Victor Harbour to Kangaroo Island

Cape Willoughby and False Cape

We were out early to ensure we had plenty of time to be at the jetty for our 9am departure from Cape Jarvis to Kangaroo Island. We had been warned that the crossing could be rough, but it was smooth sailing. We relaxed with a cup of tea and plenty of room.

Once off the boat at Penneshaw we headed to Millie Mae’s Pantry for coffee. I missed being on the bike so that I could justify having cake with coffee. After a quick trip to the IGA to stock up on essentials we set off to explore the Kangaroo Island Sculpture Trail. With interesting sculptures dotted along a 1.5 km trail, there was lots to see combined with stunning views across the bay.

From there we drove out to Cape Willoughby Lighthouse, which was the first lighthouse erected in South Australia and lights the Backstairs Passage between Kangaroo Island and the mainland. We arrived just in time to join the tour and learn move about the history of the lighthouse and the challenges of being one of three lighthouse keepers who struggled to survive in this remote and windy location.

Afterwards we took the Heritage Walk following the signposts to learn more about the location, and meeting a few of the resident kangaroos.

Our next stop was wine tasting and lunch at False Cape Winery. We couldn’t resist a bottle of the pinot grigio as the standout of the wines we tasted. Back on the road, we stopped at Prospect Hill to climb the hundreds of stairs to the highest point on Kangaroo Island. Matthew Flinders named the hill when exploring southern Australia in 1802. He rowed to the end of Pelican Lagoon and walked to the top of the hill to view more of the island.

We made a final detour to have a look at American River before arriving at Pelican cottage In Muston, our base for the next few days.