Enjoy private guided touring on Kangaroo Island with the ability to adjust the itinerary to suit your specific group. Perhaps you can't wait to get up close and personal with the wild Australian Sea Lion, spot many koalas in their natural habitat, wander along a deserted beach or taste some amazingly good KIS Gin. Experience the Flinders Port Wharf in Port Lincoln, a behind the scenes tour and lunch at the Fresh Fish Place and a trip to the Port Lincoln National Park. Relax in the grounds of the lovely Mikkira Station with a platter of local produce. We let your taste buds do the talking with a Seafood Masterclass including dinner with renowned chef Kris Bunder. Coffin Bay National Park, freshly shucked oysters and an oyster farm cruise .... this is a tour we know you will love!
Day One
Arrive at the Airtours & Platinum Aircraft Charter private passenger lounge by 8am to meet your fellow guests and Airtours team. There is time for a real coffee before walking straight out to your turboprop aircraft for the short flight across the ocean to land on Kangaroo Island. Met by your private guide for the day you will jump aboard your luxury 4WD vehicle and begin your journey of discovery on the island known as the 'zoo without fences'.
Itineraries are able to be adjusted to some extent to ensure we meet the group interests but high on the list is a visit to Seal Bay to watch the wild Australian Sea Lions in their natural environment, depending on the time of the year you may also be lucky enough to find a baby suckling on mum. Rugged ocean beaches, amazing local produce, guaranteed wildlife sightings, locally distilled gin and a luxury picnic lunch are all experiences you will remember for a very long time.
Overnight Ozone Hotel, Kingscote.
The Australian sea lion is a pinniped, most closely related to other species of sea lions and fur seals making up the family Otariidae. These mammals use their flippers to propel themselves in water and can walk on land with their flippers. Australian sea lions share distinct features with other sea lions. These include short fur, short flippers and a bulky body.
Day Two
We start your adventure at Flinders Ports Wharf. This wharf is South Australia’s main grain exporting plant, the natural deep-water harbor enables Port Lincoln to fully load grain carriers. An average season is almost 3 million tonnes of cargo is moved through the wharf, totaling around AUD$2.2 billion. This includes the majority of grain commodities (including wheat, canola, barley, peas and beans) harvested on the Eyre Peninsula and a huge proportion of the fresh seafood caught in South Australian waters. Often you will have the opportunity to view the unloading of a fishing boat, or fertilizer that has been imported to grain that is to be exported.
Next, we take you to the Marina Wharf to visit the home of the largest fishing fleet in the Southern Hemisphere, to see the diversity of Port Lincoln’s fishing industries and vessels. The local fishing industries include Bluefin Tuna, Hiramasa Kingfish, Spencer Gulf King Prawns, Blue Mussel, Southern Rock Lobster, and Sardines as well as smaller trailer boats used for Abalone, Southern Calamari, Snapper, Crabs and King George Whiting.
Whilst at the the Marina, we take in a morning cruise on board the Tesla, a unique electric canal cruiser and soak up the surroundings and rich history. This is a perfect way to discover our millionaire’s paradise (there are more millionaires per capita here in Port Lincoln than anywhere else in Australia) plus working and pleasure boats and yachts. This is another personalized experience with first-hand knowledge from someone who has watched the evolution of the seafood trade and discover Port Lincolns famous Southern Bluefin industry.
Following this, you are taken on a hands-on, 45-minute tour of the Fresh Fish Place, where you will see the full process a fish goes through, from ocean to plate. Meet local fisherman as they drop off the catch of the day from all over the Eyre Peninsula, to the factory that includes our famous King George Whiting, Flathead, Garfish, Leather Jacket, Boarfish, Snapper, Nannagai, Shark, Mussels, Coffin Bay Oysters, Prawns, Squid, Crabs and lots more.
At the end of the tour, you get to sample a tantalizing selection of in house smoked fish and pickled seafood. Locally made souvenirs are available here for purchase.
