Original subtitles

I thought remote Australia was all red dust and tough characters.

But how's this?

I am en route to Kangaroo Island.

It's just off the south coast of Australia.

It's about the same size as Cornwall.

Less than 5,000 residents live there,

so, obviously being that isolated, you know,

it presents its own set of challenges.

I'm excited. I can't wait to go over there

and really understand who these people are,

and, you know, why they choose to live here.

Well, apart from the obvious attractions.

Want to get away from it all?

I mean, really get away from it all.

This is bonkers.

Whooo!

Where the people think a little differently...

The most dangerous thing on a beach in North Queensland

isn't the crocodiles, it's a coconut,

because that could fall on you.

...and life isn't exactly lived in the slow lane.

CROWD SHOUT Oh!

More like no lane at all.

Never in my life did I think that I would

be steering a chopper over the Australian desert.

You have to get yourself to Australia.

This is the most wholesome thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

I revelled in the rugged and the glorious landscapes.

Push in. Oh, my... Now!

Let's do it differently.

Aaaah!

CHEERING

I love you, Australia!

This is Australia as few get to see her.

Come with me...

...Stacey Dooley's Australia - Off the Beaten Track.

I'm dangling off the bottom of South Australia,

just a 45-minute ferry ride from the mainland.

Welcome to Kangaroo Island,

or as traditional owners call it, Karta Pintingga.

With literally nothing between here and Antarctica,

winters bring icy Southern Ocean winds,

but summer temperatures can soar past 40 degrees.

Right now, it's unbelievably green.

You'd never guess this place has lived through

one of Australia's biggest nightmares - bushfires.

The huge Black Summer fires of 2019 and 2020

ripped across the landscape,

destroying nearly half the island.

The people here have rebuilt, recovered,

and refused to let the fires define them.

Which is great news,

because this place is absolutely stunning.

About 10,000 years ago,

Kangaroo Island was part of the mainland

and populated by First Nations people.

But sea levels rose, and it was cut off.

Those people eventually disappeared.

Fast track to 1802,

and British explorer Matthew Flinders arrived,

and named it Kangaroo Island

after seeing lots of, well, kangaroos.

I am on my way to go and spend some time

with a couple who run this wildlife rescue centre,

and obviously, you know, it feels hugely exciting,

but the reason they're there is totally devastating.

Post the fires, and I think just back at home,

we were sort of bombarded with these images,

and they felt hugely emotive.

It was, you know, families running into the bushes

and coming back out with little koalas.

So, yeah, I reckon this afternoon will be insightful.

The fire was devastating

and the wildlife copped the worst of it.

Something like 80% of the island's koala population were killed.

But the community here were incredible,

rescuing as many animals as they could,

setting up emergency hospitals, rehab centres and sanctuaries.

Hey! Hey, how you going?

I'm Stacy. Nice to meet you. How's things? Good.

Listen, thank you so, so much for having me.

Lisa and her husband, Jared, run Kangala Wildlife Sanctuary.

It began in the fires and is still going strong.

You're looking after orphaned joeys? Yeah.

Joeys can be any pouch young.

So, kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, possums.

Oh, fine, OK. And how did this all start?

Really sort of kicked off during the fires.

That was the catastrophe that started it all.

I've always loved animals. Kids and husband do too.

So, when we saw them in trouble, we just wanted to help, really.

They're quite docile, right? They are, they're gorgeous.

So, these are the Kangaroo Island kangaroos.

OK. Oh, my, oh, wow!

Oh, I didn't realise... I didn't realise we were right there! Yeah.

These guys here, I would say are about three years old.

So impressed you can tell the difference.

Sometimes!

So, Pumpkin has a name because when he came in he was more orange.

I see. And he's a bit lighter still, but he has... Oh, sorry!

...he has changed... I'm just a bit nervous, which is so daft.

I'm just going to be relaxed.

They're all friendly. They're friendly? Yeah.

