Our 2012 Hideaway of the Year, Southern Ocean Lodge, suffered calamitous damage as a result of the wildfires that devastated South Australia’s Kangaroo Island in early 2020. Now construction of a new lodge is underway, with an opening slated for the second half of 2023. Version 2.0 will maintain the original footprint of 25 clifftop suites, as well as feature a new, ultra-luxurious 6,675-square-foot Ocean Pavilion, which will come with four bedrooms and a private infinity-edge pool. The lodge’s Great Room, with its suspended fireplace, will seem comfortingly familiar to return guests. However, enhancements will include a private dining area adjacent to the walk-in cellar. And a new location for the spa will allow space for three treatment rooms, as well as a gymnasium, a sauna and hot and cold plunge pools with bushland views. New infrastructure will include solar power generation, enabling the property to run off-grid, as well as convert bore water to fresh water by a reverse osmosis system.

Kangaroo Island lies 70 miles south of Adelaide and 8 miles from the shore of South Australia. It measures 99 miles long by 34 miles wide, and a third of its 1,700 square miles are contained within national parks. Sometimes known as “Australia’s Galápagos,” the island teems with native animals and hosts over 260 bird species. Aside from guided clifftop nature walks, guests at Southern Ocean Lodge take trips to Seal Bay to stroll among the sea lions and go on sunset excursions to watch grazing kangaroos and wallabies. Popular half-day outings include a visit to a large fur seal colony at Admirals Arch within Flinders Chase National Park.