Kangaroo Island’s Stokes Bay is Australia’s best but getting there’s a beach | Jessica Adamson
News that Australia’s best beach is right in our backyard is shockingly obvious to South Aussies – but so is something else about KI, writes Jessica Adamson.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
I ’ve very much enjoyed the news coverage on the east coast this past week after Kangaroo Island’s Stokes Bay was crowned Australia’s best beach.
“Shock selection of a little known SA beach!”
“Stokes Bay knocks out popular favourites!”
“Surprising winner of Australia’s 10 best beaches!”
From Palm Cove to Bondi, Yamba to Byron and Bells to Portsea, the CoolCabanas are still rocking with the news.
When are they going to admit that South Australia has the best and most breathtaking regional experiences in the nation? Silly question, I know.
It was a brilliant win from a field of almost 12,000 beaches and it came just days after the New York Times listed Kangaroo Island in its top 10 places to visit for 2023.
I could not be more excited for a community that’s been to hell and back. A special place that my family loves for its people, fishing, natural beauty and – I’ll be honest, its KI gin.
And this is just the beginning.
The breathtaking Southern Ocean Lodge is rising from the ashes of the devastating 2020 bushfires with SOL 2.0 set to open later this year, ahead of schedule.
When The Cliffs, a $20m world-class golf course overlooking the Southern Ocean, opens later next year it’ll be a whole new ball game.
You don’t need to love golf to realise this is something truly unique and exciting.
The course, atop 500-million-year-old cliffs, is being pitched as a bucket-list destination that will attract 40,000 extra tourists to the island.
The hugely complex project has been a decade in the making but under the leadership of chief executive Sam Atkins with the backing of the Pelligra Group, it’s finally happening.
The timing is sweet as excitement builds for the LIV Golf tournament at Grange in April, an event that’s already sold 40,000 tickets – 40 per cent of them outside of SA – despite the controversy surrounding its links to the Saudi government.
But there’s one problem I have with KI, and that’s getting there.
There are so many people who don’t go, simply because it’s too hard or too expensive.
Sadly, Rex Airlines no longer flies to the island.
Qantas does, but with limited flights it can be tricky to get on if you haven’t planned months ahead – and the flight times aren’t conducive to a decent day trip.
The Kingscote Airport is grossly underused. A closed cafe. Empty seats.
Hardly the welcome we want for those who’ve travelled halfway across the world to be with us.
SeaLink, part of the Kelsian Group, is a lifeline for KI locals, providing a safe and professional service since 1989. But even the locals can’t guarantee a spot on their boats if they want to take a car, and that’s a constant source of frustration and angst.
The 16km ferry trip across Backstairs Passage is reportedly the most expensive sea voyage for its distance in the world. It’s a title I’d rather we didn’t have.
An online price check with SeaLink for two adults and two children from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw in a Camry next weekend gave me a return trip for $552. Add accommodation, food and petrol and it’s getting up there.
If I wanted to tow a small caravan it’s a $772 return trip. Yikes.
And try taking a boat that sees your car and trailer exceeding 10m – close to $1000 to get there and back. You’d want to get some big fish for that.
And for all of those options, there was limited availability. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact it’s full, but we need volume if we’re going to take on the post-Covid-19 tourist boom.
The KI Connect ferry, a quick and comfortable catamaran designed for passengers only, set sail in 2018 but it’s struggling to compete with SeaLink’s discounted fares for locals. Its immediate future is under a cloud.
If KI really is the jewel in our tourism crown, surely it deserves a more affordable and reliable transport service.
Now is the time for governments – state or federal – to get on the front foot and subsidise travel to KI for tourists.
It’s an issue both sides of politics have been ducking and weaving for too long. In January 2020, in the wake of the KI fires, then opposition leader Peter Malinauskas urged the Marshall government to subsidise the SeaLink ferries, reducing the cost by 30 per cent. It didn’t happen but it has happened in other states across the years.
SeaLink receives government subsidies for its services on the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory and Bruny Island in Tasmania.
In 2021 the Spirit of Tasmania’s ferry operator welcomed a $6m federal government boost, making it free for passengers to take their car across Bass Strait to Tassie.
Lovely for them. Rebates like these would be an absolute game changer for us.
If we gave our visitors a financial incentive to travel, they might spend it instead on local businesses. And surely that’s the end goal here?
Pictures: Back in the saddle for KI Cup
Getting on a boat from KI with animals is another issue that gets my goat. I’m a farm girl who doesn’t mind one bit being parked next to a truck load of pigs or sheep on my holiday cruise but I’m not sure an international tourist who has paid top dollar should be subjected to that. Particularly if they reflect upon where the animals are going.
It’s maybe not a good look after the New York Times writer Besha Rodell gushed to the world that KI is a “zoo without fences”.
And finally, infrastructure. KI’s airport, roads and boats.
The cost is enormous but it’s critical to the island’s ongoing safety and success.
Two new SeaLink ferries are due to come online in July next year to replace the current pair. They’re 10m longer and 2m wider so there’s a lot of work to do at both Cape Jervis and Penneshaw to ensure smooth sailing.
The good news is the Kelsian Group is promising more trips, more capacity and reduced rates for locals.
Most islanders will tell you SeaLink is a generous contributor to their community.
In fact, in a couple of weeks’ time, the SeaLink Kangaroo Island Racing Carnival will take place at Cygnet River – two of the biggest and best days on the Island’s calendar.
I’ve heard a whisper some fairly influential politicians will be among the thousands, including a federal minister. It’s important they know the name of the gelding that’s returning this year in the hope of winning its third KI Cup in a row.
Splash Some Cash.
Massive fault in Albo’s Medicare election vow
Labor is forging ahead with absolutely no conclusive proof the huge amounts of money being spent on urgent care is actually working, argues Clare Armstrong.
Downer: Economic rationalism has died a tragic death
Today many people think economic growth is a function of government spending. The more you spend the faster the economy will grow. The rationalist will realise you can’t create something out of nothing, writes Alexander Downer.