Southern star
T
he pavilions of Southern Ocean
Lodge stretch along the sea
cliffs as if they’re embracing
the silver-green coastal scrub.
Enormous waves with opulent
whitecaps batter the shore and
fill underground caves, making
the foundations tremble. This is the Australian
landscape at its most powerful and, in the true
sense of the word, awesome.
It’s midwinter on
Kangaroo Island, when
tourists are few and
scattered but when
the island’s raw
beauty is showcased
spectacularly. On the
quick 25-minute flight
from Adelaide to
Kingscote, the island’s
largest town, we bump
through the clouds
until golf courses,
farmsteads, emerald-
green grazing land and
wetlands are revealed
below. It’s an additional
hour’s drive to Southern
Ocean Lodge in the
south-west, where
the landscape becomes
considerably wilder, the
forests denser and
the cliffs dramatically
vertiginous.
Australia’s third-
largest island lies 112
kilometres south-west
of Adelaide, acrossInvestigator Strait — named after the ship of
English explorer Matthew Flinders, who was the
first European to discover it back in 1802.
Kangaroo Island’s original Indigenous
inhabitants, abandoning it about 2000 years
before that, named it ‘Island of the Dead’. In
the 19th century, the first white settlers were
sealers and salt harvesters, clearing some of
the land for farming. A century later, in 1919, the
Flinders Chase National Park was established
on the western end, conserving the bushland
as a sanctuary for endangered species, some
of which, such as koalas and platypuses,
were introduced from the mainland and
surrounding islands.
The island is now often referred to as
‘Australia’s Galapagos’ for the diversity of its
wildlife and plant species and for its pristine
coves. Anyone wanting to see kangaroos, wallabies
and koalas in their native habitat won’t be
disappointed. It’s teeming with roos while koalas
prop, just out of reach, in the forks of eucalyptus
trees. In winter, the first joeys appear, as well as
platypuses, echidnas, Cape Barren geese,
maritime birds, seals, wild pigs and Australia’s
third-largest colony of sea lions.
When Southern Ocean Lodge opened in 2008,
it brought a welcome touch of glamour to the
remote island. The bold concept from James
Baillie was sensitively designed by architect Max
Pritchard. The resort has been repeatedly
recognised in international hotel awards. It is
arguably Australia’s most luxurious ‘base camp’
for exploring the wild southern coast and its
singular flora and fauna.
The lodge is situated on limestone cliffs
overlooking Hanson Bay, a location that lies
roughly between the island’s two major attractions
— the Remarkable Rocks and ››Blending glamour with the rugged terrain off the South Australian coast,
SOUTHERN OCEAN LODGE is the ideal base for exploring Kangaroo Island.KANGAROO ISLAND
THIS PAGE a fur seal
pup from the colony
near Admiral’s Arch. The
coastal walk and guided
visit to the Remarkable
Rocks are part of the
Southern Ocean Lodge’s
signature tour, Wonders
of KI. OPPOSITE PAGE
Southern Ocean Lodge
from above.
By Lee Tulloch Photographed by Jeremy Simons