Lunch at Fresh Fish Place. With a brand-new shop front and kitchen, you can select your own fresh fish or shellfish from the pre-arranged menu and have this cooked to your taste. Enjoy seafood in the Capital Seafood Destination in Australia.
After an in-house lunch at the Fresh Fish Place, we take you to the diversity of the Port Lincoln National Park. From the naturally rugged and wild Sleaford Bay and the Southern Ocean to the tranquillity of the Spalding Cove area and other beautiful beaches. Of the 29,000ha National Park, you can walk or beachcomb along Surfleet Cove, take a 45-minute hike to see spectacular views of Boston Bay, Port Lincoln and the Port Lincoln National Park at the Stamford Hill Lookout or be amazed by the stunning cliffs of Wanna, to the north massive sand dunes, all the while overlooking the beautiful Southern Ocean.
Next is the beautiful Mikkira Station, one of the few habitats where Koalas can be found in the wild. Visit the restored original homestead and go for a stroll under the beautiful old Eucalypt trees and come face to face with the cuddly icon of Australia as they laze in the Manna gums. Wild but placid kangaroos casually hop around in this beautiful historical setting, where in 1842 Scotsman Adam Borthwick and his family made their home as one of the very first settlers of the region. Emus roam around amongst mobs of sheep and there is astounding birdlife here, some of which are rare and native to this area. As the sun settles for the evening, we sit back around the fire (only out of fire season) and relax with a platter of local produce, wine and listen to the sounds of nature. It’s beautiful!
We transfer you back to Port Lincoln and you will check in at the 4.5-star Port Lincoln Hotel developed by tuna baron, Sam Sarin. With waterfront rooms gaining sweeping views of Boston Bay, the hotel offers exceptional service with 24 hour in-house facilities, a swimming pool, gym and with 2 fantastic bars plus entertainment each weekend, your stay here will be very memorable!
Seafood Masterclass
Let your tastebuds do the talking with a Seafood MasterClass cooking demonstration and dinner with renowned Chef, Kris Bunder, one of Port Lincolns best known Chefs.
Kris welcomes you into his home on the Lincoln Marina, the setting is divine overlooking the waterways of the Port Lincoln Marina and Kris will provide you with the most freshest and sumptuous seafood that Australia can offer which will include wild caught Abalone, Squid and Prawns, locally farmed Kingfish, Mussels and Coffin Bay Oysters to name a few local species, all accompanied with local wines.
This will be a dinner to remember.
Day Three
First on the agenda today is one of the best viewing areas in South Australia – Winter Hill. From this vantage point you can see the city of Port Lincoln, Boston Island, Boston Bay and all the way out to the stunning Port Lincoln National Park. A 360’ degree view affords stunning views towards Coffin Bay and the lower west coast of Eyre Peninsula. This is a superb photo opportunity, as the ever-changing cloud formations make for a superb backdrop.
Now we head to home of the best oysters - the beautiful Coffin Bay. The area is of outstanding beauty, world famous Oysters and is home to a variety of important species of flora and fauna. There are no other comparable systems of bays and inlets in such compact form anywhere on the coast, which is why this area is classified as a maritime wilderness area.
Coffin Bay Oysters, South Australia
Oysters are on the menu and we take a 1.5-hour tour with Coffin Bay oyster farmer Chris Hank on his oyster cruise. Chris will be showing and educating you all about the Pacific and the Native Angasi Oyster from a picturesque oyster-lease in the bay of Coffin Bay. This is a typical operation that contributes to the 60 tonnes of oysters that are trucked out of Coffin Bay every week with Chris explaining and showing you, the whole Oyster growing process. Fresh out of the rack, you get to sample these magnificent Oysters proving why they end up in the top restaurants around the world.
Lunch of fresh seafood platters at Coffin Bay 1802 Oyster Bar & Restaurant.
After a gourmet lunch, we head to the Coffin Bay airstrip, where your charter flight will be waiting.
Private Charter Flight, Air Touring South Australia