Exceptional Kangaroo Island

31/07/2024

Cold winter mornings at Seal Bay look a bit like this... 🥶🦭

exceptionalkangarooisland.com • Authentic Kangaroo Island • South Australia • Australia.com • Australian Wildlife Journeys

30/07/2024

Nice to have the energetic travel guru in our corner. Thanks for the shout-out!

24/07/2024

The swell at Cape du Couedic was pretty solid yesterday. The WaveRider buoy peaked at about 14.75 metres!

05/07/2024

Today, the new Flinders Chase National Park Visitor Centre was officially opened after its predecessor was destroyed in the 2019/20 bushfires! 👏

The centre features a range of interpretive elements, including touch tables and interactive displays, allowing visitors to learn about the geologically significant area, including its plants and animals, landscapes, rock formations and bushwalking trails.

Explore Flinders Chase National Park on our Flinders Chase Focus full day tour: exceptionalkangarooisland.com/kangaroo-island-tour/flinders-chase-focus/

Images supplied by State Government.

Australia.com • Australian Wildlife Journeys • South Australia • National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia • Authentic Kangaroo Island

11/05/2024

Extraordinary scenes tonight on Kangaroo Island! 🌌💕

How lucky we are to be able to witness the Aurora Australis lighting up our night skies...

30/04/2024

A bit of action on the beach at Seal Bay! 🦭🥊

Great capture by Natural Habitat Adventures guide Matt Cornish - Nature Photographer + Wildlife Guide.

11/04/2024

It comes with great sadness to announce that as of January 1, 2025, Stranraer Homestead will no longer be offering their traditional hosted dinner, bed and breakfast service.

Lyn and Graham Wheaton have provided a consistent, caring and high-quality service for almost 30 years, and it is time for them to enjoy their well-deserved retirement.

On behalf of the Exceptional Kangaroo Island team, our trade partners and many thousands of happy past guests, we’d like to say congratulations and thank you to Lyn and Graham for their exceptional service, and wish them the very best.

While they are stepping back from hosting, they will still be offering a couple of different accommodation options which will be available for both small group and private tour pickups.

There are two properties; Wattle Grove Cottage and The Workman’s Cottage (both sleeping up to 4 guests, with two beds, two baths, fully equipped kitchen, laundry and lounge), that will be offered as a non-hosted option.

In place of the traditional hosted dinner, bed and breakfast service, breakfast hampers are included in the nightly rate, and dinner platters can be added for an additional cost.

Learn more here: https://exceptionalkangarooisland.com/accommodation/stranraer-homestead/

Please note: All existing bookings past January 1, 2025 will be honoured at the traditional service level.

06/02/2024

Late last year, Craig had the pleasure of hosting the inspirational Sam Bloom along with husband and photographer Cameron. This was part of a Tourism Australia.com content shoot to showcase accessible tourism in Australia.

For those who do not know Sam’s story, she was involved in a terrible accident in Thailand in 2013, falling 6 metres from a rotten balcony onto concrete below, suffering severe damage to her spinal cord, leaving her paralysed from the chest down.

Depressed and feeling hopeless, Sam struggled to see purpose in her new life - that was until she met ‘Penguin’, an injured Australian Magpie chick, who became her constant companion, and brought life and laughter back into the Bloom family.

Fast forward to 2015, Sam took up paracanoeing and won multiple Australian titles, before winning gold for Australia three times at the World Para Surfing Championships.

Sam and Cameron, along with New York Times best selling author Bradley Trevor Greive, published a now international bestselling book, ‘Penguin Bloom’, which has since been adapted into an award-winning film - with Sam played by none other than Naomi Watts!

Learn more about Sam's story here: https://sambloom.com.au/

31/01/2024

Admiral's Arch! ✨🌊

Located at Cape du Couedic within Flinders Chase National Park, Admiral's Arch is an incredible natural rock arch formed by the elements over millions of year.

As well as providing numerous photography opportunities, it is home to numerous marine species, including Long-nosed and Australian Fur Seals, the occasional sub-adult Australian Sea-lion and, very rarely, the Subantarctic Fur Seal. During winter, we occasionally see Humpback, Southern Right and Blue Whales passing between the Casuarina Islets (also known as The Brothers).

