Kick back and walk on the wild side on Kangaroo Island

It took seven hours after arriving on Kangaroo Island in South Australia to see my first kangaroo.

Crouched in a dry field at the edge of a bumpy road, the stocky male briefly raised its head, made eye contact with me, then hopped away.

The sighting was not the life-changing, animal-communing-with-human moment I had been expecting on this island of 5,000 people and 50,000 kangaroos.

I naively thought a group of them would idly stand on a scenic hillside while I deliriously snapped photos of their sweet faces. But it was exciting nonetheless and as I discovered during my three days in April on KI, as the locals call it, was one of many memorable wildlife sightings.

Kangaroo Island is the third largest isle in Australia (after Tasmania and Melville Island, and six times bigger than Singapore), and was named in 1802 by the British explorer Matthew Flinders.

It was part of the mainland of Australia until 10,000 years ago, when rising sea levels created the island.

Today, this fish-shaped isle sits about 110km south-west of Adelaide, and its separation from the mainland has allowed it to become a refuge for nature and wildlife, with more than a third of the island protected by conservation areas and national parks.

It is also a pure distillation of Australian native flora and fauna - foreign species such as foxes, dingoes and rabbits that are on the mainland were never introduced here, and the government considers the environment here so unique that the island has quarantine laws distinct from the rest of Australia.

Such respect for the indigenous environment has allowed native species here to flourish and for the island to maintain a rugged, spare, elemental beauty, with grand, human-free landscapes.

Seal Bay is the only place in the world to see the endangered Australian sea lions in their natural habitat close up.

There are 700 in the colony here - a total of 9,000 in Australia - and I learnt that bulls can weigh up to 400kg and hunt for up to 70 hours for food like cuttlefish and jellyfish, and how the pinniped rolls in sand to get rid of sea lice and for natural sun protection.

Among the sandy dunes of the bay, I watched as they slept, shuffled around, fed their young and challenged each other to duels all as part of the daily routine and survival, and the experience was heartwarming.

Opportunities to see wildlife are abundant, though it requires patience and a sharp eye.

I saw kangaroos, wallabies, koalas and even the elusive echidna (found only in Australia and Papua New Guinea), a spiky mammal, roaming free.

In addition to rich wildlife, Kangaroo Island has gasp-inducing scenery, ranging from never-ending rolling plains, sparsely populated by eucalyptus, pine, towering gum trees and grass trees with black trunks, to jagged coastlines with empty beaches.

BEST BEACH

Vivonne Bay on the south central coast was voted the country's best beach by a Sydney marine studies professor a few years ago (a real accolade for a nation with almost 60,000km of coastline), and it is a slice of paradise, with shimmering turquoise seas dissected by a jetty, and on the day that I swam in its waters, pods of dolphins dropped by.

The arched Stokes Bay on the north coast is accessible through narrow rocky formations, and at dusk, with the waves rolling in, hills behind it and the occasional wallaby sighting, it weaved an intoxicating ambience.

Admirals Arch, not far from Vivonne Bay, is a rock bridge formed by the constant buffeting and erosion of its limestone by water and wind, and the accompanying black lichen growth and calcified tree roots give it a ghoulish appearance.

A short drive from here, also within Flinders Chase National Park, Remarkable Rocks are a collection of strangely shaped clifftop granite boulders, millions of years old, worn by the wind and water, brightened by coatings of orange lichen.

The environment here has also created inland sand dunes that spread over 2 sq km. Adventurers can walk the dunes or try riding them on sleds, or take the more thrilling option of sand boarding at Little Sahara.

For visitors looking for a greater buzz, Little Sahara's sister company Kangaroo Island Outdoor Action places thrill-seekers on quad bikes and takes them out on rocky tracks, inclines and descents.

On my last day on Kangaroo Island, I was booked on an excursion to swim with dolphins, but it was cancelled because of a passing storm.

I was disappointed, but then thought of all I had seen in a place that feels like a time capsule removed from modern day, an escape from life.

And I now have a reason to go back.

tnp@sph.com.sg

• How to get there: SeaLink runs a 45-minute ferry service from Cape Jervis (two hours from Adelaide by car) to Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island. Alternatively, take one of the numerous 30-minute daily flights on Regional Express from Adelaide to Kingscote, the largest town on the island.
• Where to stay: A wide range of accommodation is available, from campgrounds to luxury lodges. Few options can beat the views and sense of celebrity fantasy (imagine it is your own home) of the houses at LifeTime Private Retreats on Snellings Beach.
• Getting around: Kangaroo Island is a self-drive destination, but some roads, especially those that are corrugated, require care. Kangaroo Island Odysseys offers driver-guides who live on the island and have an impressive deep knowledge of the roads, flora, fauna, history and attractions.