....and a reef

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Stay dry(ish) at the Great Barrier Reef

 

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Hop  off to Kangaroo Island!

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You've got to love a place where penguins almost outnumber people. And love it even more when you don't have to load a sled and trek over snow and ice to get there. In fact it's an easy weekend getaway from Adelaide, or even Melbourne.

Kangaroo Island, site of South Australia's first settlement, is just 45 minutes by SeaLink passenger ferry from Cape Jervis on the coast south-east of Adelaide, or less than 30 minutes by Emu Airways from Adelaide.

Here's a trivia question for your next pub night - a no-brainer if you've been with us so far. What is Australia's third largest island - after Melville Island and Tasmania? And another one - what is the tiny marsupial which only lives on Kangaroo Island? Answer: the dunnart. And in case you've been wondering - there are around 4000 tiny blue fairy penguins and about 4300 people on Kangaroo Island.

Matthew Flinders did it the hard way 200 years ago. Coming ashore he found kangaroos so fearless on this uninhabited island that his advance party effortlessly snared a few dozen of them and proudly took them back to the meat-starved crew on the HMS Investigator.

You could imagine that as they gnawed the bones at dinner that night, it wouldn't have needed the brightest seaman on the ship to suggest a name for this scrub-covered island.

Yet while kangaroos feature in the name - and the island was alive with them at the time (some people say there could have been a million of them leaping around on this 155 kilometre by 55 kilometre island) - there are Tammar wallabies, found only here, several types of possums, as well as echidnas, koalas, platypus, bandicoots, bush and swamp rats, bats, wedge-tailed eagles, snakes and a rather large species of sand goanna.

Guided tours at Seal Bay allow you to wander well-supervised amongst sea lions basking on the beach, and at Admiral's Arch in the Flinders Chase National Park, you can see some of the 6000 New Zealand fur seals that live and breed there. There are no foxes, dingoes or rabbits to disturb the wildlife on Kangaroo Island, so do plan to leave your pets at home.

But there are plenty of these here - echidnas - as well as koalas.

For a place that began its white settlement with a feast, perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that food features rather heavily in today's Kangaroo Island.

There's a ten-kilogram baggage allowance on the airlines that service the island, which makes it sensible to pack light, as it is almost inevitable you will carry back bottles of wine, some local honey, or call in at Island Pure Sheep Dairy for some haloumi or fetta as you are heading to the airport.

But eating is just one of the pleasures on the island. You can walk off the effects of all that good food on the island's beaches or in the bush. Surf, sail, cycle and swim, or skid down the sands of Little Sahara. Take a fishing rod and catch a delicious King George whiting, or go searching underwater for a leafy sea dragon, only found here. Don't worry, it's really only a sort of seahorse, and not at all dragon-sized!

But this island platter serves up more than food. While the coastline has claimed many ships, the crisp white sandy beaches edge gin-clear water, ideal for every watery sport you might enjoy.

If you come by ferry, you will land at Penneshaw, a picture pretty town to the east of the island. It's the ideal starting point for trips to the Cape Willoughby lighthouse and American River (long story about the name, ask your tour guide). Head south and west of Kingscote for farmland and the National Park, the roadsides a garden in springtime when the island's 850 species of plants are in flower.

But in even the most delightful  places you need a place to rest when all your exploring is over and Stranraer Homestead at

The Federation-style building was constructed in 1920 from local limestone.

Owners Lyn and Graham Wheaton give their guests a generous country-style welcome, and Lyn is a great cook!

One of the most unusual features of the island are the Remarkable Rocks on the southern side of the island. These giant granite boulders smoothed by the wind, look more as if a mad sculptor has attacked them with a massive chisel and drill.

 

Kangaroo Island - with an animal in its name, and wildlife all over the land, as well as in the air and sea - this place is really jumping. There must really be something special about it. After all, 4000 penguins can't be wrong!

Kangaroo Island - it's the sort of place you somehow always hoped existed. Somewhere.

 

For more information: Kangaroo Island Travel Guide iPhone and iPad app, by Carolyn Jasinski - iPhones & iPads - on iTunes App Store or Android phones and tablets.

 

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Tramp Tassie's three Capes Track

When Lonely Planet rated Tasmania among the world's top regions to visit, they said there was one experience not to be missed. A multi-day walk like no other – where dolerite chasms are crossed, tall eucalypts cast shadows and footprints are left along towering sea cliffs. It's been called 'Australia's premier coastal bushwalking experience.

 

Sound interesting? C'mon, lace up your boots, breathe in the world's cleanest air and head for the Tasman Peninsula. Bookings have opened for the most anticipated walking experience in Australia. The newly launched www.threecapestrack.com.au is your portal to book and be one of the first to walk hand-carved steps that weave alongside some of Australia's highest sea cliffs while the three capes; Pillar, Hauy and Raoul are silent actresses in this dramatic play.

Some would consider it ethereal; others unattainable, but thanks to the meticulous work by  Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, this experience is accessible not only to the hardened bushwalker, but those with boots looking dashingly un-worn.

It's achievable, not only in the physical sense but also within the context of a short break. In just four days, it's possible to feel you've travelled to the furthest corner of the globe. All while staying connected to the world – ideal for far-flung updates via social media. For others, the opportunity to switch off and tune in to the constant rhythm of the wind and waves is the appeal.

The track links Denman's Cove, opposite the World Heritage-listed Port Arthur Historic Site, to Cape Hauy. But to get there, wisps of salt spray and towering cliffs from sea level are your first introduction; via a Pennicott Wilderness Journeys purpose-built boat. Described more as a natural pathway than a traditional bushwalking track, the mud-free Australian Standard Class 3 design is wide enough for walkers to enjoy side by side. What's more, those who prefer views of the Southern Ocean over their boot laces, will appreciate the meticulous construction.

Three environmentally-sensitive cabins are positioned at key locations and just like the track beneath one's feet, these cabins are brand spanking new. These warm, cosy havens with unsurpassed views offer comfy mattresses, heating and kitchen utensils, which mean less to carry on your back. Four days later walkers emerge at Fortescue Bay – where calm waters and cool white sand are a welcome refreshment for tired toes.

But it's not just walking that has Lonely Planet talking. It is Tasmania's subterranean Mona and other wild places like the Tarkine, Cradle Mountain, Franklin River and the Bay of Fires. This travel guide is taken by our flavours on Bruny Island and the diverse, remote and wild outdoor experiences' on offer across the island.

We have plenty more to tell Lonely Planet, like how you can come here and kiss a seal, almost within view of the Three Capes Track. How mountain biking trails in the far north east are slated to be among the country's most sought. But for now, we'll sit back and enjoy the accolades with a drop of the World's best whisky while others book into Australia's best boutique lodge and line up for Australia's premier coastal bushwalk. It is little wonder Tasmania is ripe for the picking this year.

For more information on Tasmania......