Our first full day on Kangaroo Island involved visiting some great attractions and learning more about the island. Our first stop was the light station at Cape Willoughby Conservation Park which offered a history on not only the settlement of the island but also insight into how the light station impacts the agricultural industry. Our second stop of the day, the Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari Tour, gave us a look into some of the aquatic life of the island and how it generates a tourism industry.
At the Cape Willoughby Conservation Park Light Station tour, we were given a brief history on how the lighthouse came to existence. Officially opened in 1852, it stands as South Australia’s first lighthouse. It was built from granite and lime mortar which is prominent in the part of the island where the settlers first landed, then built the lighthouse.
The lighthouse plays an important role in the shipment of goods, which is why it was initially constructed. The body of water it looks over, known as the Backstairs Passage, is regarded as a treacherous waterway that required the lighthouse to help sailors navigate the rough waters. It helped ships pass through during the mid-1800s when a costal shipping trade was booming between the eastern colonies and the colony of South Australia.
In modern times, it still acts as a guide to those shipping goods, particularly the agricultural goods produced on the island. Our tour guide explained to us that the only way to get goods on and off the island is by a ferry. All livestock, crops, vehicles and machinery must take a ferry to get off the island, requiring a safe and reliable mode of transportation. Even though ships are now equipped with GPS devices to get them through the rough waters, the lighthouse still stands as a safeguard in case the advanced technology fails.
Although I think our tour guide did not think there was a direct connection between the lighthouse and the agriculture industry of the island, it was clear that the light station has helped the industry from the beginning of the settlement of the island to modern times.
Our second stop, the Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari Tour, took us on a boat ride along the coast of the island. We got to view a number of different wildlife on the island, including wild dolphins and sea lions native to the island and water around the island.
The wildlife on the island is a large part of Kangaroo Island’s tourism industry and brings a large number of visitors to the island each year. Our tour guide told us that we were visiting in the perfect time of the year because the weather was cool enough for the animals to come out of hiding.
When we asked our tour guide about what he does in terms of conservation for the wildlife and educating the public, he seemed to think that he did not do anything. Although he said he didn’t do anything, I think he does more than he realizes. The simple education of the public on the wildlife of the island works to bring awareness. Without the wildlife, he would be out of a job, so I think he works to preserve the wildlife without even thinking about it.
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