Description of the attraction
Penneshaw is a small town on the northeastern tip of the Dudley Peninsula, the main ferry port of Kangaroo Island. This is where ferries from the mainland Cape Jervis arrive.
In the 1990s. South Australia's only desalination plant was built in Penneshaw to meet the city's fresh water needs. This town is also home to the so-called "French Rock": in 1803, an expedition of the French explorer Nicolas Boden anchored in Hog Bay. One of his team members decided to perpetuate this event by engraving the corresponding inscription on a huge boulder. The memorial boulder was later moved and is today at the local Gateway Information Center. Other Penneshaw attractions include the Nativity Cave, St. Columbus's Anglican Church and the One Church, built around 1861, the first church on Kangaroo Island. You can get acquainted with the history of the city in the Maritime and Folk Museum.
And in Penneshaw you can get acquainted with the life of small penguins, the only penguin species that breeds offspring in Australian waters. Most often they can be found on the shore in the evenings - after sunset they return from the sea and waddle in a hurry to their nests. You can observe such penguin walks throughout the year, but the best time for this is from March to November.
At the Penguin Center, you can book a night tour to the beach, which begins with a story about these amazing birds. Then tourists along the boardwalk get to the observation deck above the rocks, in which the penguin nests are located. Depending on the time of year, you can watch how males try to attract the attention of females during the mating season, or see newly hatched babies, which, leaning out of the nest, scream desperately in anticipation of the return of their parents with their prey.
The management of the center asks not to photograph birds with flash, as penguins are very sensitive to bright light. The center is open for visits daily from 18.30 to 21.
