Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
kangaroos, wallabies and Cape Barren geese competing for your affections. A slew of
good walks launch from behind the visitors centre, including the
Rocky River Hike
on
which you might spy a platypus (9km loop, three hours).
From Rocky River, a road runs south to a remote 1906
lighthouse
atop wild Cape du
Couedic. A boardwalk weaves down to
Admirals Arch
, a huge archway ground out by
heavy seas, and passes a colony of New Zealand fur seals (sweet smelling they ain't…).
At Kirkpatrick Point, a few kilometres east of Cape du Couedic, the much photo-
graphed
Remarkable Rocks
are a cluster of hefty, weather-gouged granite boulders atop
a rocky dome that arcs 75m down to the ocean.
On the northwestern corner of the island, the 1858
Cape Borda Lightstation
OFFLINE MAP
( 08-8553 4465;
www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks
;
admission free, tours
adult/child/family $14.50/9/38; 9am-5pm, tours 11am, 12.30pm & 2pm)
stands tall above the
rippling iron surface of the Southern Ocean. There are walks here from 1.5km to 9km,
and extra tours at 3.15pm and 4pm during summer holidays.
At nearby Harvey's Return a
cemetery
speaks poignant volumes about the reality of
isolation in the early days. From here you can drive to
Ravine des Casoars
(literally
'Ravine of the Cassowaries', referring to the now-extinct dwarf emus seen here by Baud-
in's expedition). The challenging
Ravine des Casoars Hike
(7km return, three hours)
tracks through the ravine to the coast
4
Sleeping & Eating
Lagoon
(per person/car $7/13)
,
West Bay
(per person/car $7/13)
and
Harvey's Return
(per
person/car $7/13)
; book through the
Department of Environment, Water & Natural Re-
08-8553 4490; flinder-
schase@sa.gov.au)
.
There's also refurbished cottage accommodation at Rocky River − the budget
Post-
mans Cottage
(d $70)
and family-friendly
Mays Homestead
(d $133)
− and lightkeepers'
cottages at
Cape du Couedic
and
Cape Borda
(basic huts to stone cottages, d $22-170)
.
Book through the
Department of Environment, Water & Natural Resources
On the food front, the only option here if you're not self-catering is the
Chase Cafe
(
08-8559 7339;
www.thechasecafe.com.au
; Flinders Chase Visitor Information Centre; meals