Because, you know, I've... you sort of read horror stories,

when you've sort of seen someone get... boxed to death by a kangaroo.

Oh, yeah, I'm still always cautious around kangaroos. Yeah.

We just learned so much,

on the back of the fires, about them,

and they're so family orientated.

The mothers are amazing,

the things that they'll go to to save their joeys.

We've been out, you know, rescuing koalas

and we came across a little clearing

and we saw two female kangaroos and two joeys

and we thought, oh, that's nice, they've survived.

But unfortunately, when we got closer, it wasn't the case.

The mother's, um...

This is the heartbreaking part,

their feet had been burnt completely to the bone,

and the joeys were about seven to eight kilos.

Really shouldn't have been in the pouch,

but they had no marks on them,

so, they must have called them into the pouch,

waited until the ground wasn't too hot anymore,

and then let them out.

Both mums had really bad injuries,

but they were still feeding,

they were still standing up and trying to warn us away,

protecting the joeys.

So, that was, yeah, probably one of the most

heartbreaking things that we saw,

one of them, out there.

And the mums didn't make it? No.

Unfortunately with those sort of injuries,

so exhausted, she just couldn't move.

Come here, baby! SHE CLAPS

What's this one called? I'm not sure who that one is.

Boo! LISA CHUCKLES

Jared would probably know him more than me.

Jared, how are you? Nice to meet you.

You, too. How's things? Yeah, good.

Welcome to, uh... The madhouse! ...Kangaroo Island.

Thank you so much. Jared, your Lis was explaining to me,

actually, the fires took over, it all felt very bleak,

everything was quite desperate.

You two would just get in the car and try and do what you could,

in terms of saving the kangaroos, the joeys.

Yeah, well, we, I think we spent about three months

pretty much every day, like, 12 hours a day, I think it was,

just out on the fire grounds.

It was one of those things that after that sort of happened,

everyone was just a bit lost

and everyone just needed a purpose,

and so, that was our purpose.

You know, this place exists because you guys were so hands-on

and you were desperate to help.

Yeah. But now, you know, people can come here

and they can enjoy the kangaroos,

they can enjoy the joeys,

it's kind of putting a positive spin on something

that was... born out of something quite horrific.

Yeah. It's the phoenix.

Yeah. Yeah! The phoenix factor.

Hi. Is that nice?

This is the most wholesome thing

I have ever seen in my entire life.

Yeah, welcome to Australia. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Here, baby, here.

No! SHE LAUGHS

Look, there's two, there we are!

They'll push each other out of the way.

Look, look, look. Watch this.

You know, my second name is Dooley.

Doctor Dolittle. SHE CHUCKLES

The little hands on the bottle is breaking my heart.

Here you are.

You know, I haven't felt this zen in about 15 years.

Jared and Lisa have a small army of locals

who volunteer their time to help care for the animals.

And it's such a treat to meet them.

Hi, there. He's so soft. Oh, isn't he lovely?

Would you like to feed some of the kangaroos?

Yes! I'm here for the full experience.

Now, this is embarrassing because none of them are babas!

Here you are.

Stacey, they don't seem to like you!

SHE LAUGHS

I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

Some of them are shy

because they've been through hell and back, isn't it?

Yeah.

Oh. Hi, baby!

The thing is, you don't get to choose.

Yeah. They get to choose you. Fine.

Feel like I've got a mate here.

Here you are, baby. What's this?

Oh, they're having a barney, these two, over the carrot.

I'll leave them to it.

The obvious story is

they're all these little joeys, just, like, orphans,

and then you've got these really amazing humans

just rescuing these baby kangaroos.

But I think they do it because A, obviously they love the animals,

but B, I think they feel like it's an integral part of their community.

And they want to give back.

It was so horrific, what went on here.

I think everyone just sort of clubbed together and was like,

you know, what small part can we play?

An utterly terrifying scene.

It's from the insides of local couple Ben and Sabrina's home,

and I'm on my way to meet them now.

It's all going to go here.

I actually can't believe this, I've not I've not really seen any...

