Admirals Arch on Kangaroo Island: Lisa enjoys some of the wild scenery and wild life on the Southwestern tip of the Kangaroo Island region of South Australia

A couple of hours drive to the far southwestern tip of Kangaroo Island takes you into Flinders Chase National Park and down to Cape Du Couedic - a truly wild and remote place.

A spectacular boardwalk sweeps over the fragile but weather-worn coastal undergrowth and down to one of Kangaroo Island's best known landmarks - Admiral's Arch. The relentless pounding of the southern ocean has gouged out the spectacular arch in what was once a solid limestone headland.

Cassie Hlava, Ranger: "The arch has formed because we have a series of different types of rocks - you have the hard metamorphic rock which is the grey rock you see down the bottom, then in between we have a soft limestone which is called dune limestone and that' the bit that's been eroded out through the centre…"

The result is one of KI's most photographed landmarks. Admiral's Arch also provides perfect shelter for a colony of New Zealand Fur Seals. You can spend hours on the viewing platform watching them sleep, play, fight and swim in the waters below. They are back from the brink after being hunted almost to extinction in the early 1800s when sealers sent tens of thousands of skins to America and Europe.

Cassie Hlava, Ranger: "The females are more likely to be in this area as they rear pups. They'll go out to sea for 4 to 6 days and then come back and feed their pups for one or two days. The males and the juveniles and sub-adult animals spend more time at sea - they spend up to a few months at sea searching for food. And they'll visit these areas later on the year in December, so the males will return to breed with the females."

The pounding surf holds no fear for these characters offering respite from the continual hustle and bustle of the colony as young males prepare themselves for the battles to come.

Admiral's Arch is located in the Flinders Chase National Park, about a two hour drive from the ferry terminal at Penneshaw. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

Admirals Arch
Flinders Chase NP
Kangaroo Island
Entrance fee apples

Published 6th July 2010