A wildflower walk

In glorious sunshine we set off for Cox Scrub, a conservation park on the Fleurieu Peninsula, 40kms  north east from home, hoping the wildflowers would be out after the recent rains and sunny weather we've had.  We were not disappointed.

Just near the car park at the start of the walk we came upon a swamp, redolent with the deep, throbbing croaks of frogs; according to the sign these were the eastern banjo frog.

As usual, I tried for some creative shots; if you're not into this, skip the next couple of photos.

The walk itself was along an easy narrow sandy track.

Wildflowers were blooming all around us in a profusion of rich reds, mauves, oranges, yellow and white. There was the ubiquitous wattle (which I adore), heaths, banksias, grass trees, bush peas, running postman, and many I could not identify.

We tried to get the definitive shot!

Here is what we came up with. The first three shots are Steve's. The rest are mine.

Beaked hakea

Lavender grevillea

A creative shot of shadow leaves.

There was a slight breeze blowing and the afternoon was magic. I especially enjoyed the stand of sugar gums. These are not indigenous to the park but were planted by the Cox family (who originally owned the land) for beekeeping.

Signs advised us to be on the lookout for the red-bellied black snake and the eastern brown snake, but all we saw were these bones.

We thoroughly enjoyed the walk until we came to the last interpretive sign at a T junction.

There was no sign indicating which way to go, and one of the two of us (and it wasn't Steve) had forgotten to bring the brochure with the map. We decided to turn left which was downhill, thinking that we had to end up at the swamp where we had begun the walk - and the swamp would be downhill. We walked on until, after about a kilometre we ended up at another T junction. Luckily we could see the road so made for that. We then realised we had gone in the entirely wrong direction. Another kilometre or more walking on the road verge and we finally heard the banjo frogs again and spotted our car sitting on the car park.

An inglorious end to what had been a lovely day. Climbing into the car I heard Steve mumble something. I couldn't quite catch what he said but I thought it may have been, 'Next time my darling I'll remind you to bring the map.' Or words to that effect!

The missing map

Another bit of the Heysen Trail done

Last Sunday we decided to do another chunk of the Heysen Trail, the 1200 km track that winds from Cape Jervis on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula all the way to the Flinders Ranges. We've done small bits of it a few times. This time we were still thinking small, but turned further east.

The part of the trail we decided on was not really a trail at all - more of a trial -  as it involved eagle-eyed spotting, then climbing, innumerable stiles and going up and down pastured hills through farmland, with the very occasional Heysen Trail sign to reassure us that we were going the right way.

But the views were lovely, we were all alone, the sun shone and all was right in this part of the world.

Once on top of the hills it was sea views all around.

The perfect jigsaw! That's Kangaroo Island in the distance.

 We perfected the art of climbing over the stiles. Here are two shots of our 'stile style'.

There were always good photo ops.

 We found a nice spot for a picnic.

Couldn't resist a still life of 'backpack and cap' to celebrate the Eagles win on Saturday.

Refreshed from our lunch, we then drove 4 kms on the road that was part of the trail, then picked up the route again as it wound its way through more farmland. 

  The sign on the gate was a little disturbing.

However, all was calm and the only activities we encountered were gambolling spring lambs and their mums. They looked gorgeous and I had to quash the memory of a leg of lamb and rump steaks in my freezer at home.

We walked for a way down the farm track ...

... then headed back to the car. All in all, it was a good day and we now know what another slice of the Heysen Trail looks like.

I visit some birds ... and a waterfall

A friend of ours has just bought two peacocks and invited us over to view them. I imagined that they would be strutting imperiously around the garden, reminiscent of an English country estate. But no, they were confined to a cage in the backyard, and apparently have to stay there for three months to get acclimatised. But it was still wonderful to see their magnificent iridescent plumage and turquoise blue head feathers.

Our friend also has a large number of aviaries and some wonderful birds that he lovingly cares for. At first I got tremendously excited and so was unable to focus well. The dratted things kept flying and swooping around being birds!!!! Here are my first attempts.

                                  

I soon calmed down and got some better shots. Our friend explained the names of all the birds as we went along, but I'm afraid it all went over my head so I can't record them here, but bird fanciers among my readers may well recognise these breeds.

Steve preferred to view them from afar, but I boldly stepped into the aviary to seek the perfect shot....

... which constantly eluded me.

Perhaps with more patience and less enthusiasm, I could improve.

A week later we revisited Hindmarsh Falls, which I blogged about last year. This time round I determined to do more creative shots. First up though, a straightforward record shot of the path to the falls and a section of the falls themselves. 

Luckily after our recent rains there was a generous amount of water cascading over the rocks. 

I zoomed in to get interesting aspects of the water and the surrounding vegetation. It was a pity in a way that the day was sunny because there was too much contrast between the water, the trees and the rocks and I'm not good enough to be able to compensate for that. An overcast cloudy day would have been better for photos - but where is the joy in that?

You can see by the colour of the water how the rains have washed the mud down the river.

When I got back home I turned two of my favourites into black and white images.

Steve attempting to get the definitive shot.

 Me posing at the lookout.

And finally, some flowers to welcome spring.

All in all, a lovely day out.