Kangaroo Island after the fires

Kangaroo Island is still the place of Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch, of Seal Bay and a pace that is not the Fleurieu on a Saturday. It is also an island that burned. Visiting as if 2020 were a footnote is a way to miss what the place is doing now: replanting, reopening walks, living with a changed canopy.

Penneshaw or Kingscote as a landing. Flinders Chase when the roads and walks you want are open. The rocks at dusk are almost a cliché and still worth it. Give the island two nights at least. A day trip from Adelaide is a look, not a visit.

Wildlife without a cuddle

Koalas, kangaroos, sea lions — all easier to harm than to photograph well. Stay on boardwalks. Join the guided Seal Bay walk. The ethics guide is the house style.

Food and wine exist here too, and they are not a consolation prize. They are how some of the island recovered a livelihood.

Getting there

Ferry from Cape Jervis, or a flight if the sea is in a mood. Cars need booking in peak weeks — see the holiday calendar. If you are pairing with the mainland, Adelaide and the hills are the civilised frame; the Margaret River weekend is the west-coast cousin, not a neighbour.

Go because you want an island, not a tragedy tour and not a denial tour. The rocks will still look like they were poured.