Cape Willoughby Lighthouse & Wine

OVERVIEW

Treat your eyes to spectacular coastal views from a 19th-century lighthouse, and your palate to a tasting of Kangaroo Island-grown wines at a nearby cellar. A scenic drive from the pier leads to the southeastern tip of “KI”– that’s local shorthand for the island’s name – on the Dudley Peninsula. Here stands the Cape Willoughby Light, built of local granite and limestone in 1852. It’s South Australia’s oldest lighthouse, sorely needed to help navigators contend with a stretch of sea known as the Backstairs Passage, the treacherous channel between KI and the mainland. The vantage point on the coast is wonderful out here, and the scene is made even more perfectly Aussie by the free-range kangaroos that frequent this part of the peninsula. Not far away and bathed in the same maritime climate and sea breezes, wine grapes flourish. Enjoy a stop at a wine tasting establishment where you can taste how content these shiraz, sauvignon blanc and viognier fruits are to be growing here on Kangaroo Island as you sample the selections. The specific wines chosen for the tasting vary by the day, but the one sure bet is that they will showcase the unique KI environment.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Enjoy a highly scenic drive across beautiful Dudley Peninsula to a historic lighthouse park on its far tip.
• Catch stellar views from Cape Willoughby Light, helping captains make it through the ship-eating waters of the Backstairs Passage since 1852.
• Enjoy a stop at a wine tasting establishment sampling some of the islands finest wine.
• Taste this unique maritime environment in their offerings – whether a classic sauvignon blanc, full-bodied shiraz, caramelly viognier, or whatever ever they’re pouring today.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Wear weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, a bottle of water from the ship, sunglasses and sunscreen as needed.