Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail

The Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail — usually called the KIWT — is a sixty-six-kilometre, five-day, west-to-east walk through Flinders Chase National Park on the wild south-west of the island. The trail begins inland at the new Flinders Chase Visitor Centre, climbs through regenerating eucalypt forest and past freshwater lagoons, before turning south to the Southern Ocean coast — windswept headlands, Cape du Couedic, Remarkable Rocks, Admirals Arch, beaches where Australian sea lions haul out. It ends at Kelly Hill Caves. The trail opened in October 2016, was almost entirely destroyed in the 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires (which burned 97% of Flinders Chase and 41% of the whole island), and reopened to through-hikers in December 2023 after a nineteen-and-a-half-million-dollar rebuild. Walking it now is also walking through Australia's largest recent bushfire-recovery landscape. Permit required (book through National Parks SA); four designated campgrounds with built infrastructure; Grade 4. On Karta, in connection with the Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna and Ramindjeri peoples (verify cultural protocols before publishing).

Check tide times before starting. Carry at least 2 litres of water per person. Wear sturdy hiking shoes, not thongs. Sun exposure is intense along the coast — wear a hat and sunscreen. This is a challenging experience requiring good fitness and preparation. Allow extra time and carry emergency supplies.