Why you need to bag a spot on Kangaroo Island
Australia’s third largest island has undergone a culinary facelift in recent years, and there are no signs of slowing down, as this travel writer pleasantly discovered.
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Warning: your tastebuds may never be the same after a visit to Kangaroo Island. When it comes to drawing tourists, the budding foodie scene is starting to give KI’s headline-hogging marsupial a run for its money.
The island’s first one-hatted restaurant is getting rave reviews, its gin distiller keeps notching up awards and even the bees are world-known for their perfectly pure honey.
To find out what all the hype is about, I loosened my belt buckle and discovered the latest eating and drinking hot spots … and where to cuddle a joey or two.
See also: The ultimate 4-day guide to Kangaroo Island
See also: Best spots to eat on Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is for food-lovers
Like any love affair worth its salt, it happened when I least expected. Our tour group was wrapping up a tasting session in the eclectic gardens of Kangaroo Island Spirits, the island’s sole gin distillery, when a surprise dessert tray was innocently passed around. Eyes widened as we tucked into seductive cups of honey ice-cream drizzled with the company’s honey and roasted walnut liqueur, infused with cinnamon and clove.
The liqueur has been aptly titled “liquid hot cross buns”, and it was love at first lick.
And second. And third.
Just a few hours later, Cupid’s arrow struck again, this time over Parisienne gnocchi at the hilltop Sunset Food and Wine.
But these were no ordinary pillows of pasta. Light-as-a-feather and dressed with Jerusalem artichoke, shiitake and hazelnut, the dreamy delight has now spoiled gnocchi for me forever.
The dashing dish was the handiwork of chef Jack Ingram, who honed his culinary talents at Melbourne’s prestigious Vue de Monde and KI’s exclusive Southern Ocean Lodge (which is slated to reopen late 2022), before opening the hilltop bistro in a former winery.
[Southern Ocean Lodge is slated for reopening in
He is striving to put KI on the map as a food and wine destination with seasonal, local produce, and his restaurant has been rewarded by becoming the first on the island to be awarded one Chef Hat.
And he’s in good company. Whether it’s fine dining or freshly shucked oysters at the pub, visitors are treated to a paddock to plate experience like no other on Australia’s third biggest island. Its relative isolation from the mainland forced enterprising islanders to focus inward, resulting in sought-after food and produce with an emphasis on quality, sustainability and flavour.
A stall at Adelaide’s famous Central Markets is dedicated to the island’s bounty, with 450 products including food and condiments, spirits and wine, and the famous honey. The island lays claim to what is believed to be last the remaining pure stock of the Ligurian bees in the world, and no outside honey or bee products can be taken on to the island.
Even the unassuming Nicolas Baudin restaurant, tucked away in the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat, packs a serious flavour punch.
Blankets are handed out as the gas heater falters on the veranda. But while food reviews varied on our table, the black herb-crusted chicken breast with creamy mash and KI sticky fig syrup warmed the soul and fired the imagination.
And remember the honey liqueur from earlier? It’s resurfaced here in a different guise: an affogato. And speaking of liqueur, or liquor …
Best Kangaroo Island cellar doors
In the big smoke, gin is having a resurgence in dimly lit speakeasies and classic cocktail bars. And increasingly, the summery spirit on offer at bars around Australia has been produced at a quaint, quirky distillery on KI.
Kangaroo Island Spirits (KIS) is racking up awards and gaining international attention with gins evoking flavours of the Aussie bush, like hand-picked mulberries and lemon myrtle.
The boutique distiller became the talk of the town when its Old Tom Gin, flavoured with botanicals foraged from the coast, won gold at the 2018 International Wine & Spirits Competition in London. Located 9km from Kingscote, the island’s largest town, KIS oozes rustic charm with mismatched furniture and baskets of knitted rugs, enticing you to settle in for the afternoon.
But don’t. Because there are cellar doors by the barrel-load nearby, as KI begins to make a name for itself as one of the state’s newest wine regions. The scenic Dudley Wines is not to be missed, a family-run winery with a cellar door boasting sweeping views of Backstairs Passage. Take your tipple on the balcony for a safari-style wine tasting experience, with wedge-tailed eagles flying by and kangaroos roaming below.
The maritime-themed Bay of Shoals shares the wow factor with a prime position on the water. Owner John Willoughby’s passion for sailing permeates the winery, from a display of traditional wooden boats to memorabilia and discounts for sailors arriving by yacht.
Sounding like too much tipple? Take heart. Internet reception can be sketchy on the island, which means … what happens on KI stays on KI.
What to see on Kangaroo Island?
It’s enough to make an Instagrammer salivate. KI is a 4500sq km photo-snappers paradise, from unspoilt beaches in hues of sapphire and white, to herds of hopping roos, sunbathing seals and dramatic wilderness.
As such, it’s bursting with selfie stops, like the aptly titled Remarkable Rocks. Five hundred million years of rain, wind and waves have colluded to serve up the ultimate Insta shot in the form of these giant, ochre-dusted granite boulders. The natural spectacle, atop a wind-whipped cliff in the Flinders Chase National Park, is best viewed changing colour at sunset.
A short drive away is Admiral’s Arch, a striking rock bridge sculpted by thousands of years of erosion.
Look a little closer on the path down and you’ll witness seals swimming, snoozing and sunning, a delightful show often missed by selfie-stick wielders.
There’s no such problem at Seal Bay, where you can witness a rare colony of hundreds of wild Australian sea lions as they go about their business.
On Seal Bay Rd, the Birds of Prey show at the Raptor Domain turns out to be a hoot. Barn owls hop along the laps of enthralled audience members, kookaburras cackle and swoop overhead and the handlers educate the crowd on the importance of habitat conservation.
But as its name suggests, it’s all about the kangaroos on KI — the creatively named Kangaroo Island kangaroo, to be precise.
The population — a smaller, darker and, some say, cuter subspecies than their mainland cousins — can be spotted at every turn. But hop into Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Oil distillery and you’ll be able to get up close and personal with one of the friendly locals.
The tourist site is home to orphaned roos such as Bambi, who mans the door and, if you are lucky, joeys snuggle up in a basket inside.
Visitors can even sneak a quick cuddle with a fluffy bundle if they ask nicely. But be careful — it will leave you smitten with this island too.
The writer was a guest of SeaLink
How to get to Kangaroo Island?
SeaLink operates ferries daily between Cape Jervis and Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island, from $49 one way for adults and $40 concession and students.
The Food, Wine & Natural Wonders of Kangaroo Island Tour runs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, starting at $817 a person.
Prices include morning pick-up and evening set down at selected Adelaide CBD and Glenelg hotels, return SeaLink coach and ferry travel to Kangaroo Island, two days of commentary by a driver/guide, all activities and meals and overnight accommodation at Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat.
See also:
Review: Take a wildlife safari on Kangaroo Island
20 epic beaches in South Australia
20 best short breaks in South Australia
20 best family holidays in South Australia
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Originally published as Why you need to bag a spot on Kangaroo Island
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