Cape du Couedic

Arriving at the car park, while everyone else was faffing about, I headed to the large information board to suss out the route, and come up with a plan on the best way to tackle this walk. There are two other trails in the area (the Lighthouse Heritage Walk & Weirs Cove Track), but we were here for the Cape du Couedic Hike, before moving on to Remarkable Rocks. With the others joining me, I told them that it made sense to check out the lighthouse first, and then head down the hill towards Admiral's Arch. Being a significant landform that juts out south from Kangaroo Island, it makes for the perfect location to put a lighthouse on. The heritage listed Cape du Couedic Lighthouse was finished in 1909, and with no road to this part of the island back then, materials were offloaded at a nearby jetty, and transported via flying fox up the hill. ​There's something romantic about visiting lighthouses, and I've never visited one that didn't capture my imagination, with Cape du Couedic being no different.

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I enjoyed that it wasn't a typical all white building, with the light coloured stone providing a unique look, added to with the red/pink roof. After admiring the lighthouse, we set about finding the trail that takes you through the low scrub towards the first lookout. Being April, I wasn't expecting many wildflowers in bloom, but that didn't stop me scanning the undergrowth like I would in spring. Just like the Snake Lagoon Hike, this trail utilises the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail, so you'll see the shared trail markers as you descend the hill. With excellent views looking over towards Casuarina Islet and Paola Islet, I think we were here on a relatively gentle day. With this being positioned to cop all sorts of weather coming off the Southern Ocean, I can imagine it would get pretty wild here during winter. At the bottom of the hill you arrive at Fur Seal Lookout, a short return walk from the main track, where you'll get your first look at the local residents on the rocks below. 

Happy to have upgraded to an 18-300mm lens in recent times, it allows me to shoot both wide landscapes and wildlife, albeit with some compromises on quality. Once I had my eye in, it was good fun watching the three different types of sea puppies (Long-nosed Fur Seal, Brown Fur Seal & Australian Sea Lion) playing in the surf. From here you can also appreciate the stunning coastline, with Remarkable Rocks visible in the distance. Moving on, we backtracked to the main path, and headed towards the wooden boardwalk that eventually takes you down to Admiral's Arch. The boardwalk showcases the coastal scenery, and is more than just a way to get to the main event. We managed to spot more seals, along with nesting Pacific Gulls, and I stopped to watch the waves crash upon the jagged rocks below. Descending the staircase that leads to Admiral's Arch, it was nice to have the final lookout to ourselves, given the crowd numbers we had experienced so far on the walk. 

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A natural formation, it was fantastic to stand there and take in all the details covering the walls, ground, along with enjoying the views looking out towards the open ocean. Scanning the interior of the arch, we soon spotted some seals that were enjoying the sheltered position on a flat piece of rock. The photos don't really do this place justice, as shooting with a stark contrast between light and dark always makes things difficult in the middle of the day. Ready to move on, we took our time getting back up to the stairs, as there are some great vantage points to spot more seals, as they have plenty of protected spots to sunbake in. Watching some more energetic seals having a frolic in the water was good fun, and I tried my best to capture them as the surf rolled in. Walking back up the hill, we had the second half of the loop to reach the lighthouse again, and this was a nice way to end the walk. With one more lookout to enjoy the views overlooking the distant islands, this was one to remember from our time on Kangaroo Island.