This week’s dream: camping on Kangaroo Island

There are no monkeys in Monkey Mia and Australia’s Blue Mountains are anything but, says Phoebe Smith in The Guardian. But visitors hoping to find kangaroos on Kangaroo Island will not be disappointed: the place is hopping with them, along with koalas, echidnas, wombats and other creatures peculiar to the region. For this reason, it is often referred to as “Australia in miniature” and, while it doesn’t have the big-ticket appeal of, say, Uluru in the Northern Territory or the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, it is one of the top places to visit in South Australia, “the often-overlooked state down under”.

Nothing but ocean stretches between Kangaroo Island, a 45-minute ferry ride from the mainland, and Antarctica. Large parts of it are protected reserves, including Flinders Chase National Park, where hiking routes take you to dazzling coastlines abundant with “rainbowcoloured” sea spurge and impressive geological landmarks, such as the stalactites of Admirals Arch and the “cracked orange- coloured” Remarkable Rocks. Sculpted over millions of years into surrealist shapes, these also live up to their name. A new five-day, 38-mile Wilderness Trail offers a mix of “roughing it” and comfort: guests can either camp, stay at a lodge, or do a bit of both.

The Rocky River Campground has raised pitches from where, after a day spotting fur seals, marsupials and exotic birds, you can gaze at swooping bats silhouetted against a “peach, damson and vermilion” sunset. Still, the lure of a soft bed is strong and after a couple of days in a tent, it might be time to retire to the Wilderness Retreat lodge, where a hot shower and “sumptuous” dinner awaits, with honey butter from local Ligurian bees – thought to be the last pure breed in the world. Afterwards, perhaps a gin on the veranda from Kangaroo Island Spirits as the sun goes down. Who needs camping anyway? Wilderness Retreat (kiwr.com) has a five-night package, including daily transfers, from around £580pp.