The Kangaroo Islanders are in a race against time to save this ultra-rare bird – there are only about 450 left in existence,and 11 of them apparently live at Sea Dragon Kangaroo Island.
They’re not the only creatures that call this lodge at the eastern end of the island home. A resident goanna regularly struts around,taking in the views towards Pink Bay,where dolphins play among the rippling bomboras.
On the meadow outside the villas,members of the brown-furred,unusually fluffy KI kangaroo subspecies look on bemused as guests take in the sea views from their freestanding outdoor baths.
Until the much-revered (and greatly expensive) Southern Ocean Lodge recently rose from the ashes,Sea Dragon was the plushest full-service hotel on South Australia’s largest island. It stands next to Cape Willoughby at Kangaroo Island’s eastern tip,and planting sheoaks is far from the only ingredient in the lodge’s recent makeover.
New owners took over in August 2021,and they are busy turning what was something of a remote retreat into something more all-encompassing.
The rooms,suites and villas have undergone refurbishments that sprinkle in a little more wow factor. Electronically-operated shutters rise to reveal double doors looking out to what is,to all intents and purposes,a private beach. King beds stare straight out at the scene and feature walls come with agreeably daring coral patterns.