Actor in Exile: KING ISLAND, TAS, AUS

People have asked me again and again, "Why King Island?". The simple answer? The cheese. The multi-award-winning King Island Dairy makes my favourite blue cheese, "Roaring Forties Blue",

named for the incessant, perilous winds that blow across the 40th parallel on which the island sits.

So, I thought, "Why not? Seems as good a reason as any to visit a place, even one as isolated as this".

Welcome to King Island. Population, 1,600 people.....and approximately 1,000,000 wallabies.

I came for the cheese, I got side-swiped by the beauty.

The view from my room.

This is a lush, wild place, rich with history, agriculture and wildlife. Driving around the island, in the course of one day, I experienced multiple sightings of the following: wallabies, echidnas, pademelons, fairy penguins, huge wild turkeys, ring-neck pheasants, peacocks, white geese, sea eagles, gulls, terns, dozens of exotic and colourful birds, like the electric-blue wren, and more than one or two types of lizard (Some so large I thought they were tree branches on the road). And of course, cows, cows, cows dotting the green pastures that are everywhere. King Island is also a migratory stop for the extremely rare Orange Bellied Parrot (only 150 left) but it was not their visiting time.

Wallaby close encounter

The people are like the island itself: rugged, uncomplicated, welcoming and evolving slowly. Things move at a much slower pace here, to the rhythm of a more relaxed time, driven by the tide and the demands of the land. A simple "Where can I find.....?" conversation can take 15 minutes. No one locks their houses or cars and everyone knows everyone.(I was told to leave my rental car at the airport, unlocked, with the keys in the ignition). You are greeted by strangers many times in a day. A perfect example of the relaxed, friendly nature of the place is the fact that everyone, EVERYONE you drive past on the narrow country roads gives you either the full 'hi-how-you-goin?'-wave, or the finger lifted from the steering wheel as a stoic,but friendly 'G'day'. The people are intensely proud of their island, offering (in their words) some of the finest beef and dairy products and freshest seafood in the hemisphere. (I had some K.I. oysters that were almost the size of my hand but still melted like butter in my mouth). There's nothing "fancy" here. No lounges, bistros or Starbucks. No resorts, boutiques or dress-codes. There is, in fact, only one place on the entire Island to check email. But all of the trappings of urban life seem useless and easily forgotten when sitting on a rocky cliff, gazing at the ocean that reaches to the horizon and inhaling the intoxicating mix of tea tree blossoms and sea salt while the Roaring Forties blow your hair around.

Disappointment Bay

which was anything but.

Penny's Lagoon

one of the worlds few 'suspended' fresh water lakes

The calcified forest

Pretty much any site I went to, I was the only person there.

It would sometimes be hours before I'd see another car or person

From now on, when I use the term

'rugged beauty'

this is what I'll be thinking of

It's only just the beginning of tourist season, but rooms (and cars) were hard to come by because The Cape Wyckham Lighthouse was celebrating it's 150th birthday the weekend I was there and the island version of excitement was in the air. The Governor-General was flying in for the event and happened to be staying at the same place that I was. So, the morning I left, the place was getting the spit-and-polish of it's life. Lawns mowed, windows washed, dogs groomed and flowers fluffed, all under the watchful eye of the Governor's aides. The Gov-Gen's Air Force jet landed just a few minutes before my flight took off, so I was lucky enough to meet her and be a part of the hoop-la at the airport. Me, and the other 20 people that were there.

The old girl that's causing all the fuss

Australia's tallest lighthouse

Hand-hewn, stone by stone