--- description: Find out why Kangaroo Island, Australia is on TIME’s list of the world’s greatest places of 2023. title: Kangaroo Island, Australia: World's Greatest Places 2023 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13148135e75c6ac3/698a3b25096a94401a6ad93e/Worlds-Greatest-Places-Kangaroo-Island-Australia.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Mar 16, 2023 # Kangaroo Island, Australia Rising from the ashes by Jen Rose Smith  A koala on Kangaroo Island near Adelaide, Australia. A koala on Kangaroo Island near Adelaide, Australia.Susan Wright—The New York Times/Redux When bushfires ignited Australia’s third largest island during the 2019–2020 season, the blazes devastated a wildlife haven. Half of Kangaroo Island burned, killing 40% of its namesake marsupials and an estimated 40,000 koalas. Researchers mourned losses among vulnerable species, from green-carpenter bees to echidnas and the sooty dunnart, a mouse-size marsupial that lives nowhere else on earth. But now visitors to Kangaroo Island will find a landscape lush with greenery. Eclipsing ruins are species signaling recovery, including the white-blossomed daisy bush and Kangaroo Island yucca, whose spiky flowers disappear for decades and bloom—a fragrant symbol of hope—only in the wake of fire. Aided by[ Western River Refuge](https://www.australianwildlife.org/kangaroo-island-wildlife-refuge/ "undefined"), a preserve founded in 2021 and wrapped in predator-proof fencing, even the tiny dunnart is scurrying back. Recovery has been a community-wide effort, travelers included. Guiding company[ Exceptional Kangaroo Island](https://exceptionalkangarooisland.com/kangaroo-island-tours/ "undefined") recently introduced three-day[ private conservation tours](https://exceptionalkangarooisland.com/kangaroo-island-tours/conservation-connection/ "undefined"), including encounters with ecologists studying dunnarts and glossy black cockatoos;[ Seal Bay](https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/experiences/seal-bay/tours/seal-bay-guided-tour "undefined") Conservation Park has new[ research adventures](https://www.tourkangarooisland.com.au/experiences/seal-bay-research-tour "undefined") to assist with monitoring endangered Australian sea lions. The focus on sustainability extends to the island’s sleek new stays. In December, hospitality brand[ Wander](https://wander.com.au/locations/kangarooisland/ "undefined") unveiled its four solar-powered, rainwater-harvesting luxury cabins, or “pods,” at the island’s northern cusp. Sun- and rainwater-fueled[ Sea Dragon Lodge](https://seadragonkangarooisland.com/ "undefined") completes a rollout of five new ocean-view suites in March, growing their 250-acre beachfront property, home to hundreds of kangaroos. And after burning to the ground in the bushfires, eco-luxury icon[ Southern Ocean Lodge](https://southernoceanlodge.com.au/lodge-update/ "undefined") reopens in November with fully rebuilt, off-grid guest suites surrounded by fire-resistant native succulents and juniper trees. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame coastal scenes attesting to this island’s resilience and beauty. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2023/6261762/kangaroo-island-australia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2023/6261762/kangaroo-island-australia/"},"headline":"Kangaroo Island, Australia","datePublished":"2023-03-16T10:00:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:13:12.928Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2023/6261762/kangaroo-island-australia/","keywords":["franchise","Magazine","World's Greatest Places","sponsorshipblock","WGPs2023"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13148135e75c6ac3/698a3b25096a94401a6ad93e/Worlds-Greatest-Places-Kangaroo-Island-Australia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13148135e75c6ac3/698a3b25096a94401a6ad93e/Worlds-Greatest-Places-Kangaroo-Island-Australia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2023/6261762/kangaroo-island-australia/","name":"Kangaroo Island, Australia"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The World's Greatest Places of 2023","description":"The World's Greatest Places of 2023","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Rm1ZVsGL/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-03-16T09:30:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Rm1ZVsGL.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2023/6261762/kangaroo-island-australia/","duration":"PT1M46S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2023/6261762/kangaroo-island-australia/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```