CAPE FORBIN RETREAT: Kangaroo Island

Many of us would like to find a holiday retreat on the edge of the world, far removed from the stress of modern day living.

Graham Burnell found his on the edge of an island, on the rugged north coast of Kangaroo Island.

"And that's Cape Borda in the distance."

"Yep, you've got the North Western tip of the island down there, Cape Torrens, this side of it."

This idyllic spot can only be reached by private road through adjacent farmland. Only guests to Cape Forbin Retreat are given the map to this part of the island, the idea being that when you get here you'll be alone to enjoy stunning picture postcard views of rugged coastline, sea and sky.

Here the coastal scrub ventures as far to the cliff's edge as possible and so does Graham, when he takes guests to Cape Forbin for one of his nature walks.

"This is a photographer's paradise."

"Absolutely."

"So, you often come around and take a few shots?"

"Yer, I like the wildlife, I like the scenery, it keeps me busy."

"What's the beach over there?"

"That's called De Mole Beach."

"De Mole Beach?"

"Yer, you have the De Mole River flow out there."

Like everything else here, you can have the beach to yourself. Cape Forbin is all about time spent on your own, so don't expect to see anyone else's footprints when you venture down here. For most of the year the beach remains in tact, except in winter when wild storms wash much of it away. Here nature is constantly reshaping the north coast, whether it's from one winter to the next or back a little further.

"Then around four hundred to four hundred and fifty million years ago, all this uplifting and jilting happened, and it goes back to the time when Australia was still joined to Gondwana Land and everything got pushed up and it goes from here right up to the North Flinders."

That geological chaos has thrown what is essentially an ancient and compressed sea bed skyward, sometimes four hundred feet above Investigator Strait.

"Do you every get sick of the view?"

"Never, every day it's different, every day it's beautiful."

And where ever you look, these stunning cliffs are topped by a thick forest of casurina's, the perfect habitat or the ever present crimson rosella.

Nearby, the casurina makes way for the yacca and open land where farmers once grazed some sheep, and where those who've always been here take in a good feed.

"A few roos wandering around, Graham ?"

"Yer, a couple. You get to see quite a few wondering around."

By the end of the day you're back at Cape Forbin Retreat, one of the remotest getaways on the island, except for the evening procession of tamar wallabies who are as regular as clockwork.

"Most nights we have up to thirty or forty wallabies here actually."

"What's the reaction of people who stay here?"

"I think they're absolutely blown away when they're here, and there's so much fauna around them, that's wild and they can be a part of it. There are not many places that are a genuine wild area, that you can just sit there and its all happening."

Maybe they're here just for the food, and maybe yet another view.

Cape Forbin Retreat is on KI's north coast near the western end of the island, about an hour's drive from Pardana.

It costs $180 dollars per double per night and $20 per additional guest. For more information email info@postcards.sa.com.au For bookings phone 08 8559 3219. www.capeforbinretreat.com.au