Kangaroo Island

Known as a zoo without fences, Kangaroo Island is a wildlife and nature reserve that we reckon everyone deserves the chance to see. With thousands of diverse native species flourishing in a place that is more than one-third protected national park, you can travel independently to Kangaroo Island and be pretty much guaranteed to have an in-the-wild animal encounter. If you don't like leaving things to chance, there are plenty of wildlife tours and experiences you can book that'll make you feel like you're in a Nat Geo doco. Whether it's seeing dolphins jump in crystal waters, fur seal colonies, Australian sea lions, koalas, birds, wallabies, or (of course) the island's namesake, you can see them all, living their best (and most free) lives. Also, if you want to guarantee animal sightings, pop into the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, where conservation and rehabilitation are the major MO.