THIS RUGGED ISLAND ESCAPE HAS ALL THE INGREDIENTS TO RECONNECT TO SELF

If you’ve always had a soft spot for a private island (well, who hasn’t?) join us on our adventure to the furthest reaches of this great southern land.

Close your eyes and think of an island far, far away. Imagine a distant escape, untouched by the trappings of modern life – secluded, silent, special. Consider a place to reconnect with loved ones, and with oneself.

Since discovering the remote and beautiful Satellite Island for herself in 2014, travel photographer, blogger, author and stylist Kara Rosenlund has felt a powerful longing for its beauty and been compelled to return there.

This year, in the bosom of her family and armed with the success of her first hardcover book, Shelter: How Australians live, Kara did just that – answered her yearning to rediscover the island off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, share her experience and reinstate her affection for this special place.

“The weather conditions would change so dramatically, so I was constantly on alert, waiting to see what would reveal itself to me.” Kara Rosenlund

Since Kara’s first visit, the tiny whale-shaped Satellite Island has been somewhat thrust into the consciousness of the many, with its magnetic appeal of a total escape that’s actually only an hour-and-a-half from Hobart. Indulge in a seaplane arrival like Kara, or reach it via a short boat trip from Tasmania’s Bruny Island across the wild and windy D’Entrecasteaux Channel.

This time Kara embarked on daily adventures, taking her family for expeditions on foot and in ‘Pearl’, the resident wooden row boat, to explore the rugged shoreline, bountiful rock shelf and crystal clear waters surrounding the island, returning each evening to reconnect with one another in an atmosphere of crashing waves, candlelight and no mobile reception.

It’s an exercise in reality in its truest sense - reinstating a connection to the sea, the land and the natural environment that many of us have lost sight of. Layers of shells and sea life embedded into the very landscape we’ve come to ignore.

It’s not all Robinson Crusoe however – certainly, dive daily for your own shellfish but with accommodation for a maximum of eight people, the island offers a gourmet getaway experience in the beautifully appointed Summer House, or choose the Boathouse accommodation for something closer to nature but no less stylish - seaside glamping if you will.

“It was wonderful being able to collect what you needed, while observing the natural beauty of the coastal landscape. A primal routine.” Kara Rosenlund

At the mercy of the elements and awake to their wonder, set a fire for the evening and recline on the deck to shuck an oyster and consider the shape of its shell, the flight of a passing bird, the swell of the tide…