Kangaroo Island, where the animals had the place to themselves

Kangaroo Island lies off the coast of South Australia, south-west of Adelaide, across a narrow strait. It is the third-largest island in Australia, after Tasmania and Melville Island, about a hundred and fifty kilometres from end to end. Around ten thousand years ago, as the seas rose at the end of the last ice age, it was cut off from the mainland, and its wildlife was left to itself. Aboriginal people had lived on the island in earlier times, but by the time Europeans arrived it appears to have been uninhabited, and the animals had the place to themselves.

When the English navigator Matthew Flinders landed in 1802, his hungry crew found kangaroos so unused to people that they could be approached and shot with ease. He named the island after the meal. A French expedition under Nicolas Baudin explored the coast soon afterwards, which is why some of its features have French names.

Why the wildlife thrives

The island's isolation has kept away some of the introduced animals that have done so much damage to Australian wildlife on the mainland. There are no foxes and no rabbits, and as a result many native species that have declined elsewhere are still common here. The kangaroos are a distinct, darker-furred form of the western grey kangaroo, found only on the island. Wallabies, echidnas, possums and goannas are also widespread, and the bird life is rich. Koalas were introduced in the 1920s, as a conservation measure, and have flourished in the island's eucalyptus forests, to the point of causing problems for the trees.

The island also has a famous colony of bees. In the 1880s, Ligurian bees from Italy were introduced, and the island was later declared a sanctuary to keep the strain pure. It is said to be the purest population of its kind in the world, and the island's honey is a local speciality.

Sea lions, seals and remarkable rocks

The best-known wildlife encounter on the island is at Seal Bay, where a colony of Australian sea lions lives on the beach and the dunes behind it. The species is endangered, and this is one of the largest colonies. Visitors walk with rangers among the sea lions resting on the sand, a rare chance to see them so close in the wild.

At the western end of the island, Flinders Chase National Park protects a large area of wilderness. On a granite dome above the sea stand the Remarkable Rocks, huge boulders eroded by wind and spray into strange hollow shapes and coated in orange lichen. Nearby, Admirals Arch is a natural rock arch above the waves, with New Zealand fur seals lounging on the rocks below.

The island is also a place for food and wine. Its isolation and clean environment support small producers of honey, cheese, seafood and gin. Vineyards grow on its northern slopes, and oysters and marron, a large freshwater crayfish, are local specialities. A ferry crosses the strait from Cape Jervis, south of Adelaide, in under an hour, and there are flights from Adelaide.

Fire and recovery

In the summer of 2019 to 2020, devastating bushfires swept across Australia, and Kangaroo Island was among the places worst hit. The fires burned around half the island, including most of Flinders Chase, killing many thousands of animals and destroying homes and businesses. The recovery since has been remarkable. The bush has regenerated, visitor facilities have been rebuilt, and conservation projects have worked to protect the species most at risk.

Travelsphere's The Wonders of Australia, twenty-nine nights, includes Kangaroo Island with Adelaide and Warrnambool in the south. It also takes in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Uluru, Alice Springs, Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine and Cairns.

Travelsphere's The Wonders of Australia with New Zealand Add-on, forty-seven nights, covers the same Australian route, including Kangaroo Island, and then adds New Zealand.

The best wildlife watching is in the early morning and at dusk, when the kangaroos and wallabies come out to graze. Driving after dark is best avoided, because the animals are everywhere and very hard to see on the road. The island is at its most pleasant from spring to autumn, though winter brings its own quiet charm, with whales sometimes passing offshore.