Kangaroo Island’s future rests on a wing and a prayer

The tourist haven of Kangaroo Island has endured what its mayor ­describes as ‘the proverbial triple-whammy shit sandwich’.

Bird handler Chantelle Lehmann with Nellie the wedge-tailed eagle at Kangaroo Island’s normally packed tourism attraction Raptor Domain. Picture: Sean McGowan

In the space of four months, the South Australian tourist haven of Kangaroo Island has endured what its straight-talking mayor ­describes as “the proverbial triple-whammy shit sandwich”.

The bushfire-ravaged, tourist-dependent island has gone from being open, to closed, to open, and back to closed, and is now desperately wondering when it will be open again, with many tourism ­operators fearing they are just weeks away from collapse. And while mayor Michael ­Pengilly insists he isn’t losing his mind, even he admits he is having trouble ­remembering whether the island has slammed its doors to visitors, or is begging them to come.

“In the past three months we have gone from urging people to keep visiting on the advice of the tourism bosses because the fires seemed to be under control, then when they really took off we told everyone to stay away,” Mr Pengilly said.

“After the fires were over and Premier Steven Marshall appointed himself Tourism Minister, we shifted to recovery and launched the #bookthemout campaign urging tourists to return, which was a huge success.

“Then the bloody coronavirus hit, so in the lead-up to Easter and the school holidays we were telling everyone to bugger off again and that under no circumstances did we want them coming here. And now with the rate of infection being so low (in South Australia) people are wondering when the visitors are going to come back.

“It sounds like I’m mad, but I keep telling people I’m not.”

On the island’s south at Seal Bay, Dave and Leeza Irwin opened Raptor Domain in 2010, both as a tourist attraction and a rehabilitation centre for Australian birds and reptiles, boasting a spectacular collection of wedge-tailed eagles, falcons, hawks, owls, and a vast array of snakes and lizards.

Their daily bird shows are popular with schools and tour groups and have become a must-see part of the KI experience.

“Normally at this time, off the back of the Christmas holidays, and then with Easter and school holidays at the end of term one, we would have a nice little amount of money in the kitty,” co-owner Leeza Irwin said.

“But not now. It is becoming ­extremely stressful, not just for us but for all the tourism operators, because we don’t know how long it will be until restrictions are lifted.”

Ms Irwin and husband Dave had four staff before the outbreak, one of whom has left, and have been paying $4500 a fortnight to cover wages before JobKeeper kicked in.

“It’s a lot of money to pay out when there’s no money coming in,” Ms Irwin said. “We love our staff and we have to keep them on because the birds need to be cared for and be kept in their routines ­because they are used to doing their daily flights.

“The worst thing about it is the unknown. We just don’t know what it going to happen.”

For the past three months the island has been busy clearing away debris and wreckage from the fires.