Touched by an Emu

In retrospect, being in the water, hearing the captain's call that dolphins were approaching us and glimpsing their smooth bodies racing past mine was awesome. At the time, though, I am somewhat disappointed. I grew up watching "Flipper" and wanting to be one of those lucky kids who practically could talk with a dolphin friend who basically served as a surrogate parent in the absence of other adult supervision. I want the dolphins to surface and call to me, offering a ride. That's how badly television can mess up your mind, even decades after watching a program.

Kangaroo Island, however, is everything I expected and hoped for. There are so many kangaroos that the herds -- let me put it euphemistically -- are culled. There's an ongoing debate about whether to "cull" the koala population. A local paper editorializes against it during my visit, saying that tourists would be outraged, because they view koalas as cute and cuddly -- an argument that made me wonder how Australians view koalas.

The island also is teeming with birds and animals, including all manner of nocturnal life that we could never stay awake long enough to see. Broad white beaches stretch beneath Big Sur-like cliffs on the sparsely developed island. We spend one afternoon on a bus tour and most of another day on a four-wheel-drive tour that includes a stop in the bush. Beneath a white canopy surrounded by dense trees, the driver cooks a lunch of grilled whiting with lamb milk cheese -- our best meal in Australia.

Kangaroos spread over open fields like herds of domestic cows or occasionally jump from bushes to hop across our path. Several farmers, we find, have tame kangaroos that barely tolerate petting.

The wallabies and wallaroos tend to be shy, and we have to peer through thick undergrowth to see them. Like deer, they seem to hope that being still will make them invisible, and once they realize the jig is up, they dash away. The plentiful koalas, apparently knowing you can't climb as well as they can, either ignore you or look down on you, unconcerned.

Another guest on our four-wheel-drive tour mentions that she has just come from a small luxury tent resort called Longitude 131 that overlooks Uluru (Ayers Rock). I, of course, immediately want to see it, even though it is 1,000 miles from here.

When I return to Australia, if I ever get the chance, I want to spend at least a week on Kangaroo Island. I'd definitely need a week for Port Douglas and the nearby Atherton Tablelands, which include Yungaburra, and a few more days in Adelaide. Judging from my brief walk around Sydney Harbour, which is arguably more beautiful than the famed harbor of Hong Kong, I'm going to need another week there, and then an indeterminate number of days to see the nine-tenths of the highlights I missed the first time around.

Cindy Loose will be online to discuss this story Monday at 2 p.m. during the Travel section's weekly chat on www.washingtonpost.com.

Details: Australia

GETTING THERE: Qantas, United and Air New Zealand provide direct service from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Australia's major cities, and can arrange travel to the U.S. West Coast from Washington. Internet-only sale fares sometimes go as low as $1,050 but usually begin at $1,300. Given the current favorable exchange rate, anticipate bargains once you reach Australia, and consider land/air packages offered by airlines and travel agencies.

GETTING AROUND: Although Australians, like the Brits, drive on the left side, we found driving there quite easy -- and never met anything akin to a traffic jam. It took about 11/2 hours to drive from Cairns to Yungaburra, and about an hour from Port Douglas to Cairns.

For travel between major cities, fly -- unless you have months to tour the country. Qantas sells a Boomerang Pass for $172 each way per zone, plus about $12 in taxes, with a minimum of two flights. Cities between Cairns and Sydney are considered one zone, as is Cairns to Adelaide. If you fly to Australia on Qantas, you can get a small price break on internal flights; ask for the Oz fare. You must buy initial segments of either pass before youfor leave the States.

While puddle jumpers are available between Adelaide and Kangaroo Island, I recommend SeaLink (011-61-8-8202-8688, www.sealink.com.au), a comfortable coach bus-ferry combo that includes a scenic 1 1/2 -hour bus ride from Adelaide to Cape Jervis and a 45-minute ferry trip to the island. One-way fares start at $64; packages are also available.