...I've not really seen any of...

...of the footage of the fire itself.

It's so sobering.

You know, you sort of speak about it retrospectively,

but to see it...

...it's heartbreaking.

Hi, how are you? How are you?

Hello. Sabrina, how's things? Good, nice to see you again.

It's nice to see you. Thank you so much for having me.

This is my husband Ben. Ben, how are you?

I'm good, and you? Nice to see you.

You guys have experienced a hell of a lot.

We had the Black Summer bushfires here.

We lost our entire place,

including our old house and livestock,

all the infrastructure on the place,

and it's been a journey ever since.

It's been a long, hard recovery journey, and we're still in it.

I actually sort of very briefly saw some footage,

sort of video footage of, I mean, it must have been you, Ben?

Yeah, that was the evening of the 3rd of January.

So, yeah, my brother and my father and myself were still in the house,

we decided to try and stay and, you know,

do what we could to protect what we had.

And, um... yeah, there's not much you can do.

Oh, look at it out there.

Whoa!

Hold that door. Hold the doors open.

It's come in the back. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, the video, this is such an obvious thing to say,

but the video, I mean, utterly, utterly terrifying just to watch,

I have absolutely no idea how that must have felt.

Yeah, I think it's, I mean, it's hard to put into words.

Right. It's probably... You'd never wish it upon anyone,

is probably the easiest thing to say.

It's tough living.

Aussies live with the threat of bushfires every summer.

And the summers are getting longer.

Pre-fire, we didn't have as many sheep as what we've got now.

But then, yeah, we sort of...

Losing the whole lot was pretty hard.

You lost all your sheep? Yeah. Ben, that's hard.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

I didn't realise that you lost all of them.

Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, we were hit pretty hard here.

We've got about 1,500 sheep at the moment.

I'm pretty sure they'll be excited to see us because...

- We've got food. - We've got food. SHE LAUGHS

A lot of happy sheep there, Ben. Yeah.

THEY LAUGH

Have you always done this? Yeah.

Different methods, but yeah, I grew up...

Since you were a boy?

Yeah, I grew up with a, um... on the farm.

Summer through autumn was, yeah, feeding sheep.

For Ben and Sabrina, this place means everything to them.

And hearing how they got through it,

leaning on the community,

and just doing whatever they had to do

to get back on their feet after the fires,

is honestly remarkable.

It has been a long six years.

But now I sort of feel like,

yeah, we are reaping the rewards of a lot of really hard work.

Yeah, so, it takes a lot of determination,

I think, to keep going, you know, when you start with nothing

to then, to push through that and then to,

to get to where we are now,

yeah, it's very rewarding.

I would imagine so, yeah.

Incredible. It's beautiful here. It's gorgeous.

This will surprise you, Ben, to hear,

but I actually didn't grow up on a farm.

You didn't grow up on a farm?

No, I know that's probably shocked you.

Yeah. So, this is a whole new experience for you.

Mate, it's night and day.

The southwest side of Kangaroo Island

was thankfully spared by the fires,

and there's definitely an 'off the beaten track' vibe going on.

Bye!

Local guide Fox is from the Netherlands

and he made the island his home after travelling the world.

I can see why.J

We are nearly at the lookout.

Three, two... and one.

Oh, my! Fox!

This is stunning, no? That's not bad, huh?

Fox, my goodness, this is so beautiful.

I get why so many people are drawn to Australia.

This area is called Little Sahara.

No secrets how it got that name.

Do they do this in the Sahara?

I'll go down that side. Right here.

Are you...? No! Stop it!

SHE SCREAMS AND LAUGHS

Can't believe we went down that drop!

Fox has one more sandy situation for me.

Stay low to the sand. Yeah, I'll stay low.

Fox, I'll be staying low to the sand, don't worry about that!

You're going to have one arm in the sand dune as a bit of support.

Yeah. Yeah? Now, you have to shovel the board a little bit,

and that will make you start.

