Living and Exploring Kangaroo Island: A Backpacker’s Honest Guide
- Francesca Frascona
- Aug 4
- 6 min read
Kangaroo Island was supposed to be a little break from full time travelling for me but it quickly became my home. I found a wonderful place to live in, and new friends that quickly became family.
This guide blends the best of the island’s nature, hikes, beaches, and camping with the personal touch of someone who truly soaked it all in while living on Kangaroo Island as a Backpacker on a Working Holiday Visa (yes all jobs here count for the 88 days too). Whether you're planning a visit or you are a backpacker thinking of working here on your working holiday, I hope this helps you make the most of your time on KI.
Getting to Kangaroo Island (with Tips for Backpackers)
The SeaLink ferry from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw is the main way onto the island with a vehicle. If you're a backpacker planning to live and work on Kangaroo Island, there are a couple of ferry discounts worth knowing:
Employer-Registered Ferry Discount: If you already have a job on the island, your employer can register you for a temporary resident discount on the ferry.
Parks Pass: There’s a Temporary Resident Discount Pass for about $40 valid for one year, giving you access to Flinders Chase National Park, Seal Bay, Kelly Hill Caves, and the lighthouse tours. If you’re staying long-term, it’s 100% worth it.
Camping on KI: Free, Easy, but Keep it Clean
If you don't want to rent a room and safe as much as possible as I did, while living on Kangaroo Island as a Backpacker, free camping is easy across everywhere here, but it’s important to be respectful of nature. One of the most stunning, quiet spots I camped at was Bay of Shoals—truly peaceful and surrounded by beauty. Unfortunately, I often had to clean up other people’s mess: beer cans, toilet paper (I'M SERIOUSLY DISGUSTED ABOUT THAT, JUST PUT IN YOUR BIN AND BIN IT), and random trash.
So if you’re free camping, leave no trace. KI is wild and pristine. Let’s keep it that way.
Flinders Chase National Park: A Place I Visited Five Times
Flinders Chase is where the magic of Kangaroo Island comes alive. I went there five times during my stay—each visit offering something new.
Remarkable Rocks: My very first sunset there was unforgettable. The waves crashing onto the rocks below, the colors changing with the light, and the sheer energy of the place—it was hypnotic.
Admiral Arch: I watched fur seal puppies grow up over the months. Their playful routines in the tide pools below were something I could never get bored of.
Seal Bay: I loved this place so much I went several times and started recognizing individual sea lions. There’s something powerful about watching them lounge on the sand or waddle back to the waves, especially when you get to know their rhythms.
Kelly Hill Caves: A lesser-known spot that's well worth a visit, especially with the Parks Pass. It’s an underground adventure—cool, quiet, and different from the rest of KI’s open landscapes.
Beautiful Hikes Worth Doing
Kangaroo Island is full of trails that showcase its rugged beauty. Two I particularly recommend:
Zebra Shift Hike (approx. 1.8 km return): A short trail leading to a stunning beach where you’ll see a rock formation that looks exactly like a zebra. A quiet, surreal spot.
Ravin des Casoars Walk: A long walk through dense bush that eventually opens to secluded white sand beaches and caves. I didn’t have time to do it myself, but it’s at the top of my list if I ever go back.
Did I mention you could also spot the Southern Light on Kangaroo Island?
Download an Aurora forecast app on your phone to get notified when there’s strong aurora activity in your area. Then, step outside and move to an area with low to no light pollution like the beach or an open field, and look to the south—sometimes the aurora appears as clouds that seem a little too strange to be clouds. Your eyes have to adjust to the dark so do not look at bright lights. Try taking a night photo, ideally on a tripod or stable surface, using your phone or a professional camera with a long exposure (if you’re not sure what that means: it’s how many seconds your device keeps the shutter open—set it between 10 and 30 seconds for the best results). If the activity is strong enough, you might even catch the lights with your naked eye—just like I did when I snapped the photo below!
Best Beaches & Coastal Spots
Whether you're chasing surf, sunsets, or solitude, KI's coast delivers. Here are my favorites:
Bales Bay: Long, wild, white sand. I was the only one there. Very close to Seal Bay—easy to pair in one visit.
Seal Bay: Not a swimming spot, but incredible for wildlife. Home to one of Australia’s largest sea lion colonies.
Snelling Beach: A beautiful beach where you can drive with a 4WD. Convenient and scenic.
Emu Bay: Another stunning spot where 4WDs are allowed on the beach. Great for sunset drives.
Blue Moon Bay: A good spot for surfing. Do your own surf research for updated conditions.
Western River Cove: A wonderful, swimmable beach with turquoise water and nearby camping.
Stokes Bay: Accessed via a unique walk through rock tunnels. The beach on the other side is stunning.
Cape Willoughby Lighthouse: Offers epic views of the coastline and has great tours with history.
Kangaroo Island Wildlife: Australia in Miniature
Kangaroo Island is packed with wildlife. It honestly feels like a mini version of the whole country:
Kangaroos & Wallabies: Everywhere.
Koalas: Easy to spot, especially in certain eucalyptus groves, Cygnet River is one of the best locations on the Island for Koala spotting.
Echidnas: I saw plenty, best spots around Flinders Chase National Park—always a joy.
Sea Lions & Fur Seals: Seal Bay and Admiral Arch are the best places. Watching the pups grow over months was unforgettable.
Possums: You’ll hear them at night near campsites and make sure they don't get stuck in your engine overnight! I kept getting unwanted flatmates in my van :P
Penguins: You can see them at night hiding between rocks around Emu Bay Jetty or around Penneshaw. Be quite and use a red light torch to look for them, white light is very disturbing for Penguins!
Bonus: I fortunately didn’t come across any deadly snakes or spiders—so breathe easy.
Towns on the Island: Kingscote & Penneshaw
There are two main towns where you’ll probably stock up or base yourself:
Kingscote: The largest town with a supermarket, service stations, cafés, a pharmacy, Mitre 10, another homeware store and some other little shops selling souvenirs and very expensive clothing for a backpacker! Basically Kingscote is the equivalent of a tiny little open air shopping center of KI with 'the essential' you need for living on the island. A good place for errands.
Penneshaw: Where the ferry drops you off. It has an IGA and a service station, some more little cafes, a pub and a bottle shop. Smaller, but still has what you need and a friendly vibe.
Kangaroo Island Unique Farms
Kangaroo Island isn’t just about wild coastlines and native wildlife—it also has a thriving farming scene worth exploring. I had the pleasure of working at the local Lavender Farm, where I learned firsthand how much care and effort goes into producing those beautifully scented products. You can also visit the Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Distillery, where they show you how eucalyptus oil is made from the native Kangaroo Island narrow-leaf mallee. And don’t miss the island’s famous honey farms. Clifford’s Honey Farm, the original and most well-known, serves up an unforgettable honey ice cream. The honey here comes from the world’s last pure strain of Ligurian bees, which were brought to the island from Italy in the 1880s. Since then, the island has remained a sanctuary for these bees, this is also why it’s so important not to bring any outside honey products onto Kangaroo Island to protect this rare population.
My Final Thoughts about living on Kangaroo Island as a Backpacker
Kangaroo Island surprised me. It was supposed to be a stopover. Instead, it became a chapter—one of wild sunsets, personal growth, hard work, and deep connection to nature. I made lots of new friends, found a family at work and made memories I will remember for a very long time.
If you’re heading there, I hope you take the time to slow down and really experience it. Let the island show you its magic and if you are a backpacker looking for work on KI, well even better! Make it your home, respect it and live it to the fullest.
