Discovering Kangaroo Island Food with Sealink’s Kangaroo Island Food, Wine and Natural Wonders Tour

Experiencing Kangaroo Island food is easily within reach of everyone with Sealink’s fantastic Kangaroo Island Food, Wine and Natural Wonders tour.

Ask any local and they’ll tell you that Kangaroo Island food, and in fact the whole place, is something very special. There’s a range of exceptional producers over there who’ve taken advantage of the clean natural environment to come up with a diverse range of goodies and they’re not limiting themselves to food. Kangaroo Island has amazing wineries, including some with astonishing views, a gin distillery and, if you’re in the market for them,  some of the finest winter woolies you’ll find anywhere.

Getting to Kangaroo Island is so convenient with the Sealink ferry service from Cape Jervis, and now they’ve made visiting some of the wonderful Kangaroo Island food producers easier than ever with their fantastic two day Food, Wine and Natural Wonders package.

Perfect for visitors who don’t have their own vehicle – like interstaters or internationals – guests on these small-group tours are picked up from their Adelaide accommodation, or a central city point, driven through some of the glorious scenery on the Fleurieu Peninsula and delivered direct to the ferry. They enjoy a relaxed ride across Backstairs Passage and are collected at Penneshaw where the tour commences immediately.

I was lucky enough to be asked along on a tour recently and can promise that you won’t be disappointed.

Our first stop was at Dudley Wines, which is perched high on a hill looking back across the water to the mainland. Tour guests are offered a structured tasting of their excellent range of wines, a platter of local goodies to nibble on and the best views of any winery I’ve ever visited.

From there we moved on to lunch at the Ozone Hotel, where the chef is rocking the locally caught seafood, then on for a tour of Kangaroo Island Beehive, one of the Kangaroo Island homes of the only pure strains of Ligurian bees in the world, and Kangaroo Island Spirits, for a guided tasting of their internationally noted gin.

We all had time for a wee nap while we were driven across the island, arriving at the Remarkable Rocks lookout in Flinders Chase in time to catch the breathtaking sunset and a glass or two of bubbles and some cheese – just in case we were feeling peckish, before heading to our accommodation at Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat  and a fine two course dinner at their Nicholas Baudin Restaurant.

Day two focuses a little more on the natural wonders of the region but, never fear, no one is likely to go hungry. First stop in the morning was at Remarkable Rocks where we were free to have a wander and make the most of this superbly Instagrammable (not sure if that’s actually a word!) site, then on to Admirals Arch – playground to scores of the Island’s seals.

This is followed by a guided tour of the vast cave complex at Kelly’s Caves and a hugely generous grazing picnic lunch, featuring loads of delicious local products.

After lunch we were taken to one of the most exciting events on the tour – the Birds of Prey In-Flight Display at Raptor Domain. I’ve been to raptor displays in Europe, but this was far and away the best I’ve experienced.  It will be a hands-on experience for some of the lucky punters – so take my tip and make sure you get a front row seat!

Buzzing from this once-in-a-lifetime experience, we boarded our bus and headed back towards Penneshaw for dinner at Sunset Food and Wine. Just when we thought this trip couldn’t get any better, we were treated to a dining experience equal to anything, anywhere, and a view of the sunset that was utterly jaw-dropping.

It was a quietly happy group who were gently herded back on to the ferry that evening for the trip back to the mainland – and that is certainly saying something. It’s not easy to keep a group of media-types quiet!

Lambs’ Ears was a guest of Sealink for the Kangaroo Island Food, Wine and Natural Wonders tour. Follow the link above for tour details and prices.