Chase National Park

1. Flinders Chase Vis­i­tor Centre 

A new vis­i­tor cen­tre is open at Flinders Chase Nation­al Park on Kan­ga­roo Island, offer­ing vis­i­tors a beau­ti­ful space to learn about the nation­al park and local his­to­ry. A new inter­pre­ta­tion gallery has been cre­at­ed to help vis­i­tors con­nect with the park, learn more about the area and gen­er­ate thought and con­ver­sa­tion. It also offers the per­fect spot to pick up a cof­fee, some local knowl­edge and park tips. 

Vis­i­tors can enjoy beau­ti­ful art­work dis­played along­side park arte­facts and are invit­ed to par­tic­i­pate through inter­ac­tive activ­i­ties. The sto­ries, arte­facts and tac­tile expe­ri­ences have been designed to help vis­i­tors enjoy being in the park and under­stand the land­scape better. 

2. Explore Remark­able Rocks

Remark­able Rocks is Kan­ga­roo Island’s best-known land­mark. These gran­ite boul­ders are 500 mil­lion years in the mak­ing, sculpt­ed over the ages by wind and water. The stun­ning orange-lichen-cov­ered shapes look pre­car­i­ous­ly bal­anced and are a tru­ly mag­nif­i­cent site to behold.

3. Admi­rals Arch

Admiral’s Arch is an intrigu­ing rock for­ma­tion on the south-west­ern tip of Flinders Chase Nation­al Park, at Cape de Couedic. The rock arch, sculpt­ed entire­ly by the amaz­ing force of nature, has left a per­fect nat­ur­al pic­ture frame to watch the colony of long-nosed fur seals that live near­by the amaz­ing lime­stone arch, where you can see them loung­ing and play­ing on the rocks and in the water. 

4. See the his­toric Cape du Couedic and Cape Bor­da Lightstations

The waters around Kan­ga­roo Island are famous­ly treach­er­ous and have claimed at least 80 ships and many lives since Euro­pean set­tle­ment in 1836. Light­hous­es helped reduce the num­ber of ships lost off its coast and are now an impor­tant aspect of the island’s mar­itime safe­ty and heritage. 

• Cape du Couedic Light­house is includ­ed with your Flinders Chase Nation­al Park tick­et or Kan­ga­roo Island Tour Pass. While you can’t access inside the light­house, it’s well worth a vis­it. It was con­struct­ed between 1906 – 1909 and was built from 2,000 pieces of local stone. 
• Vis­i­tors can explore the Cape Bor­da Light­sta­tion that sits upon tow­er­ing cliffs over­look­ing Inves­ti­ga­tor Strait. Take a self-guid­ed tour around the Cape Bor­da Light­sta­tion set­tle­ment for an insight into the ear­ly light­keep­ers’ liv­ing con­di­tions and how iso­la­tion and a demand­ing rou­tine dom­i­nat­ed their often harsh lives. Book your self guid­ed tour online before you go.

5. Hike the KI Wilder­ness Trail

This five-day, 61km trail is one of Australia’s great walks. Begin­ning at the Flinders Chase Vis­i­tor Cen­tre and end­ing at Kel­ly Hill Caves, it will take your breath away as you explore the most botan­i­cal­ly unique area in all of South Aus­tralia. Offer­ing spec­tac­u­lar coast­line views over the South­ern Ocean, it offers an expe­ri­ence of a life­time. To plan your trip take a look at our trip essen­tials or learn more about the walk.

6. Try whale watching

Between mid-May and late Octo­ber whales migrate from sub-Antar­c­tic water to the com­par­a­tive­ly warmer waters of the South Aus­tralian coast to calve and mate. Flinders Chase Nation­al Park and Ravine des Casoars Wilder­ness Pro­tec­tion Area offer ide­al van­tage points to see these majes­tic crea­tures. If you are vis­it­ing dur­ing whale sea­son, keep an extra keen eye on the ocean at these locations:

• Cape du Couedic Look­out (acces­si­ble only from the Cape du Couedic hike), Flinders Chase Nation­al Park 

• Weirs Cove Look­out, Flinders Chase Nation­al Park 

• Admi­rals Arch Look­outs, Flinders Chase Nation­al Park 

• Cape Bor­da Light­sta­tion, Flinders Chase Nation­al Park 

• Scott Cove Look­out, Ravine des Casoars Wilder­ness Pro­tec­tion Area 

Plan your trip

Find out more about the park, down­load maps and pay for park fees, camp­ing and accommodation.