Uh-huh. And I recommend you to keep your knees bended,

in case you fall.

It's better to fall backwards instead of face-planting yourself.

Fox, I think it's likely, highly likely that I'm going to fall.

Yeah, well... I've got absolutely no faith...

See how you go. ..whatsoever.

What could go wrong? Enjoy.

This is going to be so embarrassing.

But do you know what? I'm here for the experience.

On top of the world!

You're about to witness a grown, adult woman

fall down a sand dune and break both her legs.

Enjoy.

All right, I'm coming.

SHE GIGGLES

Come on, Stace! You can do this.

Ready, Fox? Yeah, I'm waiting.

Come on!

SHE YELPS Yeah, there you go, keep going!

OK, wait! SHE LAUGHS

Wait, wait, wait, wait!

OK. Ready?

Yeah. Let's go.

OK...

I think I'm...

SHE SCREAMS

Did you see that, Fox? It was amazing.

Thank you. I'm going to go.

SHE SCREAMS

Oh!

I'm OK!

SHE SCREAMS

Pfft! Did you see that?

SHE YELPS

I'm just feeling really made up that I've got all my teeth.

For a minute I thought, have I lost one of my teeth?

Smacked my head on the, smacked my face on the way coming down,

and my wrist, but you'll be delighted to hear

all my teeth are in my mouth.

So, since I've arrived on this island,

everyone has been saying to me,

"Have you swam with the seals yet?

"You've got to go and see the seals, it's amazing,

"it's the best experience."

And I feel like I can't come all this way

and not spend at least an afternoon in the ocean.

Listen to me!

So blase about swimming in the freezing Southern Ocean

with a bunch of fur seals.

But you only live once, right?

And I promised myself to be fully immersed in island life.

Hi. How are you? I'm Stacey. Nice to meet you, Elijah.

Nice to meet you, Elijah. Pleasure. I'm delighted you could fit me in.

Yeah, yeah. You couldn't have picked a better day.

And the seals are incredible. They're so much fun to swim with.

Definitely a life-changing experience.

Brilliant. Should we get going? Of course.

Are you ready? Welcome.

I always marvel at people like Elijah and the work they do.

What an office. What a day job.

So I'm going to head down the coastline here.

Got our little seal haul-out point. Yeah.

We've got a few fur seals, anchor up the boat down there,

and then get you in the water with some seals.

And they'll be up this close? Yeah, yeah.

They're very curious and very playful, yeah.

Are there any sharks in this water?

There's sharks in all these waters,

but around here on the north coast of Kangaroo Island

there's just a lot less chance of finding them.

We also put shark shields in the water.

That is great news, Elijah. I'm pleased to hear that.

We like to look after you. I could do without losing a limb.

What is it about travelling that makes you do things

you'd never dream of doing at home?

But I trust Elijah.

Where did he say those shark pods were?

This is incredible. Look at them all camouflaged into the rocks.

I know, you have to really sort of...

They blend in so well. ...focus, don't you?

I have never seen seals in the wild this close.

Feels like such... such an amazing opportunity,

but actually it is such an amazing opportunity to see all of this.

They look furry almost, don't they? They are.

They've got fur? Yeah. Oh, I imagined them to be sort of bald and wet.

Because they're fur seals, and then sea lions are a little bit more...

Oh, OK. Sea lions have got hair.

So, these guys have got that nice thick layer of fur.

Oh, fine. Yeah.

I hadn't understood that some seals had fur, but now I do!

ELIJAH CHUCKLES

Learn something new every day!

I imagined them to be, you know, the sort of same texture as dolphins.

Kind of glossy. Right.

Kind of bald and glossy. No, they're a bit, they're soft.

I've never done anything like this before.

I've never been diving, I've never been snorkelling,

I've never been...

I don't actually think I've ever been in the ocean.

Not on a boat. So, this is a real first.

I can't even do this up. I feel like a condom.

ELIJAH LAUGHS I am... I need some help, Elijah.

Happy to help.

