Stacey Dooley returns to Kangaroo Island after bushfires

Stacey Dooley's travel series opened on Kangaroo Island, revisiting the site seven years after bushfires devastated half of it. The island is Australia's third-largest, a bit bigger than Cornwall, and is home to about 5,000 people.

Rescue and survival stories

During the inferno, Lisa and Jared Karran set up Kangala Kangaroo and Wildlife Rescue on the fly. Lisa recounted finding kangaroo mothers standing on scorched ground. They had protected their offspring by lifting them back into the pouches they had lived in when they were smaller. The joeys were safe. The mothers' feet were, fatally, burned to the bone.

Sheep farmer Ben lost his house and flock to the fire. He said it is hard to put into words what happened.

Stacey Dooley's reaction and experience

Dooley watched a smartphone video of Ben's engulfed back yard, the first footage of the fire she had seen. Her reaction was one of terror. She called it utterly, utterly terrifying. Visiting a fire station, she interviewed Rodney, who is in charge of an area where swathes were obliterated. He said it must have been devastating. Dooley learned the worst of it came from a night when the island was hit by 16 lightning strikes. She said that was unbelievable and she did not realise there were quite so many.

The presenter also sought out lighter moments. On a boat trip to swim with seals, she exclaimed that it felt like such an amazing opportunity. In a piece to camera afterward, she said she did not quite realise it would be this spectacular, calling the experience top tier and unbelievable. She later admitted to being surprised that the animals have fur. Her joyful anticipation was delivered in a sarcastic, self-mocking tone.

Dooley had an amusing go at learning Australian rules football at the Western Districts Football Club. She bonded with 17-year-old Jack, who has an extreme mullet and has run his own contracting business on the island for the past four years. Jack desires to stay on Kangaroo Island for life.

Reflections on the journey

Communities have been rebuilding since the bushfires. They saved orphaned kangaroos, koalas, wallabies and possums. The episode revealed the challenge of blending serious history with tourist-friendly content, a task one reviewer argued can be harder than reporting from a war zone. The presenter must conjure something from nothing. Yet there are signs that Dooley will find her voice as the series, Stacey Dooley's Australia: Off the Beaten Track, goes on.

Dooley got back on the ferry having just about given a decent snapshot of Kangaroo Island. It was hard work.