Kangaroo Island named as “Hideaway of the year”

Hideaway of the year - Southern Ocean Lodge

January 2011. South Australia's Minister for Tourism, Russell Wortley, welcomed the naming of Kangaroo Island's iconic Southern Ocean Lodge as "Hideaway of the Year" in the 2012 Grand Awards issue of Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report.

Mr Wortley congratulated Southern Ocean Lodge's owners, James and Hayley Baillie, on this latest accolade.

Because of its isolation KI (Surprisingly large, the island is 100 miles long and 35 miles wide at the widest point) is free from feral pests (foxes and rabbits), and consequently the island is truly teeming with wildlife. Kangaroo Island, Australia's richest wildlife spot.

"Dubbed ‘upscale travel's international man of mystery' by USA Today, Mr Harper has been travelling the world incognito for the past 33 years in search of the very best in luxury hotels and resorts," he says. "This year, he has found it in South Australia."

In his glowing recommendation of Southern Ocean Lodge, Mr Harper's calls it ‘unquestionably the highlight of our three-week trip to Australia', and praises Kangaroo Island as ‘a wild and magnificent place with an evocative landscape'.

Mr Wortley said Mr Harper had recommended fewer than 1000 properties during his 30-year career, and this discernment is what made the subscribers to Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report so loyal.

"Those subscribers have an average net worth of $12 million, and generally spend $65,000 on travel each year," he says.

"Despite this international reputation, research shows that nearly half of interstate travellers to South Australia have little or no awareness of Kangaroo Island as a destination," Mr Wortley says

Minister Wortley also congratulated The Louise's owners, Jim and Helen Carreker, adding it demonstrates how much South Australia has to offer.

The Report praised The Louise for its elegant guest suites and grounds, its acclaimed Appellation restaurant, plus its ideal location for exploring ‘Australia's most famous wine region', the Barossa: ‘an enchanting place with a landscape of rolling hills and neat vineyards'.

Read more about the wildlife of South Australia