Travel Guide Kangaroo Island

126 km south of Adelaide, this island discovery was named in 1802 by Matthew Flinders. But it was French navigator Nicolas Baudin, originally from the island of Ré, who mapped it between 1802 and 1803. Many places therefore bear French names. Kangaroo Island is world-famous for its ecotourism and its wonders: splendid bush, spectacular rugged coastline, hilly or desert landscapes. Australia's third largest island is a zoological sanctuary: sea lions, seals, koalas, kangaroos, emus, black cockatoos, sea eagles, penguins and more. For the record, around 1880, the German August Fiebig brought 12 beehives from Liguria (Italy) and began beekeeping. Today, the island's bees are fiercely protected by the law of 1931, and quarantine restrictions must be strictly observed.As the island's history is older than Adelaide's, we recommend a visit to the Hope Cottage Folk Museum in Kingscote to find out more. Other towns on the island are American River, Parndana and Penneshaw, where the ferry linking Kangaroo Island to the mainland arrives. Flinders Chase National Park, at the western end of the island, is very popular with visitors.