It's a stunning day,

but let me tell you, this water is icing.

Whoo!

Probably a couple of degrees above freezing.

Aah, BLEEP hell, it's so cold!

ELIJAH LAUGHS

SHE SCREAMS

Look how committed the film crew are.

They're in here with me.

I can't believe I'm doing it. I know it feels...

It probably doesn't look very impressive,

but I'm in the middle of the ocean.

I'm going to go, I'm ready. Go.

Oh, my!

It's amazing!

SHE LAUGHS

Look how close I am.

There, there, there, look!

How's that, Stace? Saw a seal!

I have had, listen, I've had some pretty amazing days in my life,

but this is up there.

These first seals have a survival story of their own.

While not affected by the fires,

early 19th-century sealers nearly wiped them out

before conservation efforts helped their recovery.

And just look at them now.

So, listen, I'm in the Southern Ocean swimming with the seals.

I am so close I can't begin to tell you.

This is such a treat.

I feel like a broken record,

but I am so, so thrilled that we did this.

Everyone kept saying to me,

"Go and see the seals, you've got to go and see the seals."

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I didn't quite realise it would be this spectacular.

This has been like, for me, top tier.

Unbelievable.

You know, it's very well documented

what this island was put through, sort of 2019, 2020.

Fires were just horrific.

Took half this island out.

You know, the firefighters, they were there on the front line.

They are perfectly placed to talk me through what it was like.

The Parndana firehouse is one of the eight small stations

spread across the island.

Community fire brigades, they're the backbone,

the ones tasked with keeping the island safe.

Hiya, Rodney. How's things? How are you going?

How are you? I'm Stacey. Pleased to meet you.

Likewise. Nice to meet you.

Rodney leads the island's Country Fire Service,

and he was right in the thick of it when the fires hit.

So, on that day, we had 16 lightning strikes.

On the same day? Yeah. On the same day.

All from about eleven o'clock until,

I think the last one would have been about two, three o'clock.

That's unbelievable, isn't it? Yeah.

I didn't realise there were quite so many lightning strikes

that contributed to this... Yeah. ..massive bushfire.

So, that, you know, after a couple of days,

a lot of this, you can't get trucks to where the fire is.

You've got to wait for it to come out.

Just sort of dense forest. Dense forest, billy goat country,

what we call billy goat country.

Steep cliffs and stuff like that.

It quite literally took half your island out.

Pretty much. Yeah. You must have been devastated.

Yeah, it was pretty hard, yeah .

Just, it happened so quick.

So, I think you just pretty much go numb.

We lost two lives, unfortunately, in here,

but given the scale and the speed,

I think the organisation done a really good job

of protecting what they could,

but certainly getting people out of harm's way.

It's a collective effort, isn't it? Yeah, it is.

Yeah. And this is all voluntary? It is all voluntary.

You don't get paid for this. No, no.

It's tough to hear, but these volunteers, they're incredible.

They give up their time to fight fires, to support their community,

and they're out here running training drills regularly.

And today I'm joining in.

The whole community relies on the goodwill of these firies like Ben.

Yeah. All ready to go.

We've got the authentic jacket.

So, put your trousers on first.

Do you know? I don't hate these!

Right, yeah. Suits you. I look all right!

BEN CHUCKLES

She knows what's up. She knows what she's doing.

You're in safe hands.

So, you've got your helmet.

Are you able to kick your little pink shoes off

and just put a pair of boots on?

Yeah. Stick your feet in there, shouldn't be any spiders.

Do you have any women? Oh, yeah, let's empty them just in case!

There's no spiders!

There, see? Yeah. Not like spiders?

There's deadly snakes out here, isn't there?

RODNEY CHUCKLES

Yeah.

Thank you. That's so kind.

This is our rescue truck.

So, what we're actually going to do,

is we're going to mock a burnover.

There's a bit to it, but we'll go through it.

I'll just follow you.

So, you take the hose. Me? Yeah, you're taking the hose.

