Off The Grid On Kangaroo Island, Australia

“Our mobile phone doesn't have a signal anywhere on this island. Did you email our parents with where we were going to be?”, asks my lovely wife. No, I didn't. And of course I would email them now, except for the fact that the nearest internet cafe is a 2 hour roundtrip drive. Bugger.

We are in the middle of freaking nowhere, otherwise known as Kangaroo Island. A place where even the 1980's “Saved By The Bell” Zack Morris style giant cellphone has yet to make a debut. Not content with the remoteness of the “busy” port town where the ferry dropped us (population 600), I booked us a cypress log cabin clear on the far side of the island -- 150km away. We stopped at the last general store before our cabin, an hour before, to stock up on “provisions”. We came away with 2 packets of instant noodles, 3 apples, and 2 bottles of stout beer. This place makes Borneo look like midtown Manhattan.

But it is magnificent here. We've seen 3 koalas lounging in the trees on the property. The last 3 nights, we've watched the sunset from our porch as kangaroos and wallabies graze right in front of us. The coastline is just as amazing – our first day here, we watched bright blue waves crash against a whiter than white powder beach, as a surf fisherman reeled in 2 ocean salmon. Yesterday we explored more of the coastline, with hundreds of New Zealand fur seals lounging under the lighthouse near the crashing waves. Today, we drove 70km along a treacherous washboard dirt road, but the end result was worth it – the highest cliffs in Australia (250 meters), plunging into impossibly green water. It's true Australian bush country mixed with an incredible coastline, and it's breathtaking to see.

Tomorrow it's off to Sydney, which is 1,000 physical miles and about 1,000,000 mental miles from here. It will certainly be nice to have internet and proper access to food and our BlackBerry say something other than “No Service” -- but one more night with the koalas and kangaroos certainly won't hurt.