When is the best time to see wildlife on Kangaroo Island?

The best time to see wildlife on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, is dawn and dusk. But the best time of year to visit Kangaroo Island is winter, when the whales arrive and other animals are more active in the day.

Kangaroo Island, South Australia, is one of Australia’s greatest wildlife hotspots. It is renowned for its koala population, has its own subspecies of kangaroo and plays home to echidnas and tiny tammar wallabies.

There’s also the extraordinary Australian sea lion colony at Seal Bay, plus the fur seal colony at Admirals Arch in the Flinders Chase National Park.

But when is the best time to see wildlife on Kangaroo Island? Well, it depends which animals you want to see.

Best time to see wildlife on Kangaroo Island

The best time to see kangaroos and koalas on Kangaroo Island, as with elsewhere in Australia, is at dawn and dusk. Both are more active at night than in the day time. If you’re self-driving, it pays to head out early – not least because you beat the tour buses to the prime spots.

As for which time of year is best for seeing wildlife on Kangaroo Island, the peak of seal breeding season is January.

But for other creatures, you’re better off coming to Kangaroo Island when the weather is least pleasant. It helps, of course, that this South Australian island is cheaper to visit in winter. But most of the land animals tend to be more active in the day when it is cooler. If you want to see a kangaroo bounding, an echidna scuttling or koala climbing, then your odds are higher when it’s not roasting hot.

Kangaroo Island whale-watching season

May to September is also whale season, with numbers of Southern Right whales around the coast particularly building up around June. Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari runs dolphin and seal-watching tours year-round, but there’s a good chance of seeing whales too in the winter months.

Kangaroo Island accommodation options include the Aurora Oasis Hotel in Kingscote, the exclusive Oceanview Eco Villas, glamping at the Kangaroo Island Seafront caravan park.

More South Australia travel

Visit the oldest lighthouse in South Australia.

Caravan parks in South Australia.

Go clothing-optional at Maslin Beach.

Walk Alligator Gorge in the South Flinders Ranges.

Go drinking at the Merrymaker Rooftop Bar at the top of the Hotel Indigo, Adelaide.