Animals front of mind as Kangaroo Island property goes up in flames
Nirbeeja Saraswati and Peter Hammond lost their home as fires ripped through Kangaroo Island, but their heartbreak started as they saw dozens of perished animals along the road to their property.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Surviving being trapped in a raging firestorm on KI: See the video
- #BookThemOut: The campaign to revive KI tourism
- The Advertiser +Rewards – giveaways, offers and competitions
The heartbreak for Nirbeeja Saraswati and Peter Hammond started well before they arrived home to find their property destroyed by fire.
Driving up Church Rd to their 100-acre block at Karatta, in the island’s southwest, they had already seen dozens of perished native animals all along the journey.
“It was everything – kangaroos, koalas, wallabies,” she said.
“When we got there I was in my orchard and there were some nectarines on my tree. I was picking some of them and a New Holland honey eater came in. It was the first living thing I’d seen.”
The couple lost their home and about half their orchard, with most of the property burned.
Despite their ordeal, it’s the area’s animals that are front of mind.
“They didn’t have the opportunity to hop in a car and get away,” Ms Saraswati said.
“The’re the ones who have suffered, really.”
The couple’s dream came true when they set up a new home on Kangaroo Island about eight years ago, after falling in love with the region during a five-year Australian road trip with a camper trailer.
Following the fire, they initially stayed with friends, later moving into accommodation owned by a local family. They plan to return to live on their property, this time likely buying a kit home rather than building from the ground up.
“Somewhere along the line we’ll find that we hit a wall emotionally. But at the moment we’re just trying to think of it philosophically, and think that ‘it is what it is’,” Ms Saraswati said.
“We can’t do anything about it. We’re just hoping a lot of people don’t make the decision to not to build again and leave the island.”
The couple are members of the Friends of KI Parks Western Districts, which has volunteered hundreds of hours looking after Flinders Chase National Park.
That has included collecting seeds, planting seedlings in the park, maintaining trails, weeding and monitoring bandicoot and hooded plover movements.
The park was virtually destroyed in the blazes, and the couple is yet to return to witness the devastation first-hand because the area had been deemed unsafe.
The Environment Department’s environment, heritage and sustainability executive director, Cate Hart, said its immediate priorities were helping rescue injured wildlife and determining the impact on animals, vegetation and park infrastructure.
MORE NEWS
Kangaroo Island’s threatened animal in battle for survival after bushfires destroy habitat
Craftsman survives high-speed crash during desperate journey through smoke
She said it would also work with staff, islanders and experts on a recovery plan for Flinders Chase and other conservation areas affected by the fires.
Flinders Chase’s campgrounds, walking trails, picnic areas and the Rocky River visitor complex had been destroyed.
“(The Environment Department) will be seeking to re-open affected parks and iconic tourism sites as soon as it is safe and practical to do so, even if this is with temporary infrastructure,” Ms Hart said.
“It also sees this as an opportunity to re-imagine facilities in damaged parks, so that services and facilities are even better in future.”