DISCOVER AUSTRALIA: SOUTh AUSTRALIA

The bountiful

islandWavering between the charms of luxury

comfort in a romantic retreat and the thrill of scrub bashing along the coast of Kangaroo

Island, Daniel Scott finds it all balances out for one heck of a wonderful southern experience.

Outside the Sky House, one of three private residences that make up the Lifetime Retreats on Kangaroo Island’s north coast, the coastal hills glow with golden fields of grass. Far beneath them, the

Southern Ocean collects in a turquoise bay backed by the arc of Snelling Beach. In the distance, Middle River jiggles toward the sea between soft, velvet-like pastures.

It is a lazy summer Saturday afternoon and I am alone at Sky House. The romance of the hacienda-style mud-brick house is not lost on me. I’ve only just arrived but am already plotting a return for a significant anniversary. My partner would love every detail of the Sky House, from the freestanding Villeroy and Boch bathtub to the voluminous red day bed and arched picture windows overlooking the coast.

But for now, with the luxury of time and solitude, I am absorbing the sensuous scenery of this bountiful island located 16km off the South Australian coast.

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In any case, I am not really alone. For the past half-hour I’ve been watching a sea eagle at work above the cliffs, uplifted on the coastal breeze, swooping down occasionally to hunt for food.

I, on the other hand, require no such effort. As evening draws in, Nick Hannaford, the imposing two-metre-tall owner of Lifetime Retreats arrives to deliver me a locally sourced home-cooked dinner.

“You look like you’ve been here a week already,” quips Hannaford, whose grandfather bought and farmed this land two generations back. My dinner of lamb shanks in a tomato, orange and wine sauce followed by old-style apple crumble only increases my feeling of being at home.

My weekend here comes at the beginning of a nine-day exploration of Kangaroo Island. From that first

afternoon at Sky House to a memorable Sunday dinner of local marron and freshly caught whiting served at the Retreats’ shack on Snelling Beach, it’s an intimate, soulful experience.

Already renowned for its wildlife and garnering a reputation for the quality of its produce and accommodation, Kangaroo Island is also becoming a compelling trekking destination. For the next five days I am joining a coastal wilderness trek with Australian Wilderness Adventures, a company that did much to develop walking on the island.

Our trek begins mildly, with a nine-kilometre hike through coastal sand dunes to our accommodation at the Hanson Bay cabins. These rustic but well-equipped beach houses are home to us for the week and we begin our stay in style, by tucking into local

America River oysters.

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American River oysters on the terrace overlooking the gleaming bay.

The next morning the real adventure begins with a demanding 16km hike between West Bay and Breakneck River in the Flinders Chase National Park. The trek takes us along the west coast’s gnarly cliff tops and empty windswept beaches and involves an effort of coastal scrub bashing.

Still, it feels good to be one of the first people to trek here and the views of sea lions and huge hologram-like aggregations of salmon swimming in the luminous Southern Ocean make it all worthwhile.

The next day, after recovering at Hanson Bay, we continue along more jagged cliffs from Snake Lagoon (where we are serenaded by banjo frogs) to Admirals Arch. The Arch is a popular gathering place for New

Zealand fur seals, which slumber on the rocks like dopey teenagers.

The final day of our coastal walk takes us from another island icon, the Remarkable Rocks, a natural sculpture park of weathered, 500 million-year-old granite fragments, to Cape Younghusband, where immense boulders slope dramatically into the churning sea.

At the end of the week, after strolling among doe-eyed Australian sea lions on the beach at Seal Bay, I bid adieu to my walking pals and settle into the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat.

This cosy collection of log pine guest rooms is spread among 45ha of native bushland at the entrance to Flinders Chase National Park. Wallabies and echidnas roam the grounds and there is more delectable island produce, including seafood chowder

TRAVEL FACTS- Getting there: A daily ferry crossings to KI from Cape Jervis.Visit: [@] www.sealink.com.au

e Stay at: The Sky House, from $440 per night: [@] www.life-time.com.auSuites at Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat, from $265 per night. Visit [@] www.kiwr.com

E Walk with: [@] www.australianwilderness adventures.com.au runs five-day Kangaroo Island treks in autumn and spring for $1995 per person, ex Adelaide, including accommodation, transfers and most food.

overflowing with mussels, prawns and scallops on offer at the onsite Nicolas Baudin restaurant. The Retreat’s another deeply relaxing island location in which to end my visit.

When I leave Kangaroo Island I am a different person from when I arrived; I’m invigorated, fitter and above all soothed by my close connection with the island’s ravishing natural beauty. •

The Remarkable Rocks.

Trekking Hanson Bay.

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