Is Kangaroo Island worth including on a Lap of Australia? KI part 2 & review

[@nataliestewart5042]

helpful info and details.. love the natural chats - learnt heapps from you, thanks :-)

[@michaeldallimore8590]

Happy New year Paula and David. Thanks for all the informative videos during 2023. Looking forward to following your travels in 2024.

[@nextleveloz]

HNY to you also and thanks so much for watching and following. We wanted to share just because - but we also hope that for anybody else who is thinking of doing the same or just likes to see more of our great country, that it helps inspire their own plans and thoughts. We’ve also done some good sending some $$$ off to charity and that’s great as well. All the best.

[@midlandgeordie]

Glad Defender is behaving. Seems a perfect car for the job!

[@nextleveloz]

👍We are getting a couple of things fixed ATM, the recurring 2WD issue (hopefully) and they are replacing the rear shocks that were unscrewing on corrugations. and that causes a bit of damage. But once the turbos were replaced, we’ve had no recurrence of that issue thankfully - and we’ve put the car through its paces in some arduous conditions. It goes expectionally well, does the off-road stuff well and it’s great to drive. So fingers crossed those other issues are finally put to bed.

[@StephenFogarty2023]

@@nextleveloz I’m pretty sure that the issue you describe, with the rear shocks, is now a “ known issue “ With vehicles used, like yours… I think there is an official JLR “ Service Action “ Regarding this ? And a proper fix at the production line is already in place ? 👍

[@nextleveloz]

@@StephenFogarty2023 It’s known but few EPQRs in the system so i’m not aware of a service bulletin , but if you’ve got some info - all good. Mine are being replaced when parts are available.

[@martinsmith227]

Another fabulous informative video, thank you. Happy New Year to you both and looking forward to your next video.

[@nextleveloz]

Happy New Year and thank you again. KI was lovely. The next one is a little bit different! cheers

[@midlandgeordie]

We did exactly the same trip,about a week before you. Now back in cold ,grey wet UK!! Enjoyed KA.

[@nextleveloz]

What a coincidence - almost ! 😉. We loved it there and wish we’d spent another week there. From your handle it seems you’re from around Tyneside. Too cold and damp for us!! . We spent 18 months in Wiltshire many moons ago and it was lovely but the the winter cold got to us there. Mind you, we’ve just had several days of high 30s C here and that’s proper hot and no fun either! Hope you enjoyed your time in Oz. HNY and wishing you a great 2024. cheers

[@midlandgeordie]

Love Australia,have a son on Sunshine Coast. We do a road trip every year.Spent a month in WA last year and that was fab.This year Melbourne,Torquay,along GNRoad and then KA , Flinders and back to Melbourne via Grampians…loved it especially Wilpena Pond Flinders(did the flight too!) You have a great country,just can’t convince wife to Emigrate! Yes originally from Consett near Newcastle

[@nextleveloz]

@@midlandgeordie Love the sunny coast. You’ve seen some wonderful parts of our country. Yep Flinders Ranges is up there among our faves. cheers

[@streetleswa8053]

Great informative video , loved it .

[@nextleveloz]

Glad you enjoyed it!. Appreciate you watching. HNY!

[@StephenFogarty2023]

Another fantastic video And A very fair summary of KI At a cost of $ 940 return for Defender & Van, on the ferry, plus the Camp Sites every night etc, it does make sense to go for at least 2 weeks etc KI definitely very busy in the Summer months..

[@nextleveloz]

Thanks mate. And there is enough to do for 2-3 weeks and plenty of terrific places to just relax in between the activities. cheers

[@akk7806]

Great spot, well done. Happy New Year🎉 to you both.

[@nextleveloz]

It is a wonderful part of the country. HNY!

[@ianbailey4114]

Your Video production just gets better each episode.

[@nextleveloz]

Thanks Ian. We made a lot of rookie mistakes and just didn’t know as much about producing the content when we started - so between being a slow learner and lots of practice 😉, we have slowly got it better. We never set out to be professional content creators. I’ve occasionally gone back to some of the older stuff to see if it’s worth trying to improve it - we can’t make bad audio good or bad footage good, but we might be able to do a few tweaks and some better edits to improve some of the stuff that we think is worth a try for . I like the Bunda Cliffs stuff for example. We might also consolidate a couple of episodes into clunpier but tighter packages - don’t know. It’s a matter of time. But thanks for that feedback - we do try.

