We revisit Cox Scrub Conservation Park

A couple of years ago we visited Cox Scrub, a conservation park about 45 minutes north of home. At that time we entered on the eastern side. This time we wanted to try the western entrance. After a couple of sunny days, the weather was back to cool, hence my rather rugged up appearance.

As you can see it's a dry, scrubby forest with a sandy track. We were hoping for some wildflowers and we weren't disappointed. Unfortunately we had no idea what many of these flowers were. My sister, who is an expert in Australian natives, albeit mostly Western Australian ones, was able to identify some of the ones we saw. I tried looking up an online site for local flora but got confused. At least four flowers looked all the same to me; indeed, I swear Lyn's Bossiaea looked exactly like my Dillwynia. 

A calytrix - lovely with its pinks and reds.

I call this a 'granny's bonnet' but Lyn says there are heaps of very similar looking plants so it's difficult to identify; a local website says it's a Dillwynia (showy pea parrot) common to Cox Scrub, so I won't argue.

I loved the way the bush had its own host of golden 'daffodils'. They were indeed 'fluttering and dancing in the breeze' and made the bush come alive with their vibrant sunshiny yellow blooms, whatever they are.  Too many lookalikes on the online site for me to make a definitive identification.  

Steve of course couldn't resist a closer look...

Two more pinky, mauve blooms caught my eye. The one on the left may be a lavender grevillea, while the one on the right is stylidium junceum. 

And another grevillea?????

And a yellow fluffy one (you can tell how attuned I am to botanical names). For those who are aching to know - all right, it's pimelea octophylla, but I'll settle for the common name of woolly rice flower.

And was this an ant's nest? I stayed well clear. 

At last, a bit of greenery.

These white flowering bushes were everywhere, lining the path much like a garden hedge.

Leptospermum (heath tea-tree)

These trees look as if they are dancing - I know, that's a bit fanciful, but they do seem to have a bit of a rhythm going.

And this one looks as if an axeman has almost cut it in two. 

We continued on, cameras at the ready. 

But honestly, I really must get a flora of the Fleurieu Peninsula book that I can take with me next time.

A Gorgeous Gorge

 On a sublimely sunshiny morning we set off to do a short walk in the Okaparinga National Park. It's a huge park with loads of different types of walks. We selected the Chapel Hill Walk - an easy hike on the southern side of the Onkaparinga Gorge that we accessed from the McLaren Vale winery region. In fact, Samuels' Gorge Winery almost overlooks the gorge. It was a fairly easy-going walk along a grassy path ...

and passing an enormous olive grove.

 It was gentle at first.

Then the path began veering steadily upwards. 

And upwards...

We were heading for the viewing spot which overlooked the gorge. It was clearly signposted so no going off piste for us.

And here it was. I was expecting a wide gorge with rocky sides and craggy overhangs. Instead, it was difficult to see any kind of rocky interface at all, as it was so thickly wooded. I could just make out the shape of the Onkaparinga River snaking through the narrow river valley. 

My zoom lens found the rather murky river...

... while Steve got to work with the gorge itself.

After a peaceful rest with no one but us about, we set off on the return loop, passing the Chapel Hill winery vines.

On the way I spotted two different types of wattle - always a cheery sight.

A house way off in the distance caught my eye, especially that inviting sun room. Thanks to my zoom lens, I practically made it to the front door! 

I then came across a rather large swathe of dandelions a sure sign of impending spring. Who remembers making daisy chains and fashioning them into bracelets, necklaces and crowns? Not Steve. I picked a couple and demonstrated my long-forgotten skill. I'm not sure he was that impressed. I do remember, and this came back to me fairly quickly, that dandelions have no scent except for a weedy, pungent odour.

When we came upon part of the Chapel Hill winery estate we knew we were almost at the end of the walk.

Not far away was the entrance to Samuel's Gorge Winery. Such a sublime scene that sums up this lovely part of South Australia.

The winery itself had a lovely lived-in atmosphere.

We did a couple of tastings inside this atmospheric room, but as they were reds, they weren't for me.  

On the way home we called in at a lovely cafe in McLaren Vale village for lunch. 

Another enjoyable walk. I later looked up more information about the gorge and it is indeed dramatically rocky and craggy, but the walks getting down to the gorge at river level are fairly long and scrambly, so I may just enjoy this part of the gorge vicariously from the Walking SA website instead!

A surreal birthday

For Steve's birthday this year we decided to go to McLaren Vale to visit the d'Arenberg winery and its Cube. Built three years ago to much acclaim, the Cube is made up of a variety of cube shapes on five levels, set among the vines. Its design was inspired (so the brochure told us) by the complexities and puzzles of winemaking as well as, so the lovely man who greeted us added, by the famous Rubiks Cube.  Of course, Steve couldn't wait to record it. 

And I couldn't wait to get inside.

There are five levels: the 'alternate realities' museum, a contemporary art gallery, a winetasting room, a restaurant, and cute toilets. Balconies at each level provide lovely views over the vines. We started off at the museum level. 'Weird' and 'wonderful' are two words that spring to mind: surreal paintings by local artists, wind up mechanical toys, and crazy installations. Here's some examples. 

I've included this for my friend Maggie who loves caravans. When you turned the handle, the people inside looked at each other and drank their drinks. I thought the washing line outside the caravan was a nice touch!  

We then ventured up a level to the art gallery which is currently hosting an exhibition of Salvador Dali sculptures - and which looks like staying for many months more as it cannot be flown back to Switzerland (where it comes from) because of virus restrictions. I did not know Dali did sculptures (as with most people, I knew he painted, and am familiar with his famous melting clock).  Outside the Cube were two enormous sculptures that were commissioned as part of the exhibition and are mounted outside wherever the sculptures are being shown. These next two photos will give you an idea of what I am trying to describe. Check out the prices! 

We had a fabulous time. Once I read the description of the symbolism for each work I was entranced.  Here is a sample of what we saw. 

I loved the colourful chairs dotted around the gallery - comfortable, too.

Don't you just love the look on the face of this young art critic. 

Behind me in this next photo are the works of Australia's foremost surrealist artist Charles Billich who is now 85 and still going strong. 

I am not sure why I had the urge to peer through the legs of these sculptures.

There were also some quirky items in display cabinets and on shelves.

At each level, we ventured out onto the balconies to view the surroundings.

Next, it was off to the restaurant which was also decorated with sets of masks and other unusual items.

After a delicious lunch (pumpkin soup, chicken wings, spiced apple pie and cream) and of course some sparkling wine (for me) and pear cider (for Steve), it was time to leave. On our way down to the ground floor we saw a couple of Dali prints.

             

Outside on the lawn were a few other sculptures ... by local artists this time. 

I couldn't resist joining this sculpture band as their singer! 

And then it was onto one of our favourite wineries in this region - Coriole. Their cottage garden is always a pleasure to see, even in mid-winter.

And because it was Steve's birthday, here's one more photo (as I feel he is a little under-represented here). Oh, and those contraptions you can see at the very top of the photo are actually trestle tables that can be lowered whenever there is a function in the gallery. Another intriguing aspect to this building.

We drove home through wine country feeling so lucky to be living here.