Spotlight on Kangaroos (and Koalas)

Quite literally. The Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on Kangaroo Island is a 36 square km tract of land that is kept as a natural habitat for native Australian wildlife. Bruce and Lesley Jackson, the Sanctuary’s caretakers, manage the property, including the six guest beach cabins they rent on the beautiful Hanson’s Bay beach. More importantly to animal loving travelers like me, though, is their favorite job - overseeing the Sanctuary and its inhabitants – innumerable kangaroos, wallabies, bushtail possums, and a very lucky group of koalas.

Hailing from the Adelaide Hills, Bruce had a 17-year career in wildlife conservation before signing on at Hanson’s Bay. His extensive knowledge of and enthusiasm for the animals that live on Sanctuary land is infectious. He provides an interesting and valuable education about the local wildlife, including a primer on the importance of controlling invasive species (including humans) to preserve it.

We were fortunate enough to join Bruce on walking and driving tours of the Sanctuary at dusk. It’s vast; there’s customized fencing on the perimeters to protect the animals from introduced predators such as feral cats - hence the value of a sanctuary in the first place - but 99% of the time it feels like open bush.

The property was a sheep station before its current incarnation, and the Eucalyptus-draped former entry drive has been converted into a “Koala Walk”, where 15-20 koalas live, sleep and munch on their favorite leaves. A visit to the koalas would be attraction enough – it’s a non-threatening environment for the koalas, and we were able to get incredibly close to the animals, view adults and juveniles, and hear their very uncuddly call (cutest animal on earth, but that voice is horror movie stuff). But there’s much more to a walking tour of the Sanctuary. Once the sun set and the animals became more active, Bruce and Lesley walked us through a glade with loads of kangaroos, wallabies, possums, and other critters. I’m a big kid at heart when it comes to animals, and being this close was a real treat.

The real thrill, though, was the night drive through the Sanctuary. Most Australian animals are crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) or nocturnal. They are elusive by day, but (at least on Kangaroo Island) everywhere at night. Bruce drove through fields and wooded areas with hundreds of kangaroos and wallabies. The sheer number of animals we saw by spotlight and moonlight was incredible (we had a full moon, by the way – the sky is so clear here that you can see craters). While a night drive through an African safari camp might produce a greater variety of animals, I’ve never seen the abundance of animal life that we did here.

There’s a popular “rural myth” about daytrippers to Kangaroo Island who board a tour bus as soon as the incoming ferry docks, drive to all the attractions, and board the ferry home before sunset without seeing a single kangaroo (or wallaby, koala, etc.) Hard to believe it happens, given the amount and diversity of wildlife on the island. But it would be real shame to visit this place without some time after the sun goes down to really see what the fuss is about. A night walk or drive with Bruce at Hanson Bay shouldn't be missed when visiting K.I.