The 300 islands of South Australia

Somewhere around latitude 30, just before encountering the Roaring 40s, the Furious 50s, and the Screaming 60s, lie over 300 islands of South Australia. Despite their apparent tranquility, these islands possess a unique charm shaped by the mighty winds and waves of the Southern Ocean, and they are home to distinct animal and plant species not commonly found in northern Australia.

According to Coral Expeditions Guest Lecturer Quentin Chester, who resides on Kangaroo Island, South Australia’s islands are a well-kept secret. He mentions, “We have many islands that are out-of-sight, out-of-mind. It’s about their mystique, but for people, particularly from other parts of Australia, it’s a fascinating discovery to witness such a special part of the country that is relatively unknown.”

“The South Australian coastline has been sculpted by various natural forces. We can observe the impact of wave action that has shaped the coast over millions of years. These islands feature wind-swept landscapes, limestone cliffs, and granite formations. Some islands rise 300 meters high with sheer sea cliffs, presenting a visually dramatic scene. I refer to it as the Kimberley of the south. It’s a remote and challenging landscape. We boast the largest mangrove communities in southern Australia and some of the world’s largest seagrass beds.”

THE SOUTHERN OCEAN

Quentin says sailing the Southern Ocean adds to the authenticity of the expedition experience.

“We’re not in the roaring 40s, but in the tricky 30s, and the water can be benign and lovely at times and quite dramatic with strong swell energy at other times,” he says.

“We can see up to six-meter swells down there, but our ships are made for riding the sea well, rolling through the peaks and valleys, and are sturdy and stable. A heavy ocean becomes part of the experience.”

FLORA & FAUNA

Despite being so remote and rugged, these granite islands are also home to incredible animal and plant species.

“These islands have much vegetation. It’s not a tropical paradise with palm trees and lagoons; it is low coastal mallee scrub, eucalypts, acacias, and flowering plants and bushes which must thrive in the elements,” Quentin says.

“In November we see all this coastal vegetation in flower and even though it’s a relatively hostile environment, there is a lot of pretty colour. You look across the coastline, and it looks like a colorful tapestry with splashes of red, yellows, and greens.

“There are a lot of birds, including Pacific Gulls. These are big gulls and are not something people from northern parts of Australia are used to. They are quite fun characters, much bigger than a seagull and one of the most enormous gulls in the world.

“If you were just on a large cruise ship, you wouldn’t get the whole story, but we get up close and personal to the shoreline to see basking sea lions on rocks and seals darting through the shallows. There’s also a fascinating history to some of these islands that were lived on and farmed.

“These places became islands in the last ice age and Indigenous people saw their world changing. That’s fairly powerful for people to get their heads around.”

Quentin says his favorite elements of the islands visited by Coral Expeditions include:

TROUBLEBRIDGE ISLAND

“It is quite hard to reach despite not being far from the mainland. There is a great old lighthouse that we talk about, and often there is a sea lion on that beach that we can introduce people to.”

KANGAROO ISLAND

“Because it is my home base, I am very attached to Cape Willoughby. I live near Antechamber Bay, which is a lovely north-facing beach with subdued terrain and coastal vegetation.”

Waves & Wildlife / Paul’s Place, Stokes Bay, North Coast Kangaroo Island, South Australia

REEVESBY ISLAND

“It is often more sheltered, and as a result, it is a nice chill-out place where you can go for a relaxed beach comb, swim, or paddle in a sea kayak.”

PEARSON ISLAND & WEDGE ISLAND

“These are places we try to visit on expeditions. These are powerful places. We don’t land at Pearson but we do sometimes bring the ship in close as there is an interesting story to tell and it is an important place for rock wallabies, birds and sea lions. Here there’s big granite monuments – it’s like an Outback landscape coming out of the sea. Wedge Island is a wedge of limestone which faces the open ocean. With a bit of luck, we go ashore there and show people the rock wallabies.”

FLINDERS ISLAND

“It is the anchor point for our trip and storytelling. The family that owns the island has a great personal history there and is switched on abalone divers who love sharing their abalone with us, but it’s also about the story of two brothers on a pathway to rehabilitating the place.”

BOSTON ISLAND

“That’s a new one for us and I think it is another good example of a family who has had a living connection going back to the ‘50s and are busy doing regeneration there. It is like a little world of its own. There is quite a lot of intact vegetation and birdlife and great geology there.”

ON THE HORIZON

Quentin says Coral Expeditions is still exploring new horizons in South Australia and its many islands.

“To the north of Flinders Island you’ve got Nuyts Archipelago and the Dutch were there in the 1600s way before Matthew Flinders. There’re also quite a few islands in the Joseph Banks group that have some great things to look at. Thistle Island, near the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula is the third biggest island in South Australia and has wonderful wildlife and views,” he says.

“Of the islands here, at least half of them are potentially accessible by expedition ship. Very few islands are inhabited or developed, so there’s a wild character to the whole region. Some, quite rightly, have restricted access to look after precious wildlife and habitats.”