I was among the first to walk Australia's newest Great Walk—here's what it's like

Tasmanian Walking Company guide Olivia King stops in her tracks, her tan fedora and sand-coloured shirt blending into the bush. “What happens when the unthinkable happens?” she asks our group of a dozen walkers. “How do you rebuild?”

The unthinkable did happen here on Kangaroo Island, which lies off the south coast of South Australia. The country’s third-largest isle has long been famed for its chiselled cliffs and windblown beaches, but more recently it’s been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons — its devastating bushfires.

The Black Summer of 2019-20 left behind skeletal, ash-black gum trees as far as the eye could see, obliterating more than 494,000 acres — almost half the island. But fire is a life force in many Australian ecosystems, returning nutrients to the soil and clearing the way for new growth. Five years later, on this four-day, 28.5-mile hike across the island’s wild western end, the story is not one of loss, but of rejuvenation.

It’s November and I’ve joined a dozen women prepped with poles and waterproofs to tackle the Kangaroo Island Signature Walk, which will take us through the highlights of Flinders Chase National Park. It’s one of the latest additions to the government-backed Great Walks of Australia, a collection of the country’s most iconic guided multi-day walking trips. Our route will be a moderate one, leading us through native bushland, eucalyptus and coastal shrubs. Our group met in Adelaide the previous day, from where it was a two-hour drive to Cape Jervis and a sun-dappled 45-minute ferry ride to Kangaroo Island.  

“The intensity of the fires brought on a level of vibrancy that was never there before,” Olivia says as we gear up for our gentle introductory three-mile hike to Platypus Waterholes, a pond where walkers have a rare chance to spot the elusive creature. She gestures around us — the landscape is in full colour in late spring, and we wander through bush thick with native flora, from broad, fire-blackened grass trees to scarlet banksias. At the waterholes, we keep our eyes peeled for the extremely rare sight of a beaver-like tail but instead only see darting chocolate-brown kangaroos.  

For some people, multi-day hikes may bring to mind cumbersome packs, instant noodles and blisters, but it’s impossible to feel too weathered on this trip. Back at base camp later that day, Kevin Wheeler introduces himself as our chef for the week and offers us flutes of crisp Champagne, coastal daisy-infused gin and tonics and overflowing charcuterie boards.

Our base for the next few days is a collection of four limestone cottages that once housed the lighthouse keeper’s family and assistants but have been newly renovated with a cosy, maritime-inspired feel. Log burners keep us warm in the face of Kangaroo Island’s famously volatile weather, while yellowed encyclopaedias and tales of shipwrecks help connect us to our secluded surroundings. 

The next day, we’re up early for a steady 5.6-mile coastal walk from Remarkable Rocks to Cape Younghusband. We marvel at the Remarkable Rocks’ granite formations — orange-lichen-covered boulders contoured by millions of years of extreme weather. Olivia, who’s South Australian and a trained nature therapist, explains that the landscape’s unique features are due to the park’s pristine setting. “The number of introduced species here is minimal compared to other national parks across the country,” she says. There are 45 plant species that are unique to the island due to its geographic isolation — more than in any other region of South Australia.

Our trail skirts the cliff’s edge with dramatic crashing waves below. Josh Bulpin, our second guide, forages coastal goods such as brittle samphire, sea rosemary and salty pigface from the fringes of the path for us to snack on as we walk.

That evening, over a dinner of breadcrumbed Kangaroo Island whiting, I chat to solo traveller Pam Macallister, a 76-year-old fellow hiker who so far has always been at the front of the pack. She explains that she developed a taste for adventure after a divorce, becoming a small-plane pilot and taking on hiking challenges across Australia. So far, the trip to Kangaroo Island has been defined by its sense of camaraderie — it’s common to see friends linking arms as they clamber over rock or spurring each other on when their legs are flagging. “I’ve had some amazing experiences on walks with guests who’ve been through cancer or lost husbands,” Olivia adds. “Being in this landscape is like a medicine.”

On day three, after a hearty breakfast of plump corn fritters with poached eggs, our route reaches its climax — a 10-mile trek along the island’s wild coast from Snake Lagoon and back to Cape du Couedic Lighthouse. The cliff faces flush magenta and crimson in the morning light, their edges ruffled with samphire and coastal daisies. Every so often, we pause to rest among the cushion bushes — silvery-grey shrubs native to South Australia — with piping-hot tea and freshly baked orange scones.

As we near our hike’s end, Olivia gives us the option to walk the final stretch solo. I head off into the bush, listening to the whistle of western whipbirds and the whir of the ocean crashing against the rocks. It’s hard to believe that five years ago Kangaroo Island faced such devastation. Trekking here has felt far from commiseratory; between the tangled bush, the broad chorus of birdsong and the eponymous kangaroos, it’s been a celebration of nature bouncing back.