[@jeetts59]

You covered all the best spots, it sure does have a multitude of activities and wonderful scenery. I might be mistaken, but I can remember going to a crayfish farm that had armed guards walking around, apparently the holding tanks held many million dollars worth crays.. happy new year to you both

[@nextleveloz]

Happy new year for tomorrow. Thanks for the comment. There are a couple of aquaculture places on KI, we passed one on the way out to Stokes Bay. KI has so many activities - loved it. cheers

[@Sansui313]

another great video Dave and Paula... Happy New Year :)

[@nextleveloz]

Thanks mate. HNY to you guys as well.

[@walkaboutben]

Looks like you enjoyed KI, great videos! 🙌

[@nextleveloz]

Thanks for watching and the comment. We really liked KI. Glad we fitted it in, but we can understand why it might not work as part of a lap for many people. Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated. 🙏👍

[@gazzparsons]

Thanks David & Paula for your videos.We were wonding what month you visited Kangaroo Island?

[@nextleveloz]

Thank you for watching. It was the end of October. Off season and right at the end of the ferry winter maintenance period - so there was only one ferry operating and the campgrounds and van parks were mostly open. Weather was a bit fickle though - but nothing to spoil a great location. cheers

[@Gillysfishing]

Rockpool Cafe has amazing meals in season.

[@nextleveloz]

Thanks for watching and the tip. It wasn’t open when we were there but we’ve heard it’s good. cheers

[@PeterRowe-ip7ow]

Really good review and info thanks. I hope you both have a great NY and safe travels in 2024. Looks like you may need a new cap though David, your current looks like its on its last legs!

[@nextleveloz]

Thank you and all the best for 2024. Yes that cap is beyond its best. 😂. I have more than one and regrettably grabbed the old bash about one in error that morning. I was at the end of our chat when I realised it wasn’t my slightly better one! 🤦. By that time it was too late to change it and start again 🙄

[@StephenFogarty2023]

⁠@@nextleveloz OMG David I noticed the farshun faux pas ! I was so shocked I only watch your videos for the quality farshun ! Jk. Jk. 🤣🤣🤣 👍

[@nextleveloz]

@@StephenFogarty2023 Another reason I can never be an influencer! 😂

[@StephenFogarty2023]

@@nextleveloz 2,093 Subscribers ! U will hit 10 million before u know it ! 👍

[@Davo-i1s]

We just got home from doing the big lap but we didnt go down to Kangaroo Island or the Victor Harbour area on this trip. We had been to KI in March 2021 and only took the car over as we had made a mad dash from Newcastle during a brief window of time when the Victorian and South Australian borders were open. Towing the van would havre slowed us down too much and the way that they were shutting borders without notice we decided to get into SA as quickly as we could.. The island had been devestated by bushfires and was only just starting to recover when we were there hopefully it is getting back to normal it was sad to see the destruction that those fires caused. We found 4 days was enough for us to explore the island but then if you just wanted to sit back and relax you could spend a lot longer there.

[@nextleveloz]

Thanks for watching and the comment. It was crazy in that 2020 to early ‘21 period. I think you’re a good example of the dilemma we faced when asking the question about whether KI is a destination in its own right or a possible Lap inclusion. Even though we did include it rather than heading back arid and toward Birdsville, our thought as you saw is that even though we thought it was brilliant, most people probably wouldn’t afford the time and cost of taking their van there as part of a Lap. So it’s a longer stay destination in its own right in our view. 4 days - you probably tick off a short visit to the top icons but from our experience it’s a rush. Some people say tripped it or even overnighted and you could tell they were disappointed. The good news is they are recovering form the bushfires but you still see some of the scars. Thanks again - we’re glad we went and wish we had more time - but that only reinforced to us that many people probably wouldn’t include it on a Lap of they wanted to do many of the other things we were luck to do. Hope you had a blast on your Lap and HNY!

