Kangaroo Island night life wilder than you know

Despite being nearly 100 miles across, the island has only a handful of small towns and a population of 4,200. In many areas there is no sign of humanity. You can drive for miles down long, straight stretches of road without passing another vehicle. But what else would you expect in a place where sheep outnumber people 300 to 1?

After a 45-minute ferry ride from the mainland, we arrived just after dark on the eastern end of the island in the tiny village of Penneshaw and set out to enjoy the night life. Unlike many island destinations, night life here doesn't revolve around bars and clubs. Here it's all about the animals.

Many of the island's species are most active at night. In fact, so many animals are out and about that driving after dark can be extremely dangerous and is not recommended.

One of the top nocturnal attractions is the Penneshaw Penguin Centre, which includes interpretive displays and a viewing platform that allows visitors to observe a colony of the smallest penguin species in the world in their natural environment.

While peering at the cute, foot-tall birds with the help of a specially filtered flashlight, it was hard not to feel like we were spying on the neighborhood happenings. After a long day at sea, they waddled out of the water and trekked up the embankment along the "penguin highway" to their homes.

The penguins live as couples in their burrows and spend a lot of time outside squawking and squabbling with neighbors. The males are responsible for "decorating" the burrows, and many of them painstakingly search for just the right twig or rock to bring home.

Walking back to our hotel, we came across penguins waddling around the empty streets of Penneshaw. A group of them was even congregating on the town's mini-golf course.