Australia's Southern Ocean Lodge Is The Ideal Restful Getaway

Forbes

13-05-2025

The Great Room and view at Southern Ocean Lodge.
It's not uncommon to walk into the circular Great Room at Australia's Southern Ocean Lodge and see guests just staring at the view of Hanson Bay through the floor to ceiling glass. 'The next land mass you'll see is Antarctica' is the way this expanse of the Southern Ocean is described and the panorama of that water, lapping waves in some parts, crashing on the rocks in others, is simply mesmerizing. It's one reason that this room was duplicated exactly as it was in the original lodge when the 2.0 lodge opened 18 months ago.
The bedroom of the Flinders Suite.
In the scorching summer of 2019-2020, the lodge, one of the country's luxurious Baillie Lodges and a star of Luxury Lodges of Australia, burned to the ground in the wildfires that destroyed half of the island on which it's located, Kangaroo Island. But Baillie Lodges founders James and Hayley Baillie were determined to rebuild it and broke ground two years later, bringing back original architect Max Pritchard who apparently relished the opportunity to replicate but with some improvements. There are now 25 rooms, slightly up from the original 21, elongated, expanded and angled so that there is a complete view of the ocean and total privacy from neighboring rooms since all are laid out on a string extending from the main building. All feature natural elements such as limestone floors and blackwood walls, custom furniture, works by Australian artists and either a terrace or in the two bedroom Remarkable Suite, a plunge pool and an infinity pool in the Osprey Suite. Just above the lodge, the new Baillie Pavilion with two wings, four bedrooms and a plunge pool on one wing and an infinity pool on the other can be reserved as either one unit for a group or as individual rooms.
The East Lounge of the Baillie Pavilion.
Dining here is an exploration of the vibrant artisan food culture of the island since so many of the ingredients that comprise the two menus are locally sourced: one menu is a three course assortment of that day's chef created selections; the other a lineup of classic dishes for guests who are more in the mood for something simple such as pan seared local fish, char grilled Coorong sirloin or a ham and cheese toastie. Among the dishes of the day that might come out of the kitchen on any given night: the freshwater crayfish marron with miso bearnaise, finger lime and salmon roe, pork with tamarind glaze, cucumber and sesame emulsion and duck breast with kale, local sticky fig mostarda and beetroot. And if you're there at lunch or before sunset, an extra reward is the view since the restaurant is next to the Great Room with similar glass walls.
Sunset at Admirals Arch on Kangaroo Island
Apart from the activities on site, most revolving around the new spa, the lodge excels in providing island activities, many demonstrating the dense concentration of wildlife that has earned the island the name The Galapagos of Australia. One tour to Flinders Chase National Park west of the lodge, surrounded by foliage that is regenerating from the wildfires, shows off the massive rock formation The Remarkable Rocks composed of black mica, blue quartz, and pink feldspar; the natural grotto Admirals Arch, site of a thousand selfies, and the fur seal colony on the nearby beach. An even larger group of sea lions is seen swimming or lolling on the beach at another site, Seal Bay on the island's southeast coast. A tour at sunset shows off the country's most famous wildlife, kangaroos, koalas and wallabies, along with other species at their most active (if koalas, drowsily perched in trees can be considered active apart from, obviously, cute.)
A koala in a tree on Kangaroo Island.
As part of this nocturnal walking safari, a table is set up in the forest for cocktails and snacks as a prelude to dinner back at the lodge. Afterward, even if the darkness obscures all but the most robust waves, lodge guests still take their seats by the windows of the Great Room facing the sea and Antarctica in the distance listening to the sounds of this soothingly remote place.
The setting of Southern Ocean Lodge