[@Davo-i1s]

@@nextleveloz totally agree you can do KI on a day trip if you want to but you wont have time to appreciate anything it has to offer I think 2 weeks would be well worth it if you took your van over. I went back and had a look at some of your. previous videos and the problems you had with your car that was one of our biggest fears that we had - something would go wrong when we were on some isolated section of road but fortunately nothing did. We have a Jeep Grand Cherokee and in terms of service centres, parts availability and reputation for reliabliity etc.I think it would be similar to Land Rover. We were at the Quobba blowholes in early July and in Esperance end of August We are back home in Lake Macquarie at the moment but heading for the Eyre Peninsular, Uluru and back through the 3 ways to Qld will be heading out mid February.after the school holidays, Stay safe guys - I just subscribed I'm interested to see where you head after KI.

[@nextleveloz]

@@Davo-i1s Thank you. Thankfully nothing further major after our problems in WA and we went on a number of rough and isolated roads. All the best for your ongoing travels. 👍🙏

[@tiinah-b2326]

We based ourselves for 3 nights in one of the Emu Bay holiday cabins on the hill. Agree that it was a great spot to be. Sorry to hear that the Rockpool cafe wasn’t open because the lunch there was very good. It was last mid October and the owner’s baby was actually due that day. Perhaps they are needing a holiday. Shame the wind put you off walking through the rocks to the pretty side of Stokes beach. We just walked through them, took in the view, and walked back through again, before hitting the road back after our 3pm lunch. It was a full morning exploring the north coast that day!

[@nextleveloz]

So much to do. It all confirms our sense that 2-3 weeks would be a great amount of time on KI especially if you have a van with you. We might have spent more time at Stokes Bay if it was warmer and a bit more protected or if the cafe was open. It was still a lovely day for a drive. But we had a great lunch at the KI brewery that had limited much time service so we had to make a choice. If only we’d had a few more days. 👍. It’s the story of the Lap though. So many terrific options and for every one you do, there is one you have to miss. Next time!

[@classicaustralianmusicandf7425]

Looks like you didn't go through the rocks to one of the best beaches around at Stokes Bay.

[@nextleveloz]

We knew it was there for sure. There was an onshore breeze and we didn’t have much time that day except to take a nice drive, so headed back for lunch. But this is a great example of why we think we needed at least an extra week so we could go back to places like Stokes Bay beach. It would be a cracking place to camp also when the weathers is slightly warmer and cafe is open. Thanks for watching and the comment - you can see why Stokes Bay beach is rated as one of the best. cheers

[@ianneill1400]

Did you go through the Tunnel @ Stokes Beach???

[@nextleveloz]

No. The wind didn’t make for a good beach walk - it was a sunny day for a drive but the onshore wind meant with limited time there were other things to do. But this is a great example of why we think an extra week or more would be ideal for KI, so you can pick the best spots for the weather and go back to places like Stokes Bay.

[@ianbailey4114]

I thought the cost OK for 2 weeks. Tas ferry is up there in comparison.

[@nextleveloz]

Two weeks is probably ok?? We spent 10 days and the equation probably gets better from 2 weeks on. It’s a 40 minute ferry trip at $940 rtn compared to $2000 rtn for a 10 hour trip each way to Tas. So our sense for both a good balance of cost, time, things to do and some relax down time, 3 weeks would be great on KI. So that might make it a better dedicated destination than a leg for lappers given the other things you might want to do in a lap. But if you don’t want to do say Gibb River Road or the Cape - and many people don’t, then KI is a pretty good little package. We loved it because it was a good contrast for some of the other stuff we had done and we quite like the leisure things as well as the adventure things. But less than 2 weeks (or our 10 days) and the numbers probably don’t work. Thanks for the feedback and thoughts. There are only so many great places you can fit in a lap so we hoped our experience might help others with their thoughts. HNY!

[@fishfrogs8231]

bloody expensive

[@nextleveloz]

Thanks for watching. It is expensive for sure, especially if you are taking the van across on the ferry which is why we say it’s really at least a lot least a two if not three week destination to justify the cost. As we said somewhere it’s a great place and maybe because of time and expense it’s a destination in its own right and maybe not ideal for most Laps. But a great place nonetheless. Thanks again. cheers