Exploring Australia’s Natural Beauty & Wildlife on Kangaroo Island
Released on 11/27/2024
[light music]
[Matt] As a travel editor,
I visit Australia over and over again
because each time is always different and exciting.
For this trip, I'm traveling with an artist
for The New Yorker, Gayle Kabaker.
We've just experienced a food lovers tour of Tasmania,
now onto Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
Australia is full of places with stunning landscapes
and conservation efforts,
but today we're visiting Kangaroo Island.
Kangaroo Island sits off the coast of South Australia.
You get there via a 45-minute ferry ride,
or a quick flight on Qantas from Adelaide.
We start our journey at Southern Ocean Lodge.
[Gayle] Oh my God.
This is stunning, isn't it?
A great hotel sets the scene for a great trip.
Cheers.
Cheers. [chuckles]
And Southern Ocean Lodge is not just a beautiful property,
It's a story of the future of sustainable luxury travel.
The colors, I'm actually speechless.
You're speechless. Speechless.
I'm just taking it all in. [Matt laughs]
That's a straight shot to Antarctica.
Yeah, we're really at the edge of the world.
The edge of the world.
And this spot, you really feel it.
The simplicity of the design,
it's like a blank canvas in a way
that just lets the color from the outside be the star.
The sage greens, light blues, beige,
that's my favorite palette.
[Matt] It's classic Gayle.
For a true locals guide to the island,
I've enlisted Craig Wickham
of exceptional Kangaroo Island Tours.
Where are you taking us today, Craig?
We are going to Stokes Bay
and Flinders Chase National Park.
I'm hoping to find kangaroos,
koalas, and some beautiful, beautiful landscape.
Kangaroo Island has been isolated
for about 20,000 years from the Australian mainland,
and a lot of the animals we get here
are different from the adjacent mainland.
[light uptempo music]
Craig, I've heard a little bit about the fires
a couple of years ago.
I'm curious, everything looks so lush and green,
but how has that environment changed at all since then?
It's coming back unbelievably fast.
I'm just gonna stop and turn around.
I just saw a local.
[Gayle] Wait, you just saw a what?
Look up here.
[gasps] Oh, wow.
We were talking about the fire recovery,
so this is sitting in a tree that has burned.
Oh my God.
So that's where he is camping during the day,
but at night he's gonna come down
and be feeding on all that new growth that's coming up.
So that's what I was saying about that recovery.
It's awesome.
[Matt] Is that a eucalyptus tree then?
[Craig] Yes, it is, yep.
[Gayle] This is possibly one of the most
magical moments I've ever had.
[Craig] So as one of my favorite places, Stokes Bay,
this was declared Australia's best beach.
Oh my God.
[laughs] Oh my God, what?
See, I said it was a nice beach.
See, there's a little print.
[Gayle] Oh my God!
So the wallaby is coming this way.
So been down maybe around the corner.
Anyone hungry?
[Matt] Absolutely.
Got a nice little picnic here.
Come and join me.
Here's cheers. Welcome to Kangaroo Island Mallee.
Thank you so much, Craig. [glasses clinking]
Thank you.
What's your favorite part about showing everybody,
not just Stokes Bay, but all of Kangaroo Island?
Yeah, what we do as guides, you know, we're storytellers.
So really it's about bringing all those elements of history,
culture, people.
People make a place,
and you are Kangaroo Island personified to me.
To new friends. [glasses clinking]
[light tranquil music]
Next up, Remarkable Rocks.
A truly sculptural landmark on the island
created by 500 million years of rain, wind,
and pounding waves from the Southern Ocean.
Gayle is going to love this spot.
So welcome to Remarkable Rocks.
Wow.
[Craig] Obviously didn't spend a lot of time naming them.
[Matt laughs]
They're rocks and they're remarkable.
I love this place.
It's really different depending on who you are.
Artists will see, you know, the sculptural forms.
How do you see this?
[Gayle] I am seeing animals. [laughs]
They look like bison or elephants.
[light music]
I am just totally inspired and blown away.
[Matt] This is just so incredibly unique
and out of this world.
[light music continues]
Over there, look.
Over there, look, hopping.
This is a really important thing.
As soon as you see them reacting, we stop.
So it's that slow development of trust.
So we, you know, have that sort of sense of shared space.
You know, we are the visitors here.
I mean, I love that we've stopped
at the side of the road, Craig,
and you've shown us this secret spot,
and we just kind of followed our whimsy.
And I think that's what Australia is all about,
is those magical moments.
This trip has ignited
and inspired me so much as an artist.
'Cause there's so much to discover about Australia,
the diversity of landscapes and wildlife,
all the wonderful people that we've met on our journeys.
And how do you boil that down into one trip?
And I think the answer is that you keep coming back.
So let's toast
an incredibly magical experience of Australia.
[glasses clink]
Thank you for bringing me here.
Thank you for coming along, Gayle.
I truly can't wait for my next trip to Australia.
Where should I take Gayle to next?
[wind whooshing]
A Trip to the End of the World: Exploring Antarctica
Pro Chefs Swear By This Hidden Gem Restaurant in a Dubai Mall
The Internet’s Madrid Travel Tips Are All Wrong
The Small Tokyo Noodle Factory Making Michelin Star Ramen
Everything That Makes B.I (비아이) Proud to Be Korean
Everything Kelly Rowland Loves About Atlanta
Everything That Makes Zara Larsson Proud to Be Swedish
A Day Making 5,000 Bagels at One of NYC’s Oldest Bagel Shops
Everything MUNA Loves About L.A.
Everything 'Drag Race' Star Queen Priyanka Loves About Toronto