WHEN TO GO: Each season has its attractions; just remember that not only are the seasons reversed from the Northern Hemisphere's, but that northern Australia is warmer than southern Australia. When figuring out weather near the Great Barrier Reef, imagine Miami temperatures during that season. In southern Australia, the temperatures are closer to what you'd find between South Carolina and Louisiana.

WHERE TO STAY: My favorite lodgings were the Buxton Manor Apartments in Adelaide (109 Glen Osmond Rd., www.adelaideheritage.com, 011-61-8-8272-1355). Rates for a three-bedroom apartment in the Arts and Crafts mansion begin at $155. The Web site includes details about other gracefully restored historic properties in Adelaide owned by the same couple, including an old church and a former firehouse with an antique fire truck and fire pole.

We were very happy with the Conrad Treasury Hotel in Brisbane (130 William St., 800-445-8667 , www.hilton.com), which was also the choice of Bill Clinton and his family during their Australia visit. The renovated treasury building is centrally located downtown and on the river. Prices begin at $145.

The Freestyle Apartments in Port Douglas (47 Davidson St., 011-617-4099-6055, www.freestyleportdouglas.com.au) are spacious and modern, with free use of the Internet on a covered porch, a saltwater pool and a short walk to the beach and town center. Plus, they're a good value at $92 a night. In Yungaburra, the Allumbah Pocket Cottages (011-61-7-409-53023, www.allumbahpocketcottages.com.au) are spacious and pleasant, and feature extremely friendly innkeepers. Prices are about $110, including breakfast.

Kangaroo Island's specialty is not lodging, but the most charming choice we found was Correa Corner B&B (Second Street, Brownlow, Kingscote, 011-61-8-8553-2498, www.correacorner.com.au). Prices begin at about $125. For remoteness at a bargain price of $37 per person, consider the authentic Lighthouse Keepers Cottages in Flinders Chase National Park (011-61-8-8559-7235, or email kiparksaccom@saugov.sa.gov.au).

In Sydney, we opted for the Sir Stamford Double Bay (22 Knox St., www.stamford.com.au, 011-61-2-9363-0100). While rates normally start at about $200, we found a two-nights-for-one deal on its Web site. The boutique hotel -- located atop Jerry Seinfeld's favorite Sydney restaurant, the Cosmopolitan Terrace Cafe -- is in an area with plenty of dining options and is an $8 to $10 taxi ride to Sydney Harbour.

TOURS AND ATTRACTIONS: A number of buses and smaller vehicles offer tours around Kangaroo Island; we were thrilled with our four-wheel-drive tour and gourmet lunch in the bush with Adventure Charters (www.adventurecharters.com.au, 011-61-8-8553-9119). Various packages are sold; full-day tour with seafood lunch and morning/afternoon tea are about $180.

We thoroughly enjoyed our bush walk with a Kuku-Yalanji guide at the KuKu-Yalanji Dreamtime center, a co-op run by Aborigines in Mossman, near Port Douglas. Details: www.yalanji.com.au, 011-61-7-4098-2595; between $11 and $24. Also consider hiring a guide when you reach Yunguburra to take you through the rainforest and to some of the five waterfalls.

To swim with dolphins near Adelaide: Temptation Sailing (www.dolphinboat.com.au, 011-61-412-811-838) never chases them but simply sails around until dolphins are spotted, then allows swimmers to hold onto ropes off the boats as curious dolphins approach. Cost: $64 to swim, $30 to watch

Many tour operators take snorkelers and divers to the Great Barrier Reef. Quicksilver (www.quicksilver-cruises.com, 011-61-7-4087-2100), for one, moors on a sandbar by the reef. I recommend paying the extra fee to leave the mooring and 400 other tourists behind and take a small boat with a marine biologist. Cost: about $114, plus $24 for the biologist excursion.

DETAILS: Australian Tourism Commission, www.australia.com, 800-350-7036 (for brochures and a list of travel agents).

-- Cindy Loose