Yeah. Now shoot the cones to put out the fire.

Knock it over.

There we go. Yeah, yeah, yeah, nice!

Look at this. Perfect.

SIREN BLARES

Now the yelps are going off, so, now we need to get in the truck.

So, drop the hose where it is.

Hose isn't important.

When the siren sounds, it means the fire is moments away

from totally engulfing them.

And the only way to survive is shelter in the truck.

Blinds down.

And then they wait.

Wait for the blazing fire

to literally pass right over the top of them.

It's called a burnover, and it happens quite often.

Yeah, this is, uh... intense.

Can be quite a dark... Yeah.

You don't know what's happening outside.

Yeah, it would be terrifying, wouldn't it? Can be, yeah.

You can see how the intensity builds in here with the heat.

Yes, I can. And these stop the windows from smashing in on you.

On the radio we'll call, "Mayday, mayday, mayday."

And they would be radioing back to us now asking if we're OK.

Yeah. You know, what's happening, where's our location?

And if there's planes in the air they can come straight to us

and support us with what we need.

Once we're, you know, we can have a bit of a peek,

go, right, the burnover's passed, fire'sx gone.

Make sure we get out safely, backwards,

make sure the truck's not on fire,

and check hoses and all that.

Watch your step. Go out backwards. Go out backwards.

Yep, backwards.

Obviously, this is just a drill, right?

But I can imagine when there are so many, like, uncertainties...

Yeah, yeah.

...you've no idea how it's going to unfold...

Exactly. ..you're exhausted, you've been working for weeks...

Yeah. ..like, even the most basic commands probably feels... confusing.

Yeah. So, this is why we train. Yeah.

To make it feel like we do it every day.

So, we don't have a fire going over the truck every time,

but this is why we train it, just in case,

that if we do get that fire that happens, we know how to do it,

and it just comes naturally.

It was so worthwhile coming to spend time with these guys.

What becomes really, really obvious really, really quickly

is how... just how traumatic those fires were.

They love this island.

It's their island.

Community is obviously a huge priority.

And so, of course, yeah, you feel really lucky

to be able to come into these spaces

and hear first-hand what life looks like.

One place the firies couldn't save during those devastating fires

was the local footy club,

and it's a place where many of them are members.

Aussies are known for their love of sport

and there's always been a great rivalry between them and us Brits.

It's a huge part of their culture, and I guess like disasters,

sports also brings people together.

In Kangaroo Island they love their Australian Rules Football,

or as they say, AFL.

Greg, how are you? I'm Stacey. Hi, Stacey.

How's things? Yeah, good, thanks. Nice to see you.

Thank you so much for agreeing to have us over.

I really appreciate it. That's OK.

Former club president Greg loves his club

and has played over 300 games of footy for the Western Districts team.

Tell me a little bit about your team.

We're called the Western Districts.

We've also called 'The club in the scrub.'

So, it's a pretty small community.

Like, the island community is very small

and that's why we have little kids playing against big kids,

and then hopefully they hang around and they play some senior footy.

My understanding is there's real sort of history

with regards to this club.

It's sort of been through a lot. It's seen a lot.

Yeah, so, basically in 2020 the fires come through.

The club in the scrub, you know, didn't fare too well.

The sports club is, you know, where everybody comes.

And yeah, it was quite devastating to see,

you know, the place just destroyed, so...

But in spite of that, there was, you know,

the help came, like, people supported us,

like, huge amount of support.

So, who runs this? It's quite a big operation.

Yeah, we have a team of volunteers. So, it's all volunteers?

Yeah, that's the way I think you help your club.

And that's how we survived.

That sentiment, I feel like it's sort of ingrained,

certainly in this island.

You know, people aren't doing it for a wage

or for the kind of glory or whatever.

It's, you know, "This is our home.

"This is our club, this is our island.

"These are our people.

"If not me, then who?"

Yeah, well, that's right. For me, it's fulfilling,

volunteering and helping here.

Can you tell me a bit about the game?

