A beautiful day

What a lovely day I had on Sunday.  It was Mothers Day, a day I think is silly because I reckon Sharon and Kate are always good to me so I don't need a 'special' day. Anyway they both called me for lovely chats, but because Sharon is in Perth and Kate in Melbourne, Steve decided to give me a treat.  

He whisked me off to McLaren Vale to do some wine tastings, then booked for lunch at a mystery destination. This wine region is always lovely to visit and it was especially appealing today with the vine leaves glowing vivid red, gold and amber in the autumn sunshine. 

It was so peaceful driving through the hills and valleys but, this time, instead of stopping in McLaren Vale itself we drove on further east to McLaren Flat where the wine region abuts onto the Adelaide Hills. Here you can see how close the hills are. 

First stop was at the delightfully named The Confessional. Here, we were greeted by Maisie, a gorgeous labrador cross, who was more interested in the grass than my camera, Steve being otherwise occupied.

On we drove though the countryside, revelling in the perfect day of sunshine, no wind, a blue sky speckled with white clouds - and a gentle warmth.

Another winery, then it was backtracking to McLaren Vale township for lunch. Steve couldn't have chosen a better place. What a surprise. Not only was it a Japanese restaurant, but it was in a converted railway carriage - both favourite destinations of mine.

It was so much fun to settle into the 'carriage'. The lemon, honey and mint tea was delicious, as was the teriyaki salmon I ordered. (I've gone a bit Instagram-ish here but I want to remind myself of this really lovely meal).

It was a bit disconcerting to see that, under the glass-topped table, the owners had placed train tickets, coins, paper money and customers' comments. Hmm - a very busy table decoration indeed; I had expected more of a zen environment. But the service was great and the staff friendly.

Feeling deliciously full, we wandered back to the car to visit a couple more wineries in the McLaren Flat area. Most of the vines here are very old and the trunks are thick and gnarled.  

You can see how close we were to the edge of the region. I loved the setting of this winery as it was surrounded by gum trees. This is one of Steve's photos.

Not sure what I'm doing here - possibly looking for a fallen leaf. Or more likely Steve thought it amusing to get me in an unguarded moment when I wasn't posing for the camera. But it was so quiet and peaceful wandering near the vines, made especially relaxing with the warmth from the sun - a warmth we haven't felt for many weeks now.

On the way home we stopped at a section of the Onkaparinga National Park for a calming walk through the bush.

A perfect ending to a perfect day.

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We explore Urimbirra

Urimbirra is a family-owned open-range wildlife park just 5 minutes from home - and we've never been there despite living here for nearly eight years! The land is part of a wetland system and had long been an Aboriginal hunting ground; there is still evidence of canoe and shield trees there. The name means 'to preserve' or 'to take care of' in the local Aboriginal language and is an apt name for what the owners have set out to do. The park covers 40 acres of grassed area, bush and wetlands and is home to more than 400 native animals including koalas, emus, wombats, echidnas, kangaroos, snakes, dingoes, crocodiles, many birds, and a cassowary, as well as farm animals such as alpacas, sheep, and chooks. Intriguingly there were two quokkas very far from their Rottnest Island habitat but who were jumping about and seemingly at home here. 

The reason we were there was to celebrate the joint birthdays of two of our friends who had arranged a barbecue in one of the sheltered pavilions. However, we arrived early before the festivities, and set off to explore. 

There were numerous paths meandering around the park providing access to all the attractions. Rain was threatening, but thankfully holding off, so it was all a bit overcast and dull. 

I love our Australian birds with their gorgeous colours.We couldn't resist taking photos.

The next three photos are Steve's. 

A lot of the birds and other animals are in spacious cages replicating their natural bushland environment...

... but some have a large, though fenced-off, open space in which to roam, like the emu.

On the other hand the kangaroos and wallabies have open slather in large swathes of open grassland which overseas visitors must love.

I still get a kick out of watching a mother and joey.

And Steve still enjoys getting a good photo.

And even though we are very familiar with koalas as there were many of them living in the trees on our Bolwarra property, it was good to see them greedily guzzling the gum leaves. 

The cassowary is a strange creature and I felt a little bit sorry for him so far away from his stomping ground in the tropical rainforests of Queensland. But he had a fair bit of space to tromp around in including a large spooky, swampy area. The informative plaque on the fence explained that cassowary are one of the closest living species to dinosaurs as evidenced by their clawed feet, and the distinct horn on their head (which apparently is called a 'casque').   

Of course it was not all 'Oh isn't that bird gorgeous' or 'I love the emu's floaty feathers' because we suddenly came upon a couple of saltwater crocodiles, the meanest of the mean, but thankfully fully enclosed in their watery domain. 

The sign says it all.

I was still out of my comfort zone when we came upon the reptiles - a death adder, an eastern tiger snake, and a python. First up, some harmless lizards.

Fortunately these reptiles were securely ensconced behind glass walls! 

What a relief it was to venture further on and spot this quirky 'dinosaur'.

It was a wonderful visit. While we were familiar with most of the animals, I can imagine overseas visitors being excited at being allowed to feed and pat the koalas and kangaroos. Management also run programs for children to encourage their interest in the wildlife, educate them about the animals' needs and provide opportunities for them to handle and gain skills in looking after them. 

We then walked back to the barbecue area and our friends' birthday party and finished a happy day with bubbly, sausages and onions, and the creamiest sponge cake I've ever tasted.