Australia's Last Unspoiled Refuge: Kangaroo Island

The lodge's cliff-top setting on lush Kangaroo Island overlooks the Indian Ocean.

George Apostolidis

For decades, south Australia's rugged, almost lunar landscapes and first-rate vineyards, nurtured by a dry, temperate climate, have drawn off-the-beaten-path travelers on nature retreats from Sydney. Here in the southernmost part of the world's only island continent, they could play Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, in the Flinders Ranges, the lesser-known outback; trek along the ghostly Coorong, a sixty-two-mile-long salt lagoon on the Fleurieu Peninsula; then pull up at the cellar door of a boutique winery for country cooking and a fine Barossa Valley Shiraz. Now those willing to venture even farther afield are finding one of Australia's last great unspoiled refuges: Kangaroo Island.

The 1,737-square-mile plot sits forty minutes by plane off the coast of Adelaide. Only four small towns are tucked between its expansive wildlife reserves, sanctuaries and private rural acreage, so it takes little effort to stumble on an empty powder-white beach with wind-sculpted granite formations, limestone cliffs and the extraordinary zing of Southern Ocean (better known as the Indian Ocean) air. Even the biggest settlement, Kingscote (population 1,450), has more pelicans padding along its pier than people stopping at its colonial-era pubs and beach cottages.

The beaches are indeed spectacular, but the real thrill is seeing why K.I., as the locals call it, is nicknamed the Zoo Without Fences. Tammar wallabies, goannas and spiky echidnas waddle along country roads. Drivers give way to wild kangaroos, which bounce into view, then, regally blasé, pogo off toward the horizon. Crane your neck under the right tree and you'll spot a koala woozily chewing eucalyptus leaves or, if you're lucky, changing branches with a Mini-Me baby clinging to its back. Sea-lion pups honk for their mothers in the ocean; wedge-tailed eagles and peregrine falcons, the fastest birds on the planet, swoop overhead; and the inland water holes are home to a creature so bizarre, it could have evolved only on a continent this far-Flung: the platypus.

At their new resort and spa, Southern Ocean Lodge, James and Hayley Baillie are betting that global nomads in search of such rare solitude and animals on the loose will also appreciate impeccable accommodations. The Baillies have once again integrated ecologically sensitive local design into a stunning landscape, something they first pulled off five years ago, back when they revamped Capella Lodge, located next to a lagoon dotted with kentia palms on Lord Howe Island, in New South Wales.

For this most sophisticated of rustic retreats, the Baillies have chosen the island's wild and woolly southwestern coast, about an hour's drive from the airport and Kingscote. At Hanson Bay, between the Finders Chase and Cape Bouguer conservation parks, endless green bush meets a craggy, chalky cliff face fringed by teal waters. Here the elongated lodge streaks down the coast like an arrow; the linear sweep of its limestone walls recalls the cliff buffeted by rolling swells.

Even indoors, the bay is the star: the view of the coastline dominates a massive glassed-in sunken lobby. Though the setting may be what draws nature lovers here in the first place, the lodge's high design and convivial atmosphere keep them put: scattered around a Floating fireplace are soft contemporary chairs and books; guests linger beside an irresistibly informal open bar. Sandblasted limestone Floors are accented by steely walls whose gray-blue color was inspired by storm clouds ("the most beautiful time here," James says of inclement weather).

The twenty-one ocean suites, each with a sunken living room and a private deck, are accessed by a breezeway made from planks reclaimed from a wharf and a bridge. When lured from your freestanding bath overlooking the inky blue sea, you still have the best seat in the house, especially while eating "rumbled" eggs with fresh ocean trout for breakfast on the communal dining deck; you can share the peace with walnut-skinned Argentine cattle ranchers, New York globerati and Sydneysiders on weekend getaways. If the roaring surf stirs you to more-arduous action, a day of trekking awaits. Coming face-to-face with your first wild 'roo will convince you that when heading Down Under, it pays to go all the way down. Suites from $1,660. Hanson Bay, Kangaroo Island, South Australia; 931-924-5253;southernoceanlodge.com.au.