Farewell Kangaroo Island for now! – BJITW (Day #4 of Challenges)

It was our last day in South Australia for the Best Jobs challenges. It is surreal to think of all the amazing experiences we had done in such a short period of time. There is so much diversity on Kangaroo Island and in South Australia that you could spend months here and not be bored 

We met up with our Exceptional Kangaroo Island tour guide and made our way to Pelican Lagoon Research & Wildlife Centre for the final “Wildlife Caretaker” challenge in South Australia. When we arrived, we met up with Dr. Peggy Rismiller an echidna tracker as she would be facilitating the challenge for the day. Each finalist was set up with a tracking device, and was required to make their way through the bushes to find a hidden echidna. It wasn’t until a lot later that I realized it was a fake echidna, and not a real, living, and moving echidna in the wild.

The winner of the challenge was Nick Tilley (USA). He was being followed by a film crew the entire time, but after finding his echidna, he was so excited that he ran back too fast for them to capture any of the footage. Congrats Nick! If Wildlife Caretaker doesn’t work out for you I’m sure Peggy would take you on as her assistant echidna tracker!

Following the challenge we enjoyed a delicious “bush-lunch” BBQ. The afternoon consisted of crew planting trees to help preserve the habitat of the Glossy Bank Cockatoos.

On our way back to Kingscote Airport we had a last stop at Stokes Bay for one more coastal scenic view. It was amazing.

Kangaroo Island was an absolute blast! We saw so much in such a short period of time that it makes me wonder what could be seen in double the time! On our last night in South Australia we headed back to Adelaide later in the afternoon on a private jet. How cool is that! When we arrived in Adelaide, most people decided to go for dinner but I decided I wanted some time to myself so I ordered room service and stayed in. It was the perfect time to catch up on some things before the “Best Jobs” finals in Sydney commenced early the next morning!

I can’t wait to go back to South Australia and Kangaroo Island the next time I’m in Australia. I miss it already!

Sam Clarke