Scenes from Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island sits just south of Australia ... a 20-minute flight from Adelaide. With a population of about 4,500 (700,000-plus sheep), the 90-mile-by-35-mile island is best known for farming and its wildlife.

I'm touring with Exceptional Kangaroo Island Tours, which is proving to be pretty, well, exceptional. Great guide (Neville), who doubles in life as an organic farmer and guide. Among his tidbits: female kangaroos mate immediately after the five-day old joey is born and moves to his mum's pouch; that new fertilization can be held in abeyance indefinitely until food and other conditions will support another pregnancy.

Our tour today took us to Seal Bay (a misnomer) to see sea lions, Remarkable Rocks and Chase Flinders National Park (to see seals.) Tonight I'm at KI Wilderness Resort, where wallabys come right up to you to be fed, and possums (much cuter than the U.S. variety) noodle around looking for scraps.

Some scenes:









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SCENES FROM KI: Top, a fur seal at Flinders Chase National Park. Above, from top: sea lions on the beach at Seal Bay; a KI mailbox; Remarkable Rocks look remarkably like a Henry Moore sculpture.