Visit Admiral's Arch as part of our Flinders Chase Focus itinerary: https://exceptionalkangarooisland.com/kangaroo-island-tour/flinders-chase-focus/

02/12/2023

About 6 weeks ago, we spotted a rare day where there were no tours scheduled - so we blocked it off and booked in our annual Exceptional Kangaroo Island Christmas party!

Today, we hosted more than 30 members of our team at the Wickham home in Cygnet River. It was an opportunity to recognise the work that our team does across many departments: reservations, operations, accounts, catering, maintenance, guiding, laundry & more.

The past few months have been exceptionally busy, and the next few are even more so. We're so lucky to have such a great team on our side, helping us deliver our signature and high quality Exceptional Kangaroo Island experiences!

27/10/2023

🏆 Great to see our beautiful island recognised by Lonely Planet as the number 2 ‘must-see region’ in 2024! 🐨🦘🦭🦜

With the return of Southern Ocean Lodge, Kangaroo Island in less than 6 weeks, it’s an exciting time for us as we continue to build on a fantastic 2022 and 2023.

07/09/2023

This week marked an amazing occasion for the team at Exceptional Kangaroo Island. It was the 30th anniversary of our extraordinary guide, Tim Williams, who has hosted many thousands of very happy guests who travelled to Kangaroo Island from all around the globe.

Those who know Tim revel in his mix of deep knowledge of Australia’s history and ecology, his ability to fix or construct anything with a pair of pliers and some fencing wire, his quiet compassion and a landmark dusty dry sense of humour. If you look up ‘laconic’ in the dictionary, it says "see definition of ‘Tim Williams’”!

Tim started his own business. Australian Odysseys, later Kangaroo Island Odysseys – amd Tim and Craig’s friendship came out of a shared business vision immersing visitors in the history, landscape and nature of Kangaroo Island. Before Kangaroo Island, Tim was doing trips through the Outback and expeditions to Cape York, following on from a colourful apprenticeship with the late bush pilot Dick Lang. Tim’s love of the bush and community matched that of Dick Lang – Tim continues to be a driving force in the Country Fire Service and community development here on Kangaroo Island

Thirty years of service in business is very rare – and what a thirty years they have been. Many of our team have raised their families over that time, and the close personal relationships are central to that longevity. Craig and Janet, in reflecting on the past thirty years, agree that Tim has brought calm confidence and consistency to the guiding team, and this support extends into business management.

We cannot thank Tim, his partner Jane and adult children Laura and Matt enough – thanks for sharing your time, enthusiasm, wisdom and good humour with us, our team and our fortunate guests.

20/07/2023

Best of luck to our CommBank Matildas who kick off their FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 campaign tonight! ⚽️💚💛

Craig, Geoff and other members of the EKI team got a sneak peak of the trophy as it stopped by Kangaroo Island earlier in the year! 🏆

18/07/2023

"Craig is a living encyclopaedia of Kangaroo Island’s lore. He lists fascinating insights revealing the island’s resilient koalas that boast greater resistance to koala retrovirus compared to their mainland counterparts and highlights the emergence of a garlic farm that bloomed from the ashes of the devastating bushfires which scorched nearly half of the island in 2020."

Thanks to Natasha Bazika from The Latch for this fantastic write-up about Kangaroo Island in winter.

With fewer tourists around, you'll have the privilege of experiencing Kangaroo Island's serene beauty in solitude.

24/06/2023

Something elemental about Winter days - great wildlife encounters, wild seas and beautiful landscapes.

19/06/2023

Just a sample of what you can expect when you tour with Exceptional Kangaroo Island! 🦘🐨🍷

09/05/2023

Californian-based Uncharted (previously Outside Go) spoke with our own Craig Wickham and his good mate Drew Kluska from The Tailor about their collective journey in pioneering the concept of "safari-ing" here in Australia.

We sit down with two of Australia’s legendary guides to discuss how they pioneered the concept of “safari-ing” in the South Pacific.

20/04/2023

Have you heard the news? Kangaroo Island’s iconic Southern Ocean Lodge, Kangaroo Island reopens it’s doors on December 6, 2023! 🎉

We are proud to be working closely with the team to provide a range of private charter experiences for SOL guests.

