Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Almost at the top of Mt. Lofty, off Summit Road, is the
Cleland Wildlife Park
(
&
08/8339 2444
). Here you'll find all the usual Australian animals on view—
including the largest male red kangaroo I've ever seen. Though the park is not as
good as similar wildlife parks in Australia, it does have a very good wetlands aviary.
One of the drawbacks of Cleland is that it's got some unimaginative enclosures,
notably the one for the Tasmanian devils. The park is open daily from 9:30am
to 4:30pm. Visitors can meet at the Tasmanian devil enclosure at 2pm and join
the animal feed run by following a tractor around the park as it drops off food.
Admission to Cleland is A$12 (US$7.80) for adults, A$8 (US$5.20) for chil-
dren 3 to 14, and A$31 (US$20) for families. Koala holding is allowed during
the photo sessions held daily from 2 to 4pm daily (but not on very hot summer
days); on Sunday and public holidays there's an additional session from 10am to
noon. The privilege will cost you A$12 (US$7.80) per photo. A kiosk and restau-
rant are on the premises.
It's a bit of a hassle getting to either place by public transport. To get to the
Mt. Lofty Lookout take bus no. 163 Monday through Friday, and no. 165 Sat-
urday and Sunday from Currie Street in the city. Ask the driver to drop you off
at “Crafters.” The trip takes 30 minutes. From there you'll need to take a short taxi
ride to the top, so prearrange pick up with
To n y's Ta x i's
at
&
08/8388 5988.
To get to Cleland take bus no. 822 from Currie Street and get off at bus stop
19b. There are only two services daily, at 10am and noon, Monday through Fri-
day. Take the 10am bus and ask the bus driver for the exact return time. The trip
to Cleland takes 40 minutes.
WHERE TO DINE
While you're atop Mt. Lofty, have lunch at
The Summit
restaurant (
&
08/8339
2600
). Look out for the kangaroo fillet with chile, lemon grass, and coconut
sauce, and venison on rosemary polenta. Mains cost from A$22 to A$26 (US$14-
US$17). It's open for lunch Monday and Tuesday, and for dinner Wednesday to
Sunday. The
Summit Café
here also sells good sandwiches and cakes, and
Devonshire tea for A$8 (US$5.20).
3 Kangaroo Island
£
110km (68 miles) S of Adelaide
There is nowhere better than Kangaroo Island to see Australian marsupials in the
wild. Spend a few days here with the right guide and you can walk along a beach
past a colony of sea lions; spot hundreds of New Zealand fur seals playing; creep
through the bush on the trail of wallabies or kangaroos; spot sea eagles, black
swans, sacred ibis, pelicans, little penguins, the rare glossy black cockatoo and
other birds; come across goannas; pick out bunches of koalas hanging sleepily in
the trees above your head; and, if you're lucky, see platypus, echidna, bandicoots,
reclusive pygmy possums—the list goes on.
The secrets to Kangaroo Island's success are its perfect conditions, the most
important of which is the fact that there are no introduced foxes or rabbits to take
their toll on the native inhabitants or their environment. The island was also never
colonized by the dingo—Australia's “native” dog—which was believed to have
been introduced from Asia some 4,000 years ago. About one-third of the island is
unspoiled national park, and there are plenty of wildlife corridors to give the ani-
mals a chance to move about the island, lessening the problems of inbreeding.
While the animals are what most people come to see, no one goes away
without also being impressed by the scenery. Kangaroo Island has low mallee
