Your KI hit list
Cape Wickham
Drive to the northernmost tip of the island to see the tallest lighthouse in Australia. The 48-metre Cape Wickham Lighthouse was built in 1861 and still guides ships across Bass Strait. Also on the coastline is Cape Wickham Golf Links (capewickham.com.au), which has been ranked the 21st best course in the world by the American Golf Digest. Not into the little white ball? The clubhouse has a restaurant with sweeping views of the coast.
Disappointment Bay
The name is terrible – or perhaps it’s genius. This pristine stretch of beach, one of the best on the island, is a 10-minute drive from the lighthouse but you’ll only ever have to share it with one or two others.
Penny Lagoon
Perched lakes – bodies of fresh water held in place by compacted sand and organic matter – are so rare that they’re only found in three locations in the world and Penny’s Lagoon is one of them. Limnology aside, the lagoon is a serene swimming spot with plenty of shade.
King Island Dairy
Cheese is big business on KI and King Island Dairy has modern premises in Loorana, just north of Currie (kingislanddairy.com.au). Visitors are offered a sampling plate of six cheeses to be enjoyed with a Tassie ale or glass of wine. Many of the cheeses are named for locations on the island, such as Phoques Cove Camembert and Seal Bay Triple Cream Brie.
Meat Your Beef
Ana Pimenta and Tom Perry are self-made farmers who started their 810-hectare beef property in the island’s north from scratch. Pimenta’s 90-minute educational tours of the farm (meatyourbeef.com.au) focus on the cycle of farming, breeding, pasture management and sustainability. You can add on a home-cooked lunch or dinner, which may include flat-iron steak with chimichurri or the Portuguese version of feijoada (beef and bean stew).
Martha Lavinia Beach
An amazing beach on the northeastern coast, Martha Lavinia (named after a schooner that came a cropper on a nearby reef in 1871) is loved by surfers for its breaks and A-frame waves.
Calcified Forest
This other-worldy landscape on the south coast has limestone “casts” that were formed by calcium carbonate encasing decaying remains of tree roots. The 7000-year-old “rhizomorphs” aren’t large but it’s a cool lesson in the changing nature of our planet.
Frogshack Farm
Anyone with even a passing interest in gardening, nature or bird-watching will love Carmen Holloway’s “walk and interpretive talk” at her patch of paradise in the centre of KI (kingislandgarlic.com). She tailors the tour to her guests’ areas of interest and wanders the farm with them, sharing her knowledge of native plants, growing garlic and more.
The Penguins at Grassy
Little penguins spend their days at sea but return to their burrows at dusk, when they’re least likely to be spotted by predators. Grassy Harbour, on the east coast, is the best place to see them. Local tour guide Matthew Archer says the experience rivals Phillip Island in Victoria, “only you can get closer to the penguins here”.
Seal Rocks
This lookout offers some of KI’s most dramatic views and the adjacent Copperhead Cliffs Walk (about 90 minutes return) is well marked, reasonably flat and has good access to the coastline.