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A giant bee outside Island Beehive on Kangaroo Island, celebrating the island’s protected Ligurian bee heritage.
- Limited accessCheck the access notes for details before visiting
- PParkingonsite
- Public toiletsonsite
- iVisitor centre / gift shoponsite
- Access hours applyonsite
Private to your Passport.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
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The Big Bee
This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
Site-level location · 35.6545° S, 137.6223° E
FIELD GUIDE
The story
Kangaroo Island has the only pure strain of Ligurian honey bee left anywhere in the world, and the giant bee at Kingscote is the monument to it.
The island was declared a bee sanctuary in 1885 – one of the oldest such protections anywhere – and the isolation has done the rest. Ligurian bees, brought from northern Italy in the 1880s, have been kept genetically pure here because no other bees may be imported, and the strain has been lost to crossbreeding everywhere else. It is a working conservation programme that happens to produce honey.
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PRACTICAL
Plan your stop
WHAT TO EXPECT
South Australia Tourism confirms Island Beehive is a current visitor attraction at 59 Playford Highway with parking, coach parking, toilets, shop and tours. Current specialist and visitor sources continue to identify the giant bee at the site.
ACCESS
Navigate to Island Beehive and use the visitor car park. Access to the shop and tours is subject to opening hours.
COMMUNITY
Visitor Log
WHAT'S NEXT
Find another Big Thing nearby
TRANSPARENCY
Sources & research
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