Kangaroo Island Wildlife After Dark: What the Night Brings Out
The short answer. Most of the island’s animals are easiest to see at dusk and after dark, when wallabies, kangaroos and possums come out to feed. Two guided night drives leave Kingscote: a shared 4WD with eight guests at most, from $103, and a private tour for your group alone, from $121. Both run for about two to three hours. Little penguins are a maybe, never a promise. The Kangaroo Island wildlife tours at night are also the safest way to see the animals, because the guide does the driving.
Quick facts for a night out
| Shared 4WD night tour | Private nocturnal tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Fare | From $103 a person | From $121 a person |
| Group | 8 guests at most, 2 per booking at least | Your group only |
| Length | 2 to 3 hours | 2 to 2.5 hours |
| Meets | Commercial Street, Kingscote | Dauncey Street, Kingscote |
| Vehicle | 4WD | Tour bus |
| Access | Wheelchair accessible | Stroller accessible, infant seats |
| Cancellation | Free up to 24 hours ahead | Free up to 24 hours ahead |
What comes out after sunset
By day, much of the island’s wildlife is hidden. The parks service describes the tammar wallaby as nocturnal: it rests in dense, low scrub by day and moves through tunnels in the vegetation to grassy areas to feed in the evening. The island’s own kangaroo, smaller, darker and longer furred than its mainland cousin, grazes in the early morning and late afternoon. Koalas climb into the canopy around dusk to feed.
That is what a night drive is built around. On the shared 4WD tour you look for tammar wallabies, brush-tailed possums and western grey kangaroos, and, if you are lucky, boobook owls or echidnas. Travellers on these tours have listed far more. Angela_G saw koalas, little penguins, tammar wallabies, possums and even microbats. Lorna_R spotted a curlew with its chick. Wendy_H saw wallabies with young in their pouches.
- Tammar wallabies: small, and out in numbers once the light goes.
- Kangaroos: grazing in paddocks and along the road edges at dusk.
- Brush-tailed possums: in the trees, often close to town.
- Koalas: moving higher in the gum trees to feed.
- Echidnas: seen in every kind of habitat; from May to September the males follow the females in trains.
Little penguins: a maybe, not a promise
Little penguins nest near Kingscote and Penneshaw, and the colonies can be visited on a guided night tour. Both colonies are in decline, so no one can promise you a penguin. The private tour stops for half an hour at Emu Bay to look for them. Julie_B had a windy night and the guide still found two. Gail_M saw plenty of koalas and kangaroos but no penguins at all.
If a penguin is the one thing you want to see, book early in your stay. A second night gives you a second chance.
Shared 4WD or private bus?
The shared tour meets in front of the Aurora Ozone Hotel’s new Executive building on Commercial Street, Kingscote. The guide waits up to ten minutes and then counts you as a no-show, so be on time. It needs two people a booking, children pay the child rate only when they share with two paying adults, and it runs in all weather. It is also sold as a good choice for families.
The private tour meets at the operator’s shop at 74 Dauncey Street, opposite the Queenscliffe Hotel. Simone_Z found it was in front of a closed shop, and the guide arrived on time. Only your group comes, torches are handed out, and bottled water is included. The route runs past the silo art, out to Emu Bay and to a stretch near Wisanger that the operator calls its secret spot, where wallabies and kangaroos graze. Christopher_P felt that private groups see more.
Either way, most of the night is spent in the vehicle. FRANCESCO_M expected more time on foot and found the tour took place entirely by car. Neither tour includes dinner, so eat first.
Which evening to book
If you can, book the night drive early in your stay. You learn what each animal looks like, where it feeds and how it moves, and you carry that into the days that follow. Others save it for the end: Angela_G called it a great way to finish a stay on the island. Rebecca_S summed it up as a great way to spend a couple of hours after dark.
The shared tour spends most of its time around the Bay of Shoals, beside Kingscote, so it suits a stay in town. Stephen_H found the guide knew all the back roads, and spotted a rare copper snake as well as the wallabies and kangaroos. If you are staying elsewhere on the island, the private tour is the easier fit, because the route is only for your group.
Why a guide beats driving yourself
Many visitors plan to see the animals from a hire car and find the roads empty. Kent_V spent three days looking and saw a single kangaroo, then went out after dark with a guide and saw them all. Guides know where the animals feed, and they know the unsealed back roads in the dark.
Photographs, torches and the stars
Photographing animals at night is hard, and a flash hurts their eyes. The parks service asks you to turn it off and use the natural light instead. On the private tour the guide uses torches to find the koalas high in the trees. Gail_M came home with good pictures.
The dark sky is a bonus. Emily_Q saw the Milky Way from a tour near Kingscote. If you want the stars at their clearest, check the weather month by month for the drier, calmer nights.
Before dark: the dusk ride at the dunes
If you are staying on the south coast, there is an earlier way to catch the evening light. The after-hours electric fat bike ride starts every day at 3:30pm at Little Sahara, with eight riders at most. It passes through gum forest where a koala sighting is promised, then heads out onto the dunes as the sun gets low. Riders need to be at least 120 cm tall and able to ride a bike well.
It pairs well with a night drive on a different evening, because the two cover different ground. Things to do lists the south coast stops around it.
What to bring
- A warm layer: the tours run in all weather, and the nights are cool most of the year.
- Dinner beforehand: no night tour includes an evening meal.
- A camera without the flash on: the guide’s torch does the work.
- Time: arrive a few minutes early; the shared tour leaves after ten.
For what each season adds, from joeys in winter to the koalas’ mating calls in summer, see the best time to visit.
Book a night tour on the island
Small Group Kangaroo Island Evening and Night Tour
Two to three hours after dark by 4WD from Kingscote, eight guests at most, looking for wallabies, possums and owls.
From $103 per person (minimum 2)
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Nocturnal Tour of Kangaroo Island
A private night drive of about two hours from Kingscote, torches provided, looking for kangaroos, wallabies and penguins.
From $121 per person
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After Hours Electric Fatbike Tour in Kangaroo Island
An electric fat bike ride from 3:30pm through gum forest and over the dunes as the light drops, eight riders at most.
From $140 per person (minimum 1)
Check AvailabilityNext: see what swims off the coast by day, in the swim, the cold and the calf rule. Every fare sits side by side on Kangaroo Island Tours.