Our small brightly coloured twin prop airplane banked low over the gently rolling green pastures below us and slowly descended to the single runway with a small terminal at its side.  Big healthy cattle didn’t bother to look up from their tall grass as we passed low over their heads, still within sight of the surf crashing on nearby beaches.  It was the idyllic scene of some old school TV show or a throwback to a small town in rural Australia.  In fact we were about to touch down on King Island, a surprisingly large island in the middle of Bass Straight, halfway between Victoria and Tasmania.  King Island, only vaguely known to most Australians but remembered for its cheeses, beef, crayfish and new golf courses would be our home for the next five days.

But why King Island, a fairly obscure island without the famous attractions, stunning weather, great restaurants or entertaining nightlife?  In fact, the whole island has only about 1,600 residents, one post office, one school and basically one paved road that runs the 64 km length of the island.  I mean, why waste a perfectly good New Year’s Eve on King Island?

Why indeed.  Because recently after a late night in Sydney following a few drinks our friend Saan, who hails from King Island, and her partner Len, invited us to come to the island for a bit of fun and relaxation.  We jumped at the chance, partly out of curiosity, partly for the adventure but mostly to spend time with our good friends.  It turned out to be one of the best short breaks we have ever had.

King Island was first discovered at the end of the 18th century by passing explorers and was mainly used for hunting fur seals and elephant seals.  In later years land was allocated to farmers arriving from England and small communities survived in this remote and windswept location.

The island also became known for its shipwrecks as many ships trying to negotiate Bass Straight would stray onto the island’s unforgiving rocks.  More than 60 ships have wrecked on these nearby rocks with the loss of over 2,000 lives.  The Cape Wickham lighthouse was built on the northern tip of the island in 1861 to help ships pass safely and is still Australia’s tallest lighthouse at 48 metres.

With Len’s brother David and his wife Libby the six of us moved into a beautiful beach house overlooking Porky Beach a short drive north of Currie, the main town on the island.  This would become our luxurious base for our time on the island and a perfect place to walk along the beaches, watch the wallabies nibble away on our front lawn, enjoy sunsets and rain squalls, eat beautiful local food and drink too much wine.  As you do.

But one thing we hadn’t counted on was the locals and how they were prepared to welcome us into their homes, into their parties, into their golf games and into their lives.  We were overwhelmed by the many warm and friendly people that we met along the way, sometimes bumping into the same people again and again, such is the way of island life.  By the end of our stay I had the strange sense we had met just about everyone.

Saan was born and raised on the island, although like most kids she and her brother Roger and her sister Trish all went to boarding school in Tasmania or Victoria.  And most people we spoke to had similar stories, spending some years off the island, perhaps chasing degrees, careers or partners, travelling, experiencing life away from what is a fairly isolated existence on King Island.  But all of them eventually returned to the island, perhaps lured back by the island itself, close friends and family, or maybe for those long empty beaches and easy lifestyle.

Roger has the family’s farm where he runs about 2,500 cattle across beautiful expansive green pastures with numerous waterholes.  Each year he sends about 900 head off on the boat to the nearest abattoir.  The beef and dairy industry on the island is big business and produces some of Australia’s most highly sought after beef and cheeses, much of it for export.

The rich soil, favourable weather and healthy grasses make ideal conditions to fatten the herd each year and one afternoon Roger took Julie and I for a tour of his farm, an impressive operation, and explained in more detail how the beef industry works.  It was a fascinating insight into a world we knew little about and Roger even pointed out individual bulls or cows with explanations of their particular personalities or bad habits.

Roger is also a keen golfer which is fortunate because King Island has recently been graced with two world class public golf courses, Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes.  At his insistence I joined he and two of his sons and a mate for a game at the stunning links-style Cape Wickham golf course, situated on the rugged northern coast of the island with the famous Cape Wickham lighthouse a constant reminder of the island’s history of ship wrecks and lost souls.

We were the only group to play the course that day, such is the obscurity of the location and the young age of the course, and it was an extraordinary opportunity to play on a new championship course in a stunning setting amongst a great group of guys.  Pity my game did not live up to the moment.

One night an extension of family and friends met at our beach house with its expansive ocean views and the sounds of the crashing surf for a night of barbecued King Island beef, a huge crayfish pulled out of the nearby surf and three abalone that was found by a snorkeling nephew of Saan and then beautifully prepared for dinner.  It was becoming very easy to fall for the allure of King Island.

On New Year’s Eve we reconvened at Yellow Rock Beach on the north western coast of the island where another family friend had built a huge bonfire and barbecued – wait for it – King Island beef while another local provided a steady stream of delicious cooked crayfish. We met an amazing group of people that night around the fire, locals, mostly farmers, hardworking, friendly, generous with their stories and their wine,  all great stuff. Julie and I love a fire, the bigger the better, and we felt we had spent the night with life long friends.

The next day was the King Island Cup, the annual local horse races which are taken very seriously by the islanders and are a highlight on the local social calendar. Not only that, we were invited to watch the festivities and enjoy the beautiful lunch from the separate stands of the race’s major sponsor, another special treat.

The King Island Races have been a regular feature on the island since 1892, an astonishing 124 years of racing.  And unique to most tracks, King Island mixes both pacers and gallopers on their six race New Year’s Day schedule, giving punters the chance to see different types of events with both local and visiting horses, riders, stewards and jockeys.

We had a great day, drinking champagne, eating with more new friends, betting on slow horses and taking in the fabulous scene of the locals enjoying their big day out in this beautiful setting.  And we nearly broke even for the day as Libby picked a winner in the last race!

We also had a day where Saan and her sister Trish took us on a drive to many of the sites of the island, passing through lush green pastures speckled with fat cattle, past the long rows of tea trees which act as boundaries between the paddocks and along the rugged coastline.  With expert running commentary from the sisters we drank it all in, the history, the local flora and fauna, stories about the locals, a picnic overlooking Sea Elephant River and the small communities of Grassy and Naracoopa.  Great stuff.

The wildlife on King Island seems to have nothing to fear but the front bumper of the occasional passing car.  The island is covered in lovable wallabies but there are also the occasional pademelon (a smaller marsupial similar to a wallaby) and possums spotted by the side of the road.

But King Island really takes off with its bird life – we saw a beautiful sea eagle soaring gracefully on the ocean breezes above our beach house, plus there were many plovers, beautiful wild peacocks, oystercatchers, black swans, cormorants, Cape Barren geese and other sea birds.  The island also has some very docile wild turkeys that roam the roadside, often followed by their small band of chicks, and the occasional pheasants.  And snakes, plenty of snakes, including the deadly copperhead snake we saw on the golf course.

On the last morning we were invited over to Brett’s house, who is a long standing friend of Saan’s, for a coffee before our flight.  Again, the family home was opened up, and both old and new friends chatted about their travels and life on the island over a local brew.  For me this final morning summed up our visit to King Island, friendly people happy to share their lives in this unique and special place, even for those who are only passing through.

As we took off over those green paddocks again and looked down on the island one last time we wondered out loud when we could get back.  Not for some time because we have other plans for 2017 but hopefully we can return here soon to enjoy the food, play some more golf and catch up with all our new friends.