D'estrees Bay Kangaroo Island South Australia

Located on the southern side of Kangaroo Island D'Estrees Bay is an unspoilt natural paradise. Natural bushland meets long stretches of beach with firm sand, ideal for a leisurely stroll. The beaches are perfect for swimming, diving and surfing.

D'Estrees Bay is renowned for the elusive paper Nautilus shell, ship wrecks (rumour has it that gold treasure is somewhere in the bay) and as a former whaling station. Birdwatchers will not be disappointed as the Western Whipbird is a local and Murray's Lagoon is a nearby bird Mecca. The start of Cape Gantheaume coastal trek is at D'Estrees Bay leading into Cape Gantheaume National park.

Shipwrecks

Kangaroo Island's coastline has many shipwrecks. The shipwreck close to Blue Seas Beach House in D'Estrees Bay is the Osmali.

Osmanli

On 25th November 1853 the Osmanli ploughed into the reef at the southern end of D'Estrees Bay. On board the passengers were travelling from Melbourne to Port Adelaide with a cargo of mail. After a week the survivors of the wreck arrived in Port Adelaide on 1st December after enduring bad weather in lifeboats and being rescued at Cape Jervis by the ship Tamar. The shipwreck is believed to have occurred because the Sturt Lighthouse could not be seen due to dirty windows.

Bird watching

The following birds are in the D'Estrees Bay area (not including Murray's Lagoon)
Please enquire about the best time and place to see any of these species.

* most often seen at the Blue Seas Beach House bird bath
+ beach wash
M migratory

Australian Brush-turkey Indian Peafowl (Peacock) Painted Button-quail * Fiordland Penguin + Little (fairy) Penguin Grey- headed Albatross + Yellow- nosed Albatross + Sooty Albatross + Light-mantled Sooty Albatross + Southern Giant Petrel Fairy Prion + White-chinned Petrel + Short-tailed shearwater (Mutton bird) Australian Pelican Australasian Garret Black-faced cormorant Pied Cormorant Hoary-headed Grebe Black swan Australian shelduck Pacific Black Duck Grey Foul Chestnut Teal Australasian Shoveller Pinkeared Duck Hardhead Australian Wood Duck Musk Duck White-faced Heron Eastern reef Egret Australian White Ibis Ruddy Turnstone Sharp-tailed sandpiper Red-necked Stint Bush Stone-curlew Pied Oystercatcher Sooty Oystercatcher Masked Lapwing (Plover) Pacific Golden Plover M Hooded Plover Silver Gill Pacific Gull Caspian Tern Crested Tern Black shouldered Kite Osprey White-bellied Sea-Eagle Wedge-tailed Eagle Brown Goshawk Collared Sparrowhawk

Swamp Harrier Peregrine Falcon Nankeen Kestrel Spotted Turtle-Dove Common Bronzewing Brush Bronzewing Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Galah Rainbow Lorikeet Purple-crowned Lorikeet Rock Parrot M Pallid Cuckoo M Fan-tailed Cuckoo M Southern Boobook Barn Owl Fork-tailed Swift M Sacred Kingfisher M Superb Fairy-wren (Blue Wren)* Southern Emu Wren Spotted Pardalote Striated Pardalote * White-browed Scrub Wren * Shy Heath Wren * Brown Thornbill * Striated Thornbill * Red Wattlebird * Purple-gaped Honeyeater * Brown-headed Honeyeater * Crescent Honeyeater * New Holland Honeyeater * Tawny-crowned Honeyeater Eastern Honeyeater White fronted Chat Western Whipbird Scarlet Robin Grey Shrike-thrush * Golden Whistler * Grey Fantail * Willie Wagtail Black-faced cuckoo-shrike Black-faced Wood-swallow Australian Magpie Pied Currawong * Australian Raven * Little Raven Welcome Swallow * Tree Martin Red-browned Finch Beautiful Firetail * Silvereye * Common Blackbird Starling

Surfing

D'Estrees Bay offers surfers a beautiful morning surf with a sunrise. The break is located at the southern end of the D'Estrees Bay in a horseshoe shaped cove.

Diving/snorkelling

Divers will enjoy the abundant sea life in a variety of locations in D'Estrees Bay.

Fishing

A boat ramp is located at the beginning of the Blue Seas Beach House track as you turn left away from Cape Gantheaume National park. Whiting, flathead, trevally and mullet are regularly caught from beaches in the area.

Kangaroo Island Top 5 must do's

1. Sample the honey ice cream at Clifford's honey farm
2. Discover the wild penguins at Kingscote Warf
3. Explore the secret beach at Stokes Bay
4. See the Remarkable Rock at close quarters
5. Join the sea lions at Seal Bay for some close encounters

(source SA Motor magazine May/June 2005)