I don't really understand the rules. Oh, yeah. It's not a round ball.

No, I've seen that!

It's a kicking and handball game. Fine.

But if you get it through the middle sticks, it's six points,

and if you get through the outside sticks, it's one point.

But you've got to be pretty rubbish if you can't get through the...

Oh, well, we'll see how you go.

...through the furthest pass. Famous last words!

It's harder than you think. OK.

If these lads are doing it, surely I can.

All right. So, you hold it a little bit like that.

Yeah. And then you try and drop it close to your foot.

Yeah.

That's easy.

"That's easy."

Now to show everyone what I'm really made of.

Ow!

OK, Greg doesn't seem impressed by my skills.

Maybe there is more to this.

Oh!

Oh-ho!

What about that? Must be the teacher, eh?

Now, do you want to have a kick at the goal? Sure.

Hopefully I didn't peak with that last kick.

Through the six point goal. Yeah.

Let's go over here for you.

Bend it like Beckham. Yeah. Bend it like Beckham.

You know, I think Greg is scared of my raw talent.

He's trying to stitch me up any way he can.

You're going to miss it!

SHE LAUGHS

Don't miss it!

You're going to miss it!

SHE LAUGHS

Don't miss it!

Oh! Oh, my God, I'm so good!

You see that?

Six points.

Well done! Six points.

Hey!

I'll send you my availability.

Thanks, lads!

I really appreciate that, actually.

SHE LAUGHS

After that epic show of brilliance

I'm joining the club in the scrub's senior footy team

for a training session.

This should be a piece of cake.

How many laps do you do?

One or two.

SHE LAUGHS Fine!

Whoo!

Oh, this is embarrassing.

I'm out of breath.

Let's slow it down.

Slow it down!

Oh, you angel!

I'm going to die!

Kill me.

Do you think that's it?

Maybe that's it?

One lap. One more.

BLEEP!

Training has only just begun.

I'm not sure I'll make it through the whole session.

- I'm totally out of breath. - Yeah? GREG LAUGHS

That's so embarrassing.

Luckily, Jack has been kind enough to take me under his wing.

Oh, BLEEP!

Wait, sorry, sorry, sorry!

And now I throw it to you? Now?

So, how long have you been here? Uh, will be six years now.

OK. Are you happy? Yeah, it's great.

What, do you think you'll stay here forever?

Yeah, I hope so, yeah. Have a family?

Yeah, it's the best place in the world.

What will life look like? Have a farm,

I've got a little contracting business at the moment.

You have? Yep. Doing that four years now. You're 17!

Yeah, I started when I was 14.

It's a mixed group of young men of all ages and hairstyles.

It's a chance to connect, make friends,

and be part of something really special.

It's interesting because you say, actually I want to stay here forever.

I wonder if some people might assume

that when you're in your formative years,

17, 18, 19, you're itching to leave a small island.

No, no. Not me. Like, I want to go and travel, obviously,

and see the world for a few years,

but I want to come back here when I'm sort of mid-20s

and settle down and get into it.

Jack! Oh, I'm so pleased we met. Yeah, it's good.

And for Jack, this isn't just a training session.

It gives them even more reason to stay on the island.

I suppose you know everyone. Oh, yeah.

Everyone knows everyone,

and it's not weird to see a 16 or 17-year-old

hanging out with a 25-year-old or something like that.

But yeah, it's good.

Your hair's beautiful, Jack. Thank you.

Exceptional. It's great, I like yours too. It's stunning.

Mine's a bit mullet-ish, do you think?

A little bit. Like... A little bit.

Borderline. Borderline.

It just needs a bit of a trim and you'll be all right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, listen, Jack, thank you.

No worries. Let's keep playing. Yeah, sounds good.

Camaraderie, mateship and a hearty dose of competition

is why clubs like this thrive in small communities.

I've had a blast.

I'm not a sports star... yet,

and I appreciate that historically, stars haven't been found

in their late 30s,

but my technique is impeccable.