A big congratulations to the entire Baillie Lodges family! 💙

27/01/2023

🏆 it’s official! Stokes Bay has been announced as the Best Australian Beach for 2023! 👏🦘

Australia’s official beach Ambassador, Brad Farmer, AM, has announced Stokes Bay on Kangaroo Island’s North Coast as Australia’s Best Beach for 2023.

Stokes Bay tops the list for this year following a visit by Mr Farmer in November 2022. The comprehensive assessment process draws on his 40-year immersion in Australia’s coastline and beach destinations.

Visit Stokes Bay on our Island Life tour: http://exceptionalkangarooisland.com/kangaroo-island-tours/island-life

14/01/2023

🏆 Kangaroo Island has come in at #7 on The New York Times’ list of 52 Places to Go in 2023! 👏

In 2023, we’re looking forward to the return of Southern Ocean Lodge, welcoming new and returning guests, and the continued recovery of our bushfire-affected wildlife and landscapes.

Here are some snaps from the past few weeks 📷

09/01/2023

Before and after 🔥🌱

Nature is amazing ✅

04/12/2022

Some of our favourite captures from around Kangaroo Island! 📸

26/11/2022

Fabulous World Cup display at our favourite coffee roasters Rio Coffee in Adelaide. The display here shows a football from every World Cup from 1930 onwards. Founder Fulvio Pagani in the photo here with Craig has been supplying g our coffee for over 25 years! These long-standing relationships are the cornerstone of our business.

04/11/2022

How about this for an incredible wildlife encounter and photo!? 😲💙

Exceptional Kangaroo Island guides Craig Wickham and Tim Williams were out with a group from Natural Habitat Adventures and a keen-eyed guest spotted a Western Pygmy Possum mother, with at least two babies in her pouch! These tiny marsupials have an average weight of around 15 grams.

Craig and Tim have over 70 years of guiding experience between them, and this is the first time that either have observed this species foraging in daylight... so this is really special!

What also makes it special is that all of the guests present were able to observe this beautiful creature - and all whilst we were watching endangered Glossy Black-Cockatoos feeding only metres away!

Talk about amazing wild encounters - we promise wildlife in the wild but even for us this was !

Thanks to Justin Gibson from Natural Habitat Adventures for sharing this phenomenal photograph with us and allowing us to share it with you! 📷

27/10/2022

Today, we’re exploring some things that you won’t find anywhere else in the world…

Come and Say G'Day! 🦘

20/10/2022

Fantastic to be part of the new Australia.com Global Campaign 'Come and Say G'Say'! 👋🦘

Our very own Blair Wickham features in this supporting YouTube series, along with fellow Australian Wildlife Journeys member David 'Lunch' Doudle from Australian Coastal Safaris.

Stay tuned for a second video with more of a focus on Kangaroo Island. 🐨🦘

G'day! It's Australian for "hello". Often paired with "how's it going" which is almost always answered with 'good mate' - because every day is a good day Dow...

18/10/2022

One of our mates out enjoying the sunny Kangaroo Island weather! 🐨

20/09/2022

Join one of our enthusiastic local guides to creep quietly through the bush in search of the gorgeous Tammar Wallaby! 🦘

For best viewing opportunities, try our signature Island Life tour: https://exceptionalkangarooisland.com/kangaroo-island-tours/island-life

02/08/2022

Excuse me sir, there is no camping allowed here! ❌🏕🦭

22/07/2022

An icon returns! Southern Ocean Lodge, Kangaroo Island is set to reopen in mid 2023! 💙🎉

After being destroyed in the 2019/20 Kangaroo Island Bushfires, Southern Ocean Lodge 2.0 is in the process of being rebuilt. Although much of the iconic design will be retained, there are some innovative new features being added to take the guest experience to even greater heights.

These new features include the slight reorientation of all 25 suites for better views of the Southern Ocean, as well as the inclusion of the new ultra-premium 640m² Ocean Pavilion, situated away from the main lodge. The Ocean Pavilion will feature four bedrooms and bathrooms which can be booked as one, or split into two for smaller groups.

Congratulations to the resilient and innovative team at Baillie Lodges - we're thrilled to see the progress and can't wait to resume our private touring operations out of Southern Ocean Lodge once again!

Follow the rebuild progress via the dedicated .o.l_2.0 Instagram account.