The Hindu Business Line : On the hop

When a friend mentioned ‘KI’ and the unforgettable experience it offered, I thought he was mistakenly referring to KL, as Kuala Lumpur is popularly called. He quickly proceeded to enlighten me on Australia’s very own KI or Kangaroo Island.

So, one swelteringly hot day in February, I boarded the flight from Adelaide to KI. A full half-hour of turbulent travel later, I landed at the Kingscote airport and was met by a rather cowboyish looking ranger. “Welcome to Kangaroo Island. I am Terry Pearce, your guide for the rest of the day,” he said. Within minutes we were racing in his Toyota Landcruiser for a rendezvous with the sea lions and seals at the Seal Bay. En route, Pearce outlined the history of Kangaroo Island.

KI is the third-largest island of Australia after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is 155 km long, 55 km wide and with a 540-km coastline, making it seven times larger than Singapore. Stone tools found by archaeologists suggest that aboriginal people had inhabited the island about 11,000 years ago until 200 BC. A British explorer called Matthew Flinders discovered the island in 1802 and named it Kangaroo Island. We were heading towards the Seal Bay, home to an Australian sea-lion colony. Pearce swerved sharply to avoid hitting an echidna that was crossing the road. “The island was occupied by sealers from 1802. The sealers were ruthless men. They kidnapped aboriginal women from Tasmania and mainland South Australia. It is said that three of these women tried to escape by swimming back to the mainland and one is on record to have survived the journey. With just about 4,300 people staying in it, you can imagine how sparsely populated the island is,” Pearce recounted.

Responsible tourism

Up close with seals

As visitors, we were handed two rules. “First, we are intruding into the territory of animals so we must try our best not to disturb them. Second, you will not wander away alone because that can be dangerous.” The sight of slothful sea lions basking in the sun was a treat for the eyes. Grabbing my camera I inched towards a massive sea lion that seemed to be performing a complex yoga posture. Scores of others waddled up the beach to rest in the sand dunes. Suddenly there was the sound of a baby sea lion crying for its mother. I must have strayed farther than intended because, all of a sudden, I came face to face with a large sea lion that had been lying well camouflaged under an overgrowth. Jumping back nervously, I saw Pearce gesticulating to me. “Keep calm and back away,” he mouthed the words against the wind.

For a few moments my heart thumped wildly. Slowly, I backed away, my eyes fixed on the lazing fellow.

We hopped back into the vehicle and drove towards Cape du Couedic. As we ambled down the wooden walkway, we came in sight of the amazingly blue and green sea and large waves splashing on the rocks. Pearce pointed out the Casuarina Islets in the distance. And then I spotted the huge fur-seals moving sluggishly on the rocks, bored by all the attention they were attracting. No wonder the UK Sunday Telegraph had called Kangaroo Island ‘one of earth’s last unspoilt refuges&# 8217;.

Ko... ko... koala!

Our next stop was at the natural habitat of koalas and kangaroos. The delightful koalas were lodged in the forks of eucalyptus trees, munching at the leaves and soft shoots. Despite all our efforts, we could not persuade them to descend from their safe perch. The koalas looked down disdainfully at us but we got good pictures to carry back home.

The kangaroos lazed under the shade of trees at a distance. We tried tempting them with some animal feed and managed to lure a couple of young ones to eat out of our palms, literally. The ‘Remarkable Rocks’, our next stopover, seemed to spring out of the waters like giant formations. “Aboriginals believed that only spirits resided in the Kangaroo Island so they didn’t want to live here. They also believed that the Remarkable Rocks were the place from where their spirit would travel to the next life and the rocks would point out the direction in which the spirit must travel,” said Pearce.

Soon it was time for lunch, and Pearce set up a table in a magnificent bush setting surrounded by tall trees. Seated on wooden benches, our table covered with spotless white sheet and dark green napkins, we had beautiful chinaware and cutlery laid out before us. We feasted on fried whiting fish that had been freshly caught and a delicious salad. There was even vintage champagne to go with the meal, which ended with a delicious dessert.

I had seen kangaroos, sea lions, seals, wallabies, koalas, pelicans, echidnas and a host of birds. And there is more — the Pamdana Wildlife Park, KI Marine Centre Pelican Feeding, Kelly Hill Caves, Emu Ridge and Admiral’s Arch — but that would require another visit. My friend was right — KI is an unforgettable place.

More Stories on : International Travel | Wildlife

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Via Nathu La… again

Bored with workouts?

Resham-mian serenades

‘…because I’m a mother’

On the hop

Jeeva’s lyrical frames

Discovery of Mughal India