The only thing I need to work on is my stamina.

And you can do that in the gym.

So, who knows what the future holds?

Who knows?

Kangaroo Island's isolation and remote location

has shaped a unique, protected ecosystem.

And it's one that grows exceptionally pristine local produce.

How are you going, Stacey? How are you, are you well?

I'm good. Nice to see you, Brenton.

Welcome to Kangaroo Island.

Listen, thank you so much. Thanks for having me.

I'm excited. Let's go and check out the bees of Kangaroo Island.

I've heard about these bees.

They're quite special here, aren't they?

Kangaroo Island is the oldest bee sanctuary in the world.

And local apiarist, that's the fancy word for beekeeper,

Brenton, is the bee's knees, number one guy.

Looking good. I feel it.

So, here we've got, there's just over 50 hives here.

I reckon we're going to open one of these ones here.

So, let's have a look under here.

So, bees are like all animals. they can sense fear.

OK, so I need to chill out.

They can't get you in there. Yeah. It's a triple-layer suit.

I can't believe, I cannot believe how nonchalant you are.

You are a very cool customer. Very relaxed.

I suppose this is your domain, isn't it?

So, this is propolis.

What does that mean? So, they collect resin from trees,

mix it with their enzymes, and then they make this propolis

which is their medicine.

So, the propolis from Kangaroo Island

has been shown to kill human cancer cells

and they're currently trying to go to human trials.

What?! Yeah.

So, Sydney University researchers discovered it.

Yeah, this is their... it is their medicine.

They use antibiotic, antibacterial properties.

That's an incredible claim.

I mean, that's potentially really exciting.

Yeah, I know, it is. It's really, really cool.

It's like... it's a big thing. What's it called?

Propolis. Propolis.

Yeah, and the bees here make a lot of it.

What is it about these bees specifically that's so special?

It's the purest strain of honeybee left in the world.

In the world? Yeah, and really important.

So, in 1885, Kangaroo Island was declared a bee sanctuary.

The whole island.

These bees here have been here for 142 years now.

Our job is to look after them.

The decision to make this island a sanctuary

has had so many benefits.

And luckily, the bees survived those bushfires.

Which sounds like a huge responsibility

given that they're world-renowned, you know what I mean?

But it's also really cool,

because we do whatever's right for the bees

and then in turn, hopefully they have enough spare honey

so they can share some with us.

Oh, look at this! Oh, look at this.

This is just beautiful. Isn't it?

Are you from Kangaroo Island? Were you born here?

Yeah.

SHE LAUGHS

They're really, really friendly bees.

Watching Brenton so comfortable with his bees

is somewhat disconcerting.

This is a man at peace with his craft.

Thank you. Do you produce it all here?

So, that one is from here.

So, here we go.

That is nice.

This one is the one that I have if I've got a sore throat,

or the kids come home.

Medicine. Coughing. This is the medicine honey.

Maybe I should just check it, just to be sure.

Yeah, well, this is it.

Oh, it's totally different, isn't it? Yeah. It's bitter.

This is awesome.

This is my favourite honey at the moment.

Really? I think I prefer the other one.

Perfect. You have that one, I'll have this one.

Thank you so much. No worries.

You're a delight. Thank you.

Well, thank you for coming and checking out our famous bees.

Can I tell you I genuinely love honey?

Honey on toast, cup of tea.

This has been the sweetest way to end my stay

on this incredible island.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from Kangaroo Island,

but it has been an absolute dream.

The sense of community, their strength, it's so heartwarming.

And look, those fires, they were truly awful.

But to hear how they've rebuilt,

those stories will stay with me.

I'm leaving with a bit of a lump in my throat.

I didn't expect to fall in love with this remote island life so easily.

Next time...

In terms of crocodiles, what's your sort of generic advice?

Well, there's that one. Oh, my gosh!

This thing came out of the water

and grabbed me on the left butt cheek.

It's there again!

I'm serious!

I'm so sorry.

Did you see how big that was?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media