FAQS
Frequently asked questions.
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Can I visit Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary?
Yes, you can visit for pre-booked guided tours (bookings essential) Please book via the Tours page. Please note we no longer offer self guided walks and there is no cafe. For group or last-minute bookings please call or text 0459119492. We also have 2 cabins listed on AirBNB.
What happened to Hanson Bay in the bushfire?
The Ravine Fire started in Flinders Chase National Park on December 20, 2019, by a dry lightning storm and burned for six weeks. Half of Kangaroo Island was burned during this time. On January 3, 2020 this fire swept through the southwestern end of Kangaroo Island that includes the Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. Fire consumed many of the buildings, including the Visitors Centre, the staff accommodation, the homestead (volunteers/backpackers quarters), and the older cabins at the beach. The fire also burned much of the koala walk and the wallaby walk and across much of the grassland area.
How much of Kangaroo Island was burned?
Half of KI burned during these terrible few weeks, including Flinders Chase National Park, Kelly Hill Conservation Park, Grassdale and the Kangaroo Island wilderness trail. But a better question to ask and answer is how much was NOT burned! The unburned eastern end comprises over 2,000 square kilometres! This is larger than ALL of the Whitsunday Islands or twice the size of Tahiti or Grand Bahama or roughly the same size as Maui or Tenerife. There is a lot of Kangaroo Island that – thankfully – the fire did not reach, although all of the island community has been affected by this fire. Please see the image from www.adelaidenow.com.au as a reference.
Photo credit: The Advertiser online
How were the animals affected?
In general, a lot of native animals died in the fire, both in the national park and at Hanson Bay. Over 700 native animals were buried at Hanson Bay by the Australian Defence Forces who arrived to help in the aftermath of this devastation. Severely injured animals were taken to veterinary triage, if possible, or were humanely euthanized in the days immediately following the fire. But, again, the amazing thing is how many have survived. On 8 January, four koalas were counted as survivors in the trees, even as nearby stumps were still smoking and flare-ups threatened close by. A week later, 45 koalas were visible in the Sanctuary! There were also kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas and birds visible at that time.
What is Hanson Bay doing to help the animals?
In general, Hanson Bay has always been and will always be a place for animals in the wild. We are a wildlife conservancy. The animals here must be able to survive on their own, in the wild. However, during this extraordinary time, as our landscape recovered and for the first time ever, we provided supplemental feeding for the koalas for almost 10 weeks and we participated in an aerial food drop program (for the macropods) initiated by South Australia’s National Parks Department.
In addition, we took the unprecedented step of translocating 28 healthy koalas to the mainland, to Cleland Wildlife Park in the Adelaide Hills. Now known as the “golden children” they are the nucleus of a double disease negative quarantined insurance colony. Please see https://koalalife.asn.au/news/the-discovery-of-the-golden-children for further information. Even after sending this large group to the mainland, our most recent survey found 40+ healthy koalas at Hanson Bay Sanctuary.
Will the cafe reopen? Where can I buy food and fuel?
We are not rebuilding the cafe because the new Flinders Chase Visitors center and cafe https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/parks/flinders-chase-national-park will be right on our boundary. Also there is a small general store 1 km away at the caravan park where you can buy fuel and basic necessities
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What about the cabins?
We have 2 large (75Msq) one bedroom (queen) cabins built in 2015, Stormy Petrel and Cygnet. Stormy is closer to the point and has an extra wall of glass. Both enjoy spectacular views.
They have a connecting door so can operate as a 2 bedroom cabin sleeping 6. Many repeat guests book both….it is the best way to experience Hanson Bay!
The original log cabins were destroyed in the fire in 2020- if you have photos please let us know.
What can I do to help?
Please visit Kangaroo Island and plan to visit us by booking a tour or a cabin. Also ask about volunteering . Tourism is vital to all of the island community. There are so many wonderful businesses and beautiful locations on Kangaroo Island that you’ll have a tough time trying to see it all. We look forward to showing you the amazing recovery of the fauna and flora.
Hanson Bay has always encouraged volunteers. At present we can accept school and other groups of upto 15. We can also accept backpackers willing to camp. As always we try to make volunteering a meaningful but fun and educational way to experience the sanctuary. Please contact us.
In the future, we hope to restart the residential volunteer program, for koala and other wildlife surveys, re-vegetation,tree planting, and other conservation work.
