The listing of Kangaroo Island as number seven on the New York Times top travel destinations for 2023 comes as no surprise to this local.

The Island, as we call it, is one of the most beautiful places in the world, precisely because it is so untouched by development.

It also has a vibe of the friendlier, safer times of the 1950s, when people waved to each other on the roads and didn't lock their doors at night.

International visitors see it as a smaller version of the bigger mainland island, with wildlife from kangaroos to koalas.

It might not be well known that koalas are not native to the Island but bred up to huge numbers of 50,000 or more in the blue gum timber plantations.

Almost all those plantations were destroyed in the devastating 2019-2020 bushfires, and two thirds or more of the koalas killed.

The NYT article mentions the great work of Sam and Dana Mitchell at the Kangaroo Island Koala and Wildlife Rescue Centre at Parndana.

They did a magnificent job in the aftermath of the fires coordinating the treatment and release of injured wildlife.

Since the fires they also acquired the Raptor Domain bird and reptile park, and these two venues are the spots is where international visitors go to hold a koala or feed a kangaroo joey.

The couple hundred dollar ferry trip puts off all but the most determined domestic tourists.

The Island has always been popular with the internationals making up just under half of all our visitors prior to the double whammy of catastrophic bushfire and then COVID-19.

Prior to that, it was recognised in Italy as one of the top honeymoon destinations in the world, so you would regularly see young Italian couples walking the foreshore hand-in-hand.

Southern Ocean Lodge, listed in the NYT article, has always been a big drawcard for international visitors.

The new airport opened in 2018 even features its own waiting room lounge for lodge guests.

The lodge, now known as SOL 2.0, is set to return to its full glory in November 2023 when it reopens.

In case you were interested in staying at SOL 2.0, the nightly rates in 2019 were listed as $1250 per person, twin share for one of the regular Flinders Suite.

While the Osprey Room would cost you $2600 twin share or $4800 single per night.

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