Kangaroo Island (കംഗാരു ദ്വീപ്)

Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island was separated from the mainland around 10,000 years ago. The first European to explore Kangaroo Island by Matthew Flinders in 1802 whilst en route from UK to Sydney. He named the island in honour of the feast of Kangaroo he and his crew enjoyed on the island.
More extensive mapping (especially of the south coast) was done by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin which is why a number of geographical features have French names.
While there is evidence of Aboriginal people living on the island as long as 16,000 years ago, the island has not been inhabited by Aboriginal people for at least 2,000 years.
From 1803 the island was visited by sealers and whalers, exploiting the natural resources of the island. In addition, a number of "independent" settlers arrived - thought to be mainly escaped convicts and those looking for a lifestyle unencumbered by regulation - took up residence between 1803 and the start of official settlement in 1836.

In 1836 Kingscote became the first settlement in South Australia and significant parts of the island were opened up for farming. Sealing had just about finished by this time, and seals on many of the islands beaches had been completely wiped out.
From the late 1800s parts of the island were being actively preserved. Flinders Chase National Park was proclaimed in 1912. During the 1920s the island was seen as an opportunity to preserve species that were threatened on mainland Australia, with attempts at introducing several, including koalas.

Geography
The island is 160 km wide (east to west) and around 50 km from top to bottom at its widest. The north of the island has more protected seas, with the south generally having larger waves, higher cliffs and stronger currents. There are still some white sandy beaches and inlets on the south, though, such as Pennington Bay, d'Estrees Bay, Bales Bay and Hanson Bay.
The main settlements are within an hour of each other on the east. There are more remote areas in the west.
The cliffs and bays can be spectacular, and there are interesting geological formations along the south, the most popular to visit being Admirals Arch and the Remarkable Rocks.

Flora and fauna
Admiral's Arch
Kangaroo Island has abundant wildlife and large sections of untouched forest. Many species for which Australia is famous for can be found here like kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, echidnas and penguins. There are plenty of opportunities to see these animals close up in their natural habita