Little Sahara Tours and Tickets

Everyone knows that the Australian mainland has swaths of wide-open desert, but it’s the southern coast of Kangaroo Island that has the most impressive system of sand dunes. Here, in the area known as “Little Sahara,” wind-sculpted dunes and shifting white ridgelines stretch out for a full square mile, with the tallest dunes rising to over 250 feet above the nearby ocean.

For as naturally gorgeous as they appear, however, the real fun in Little Sahara is in climbing the dunes, taking in the view, and then flying down the soft white slopes while strapped to a sandboard or toboggan. Much like snowboarding or riding a sled, sandboarding provides an adrenaline rush without the icy hard landing, and you can make tracks down the side of a dune in only your bathing suit or board shorts. Sandboards, however, aren’t the only tracks that you’ll find imprinted on the dunes, as early morning visitors will often find wildlife has left behind footprints in the night. Since the sea of sand dunes is devoid of shade and the sun can be scorching in summer, it’s only a short drive to Vivonne Bay and its famously turquoise waters. Not only can you cool down at one of Australia’s nicest beaches after a visit to Little Sahara—but also wash off all of the sand from high-speed tumbles in the dunes.