Adelaide Hills and Aussie Fauna

The Gunns and I spent Saturday sight-seeing around the area. Adelaide is situated in South Australia, which is a state in the south-central part of the country. Adelaide itself sits along the western edge of a big chunk of land that sticks down into the ocean in the southeastern part of the continent (check this map). It takes about 30 minutes to drive from the downtown area to the beaches. To the north, south, and west are a range of hills and low mountains, which is where the bulk of Australia's wine farms are located. For example, the Barossa Valley is well-known for its reds, the Adelaide Hills for their whites.

We first drove up to Mt. Lofty, the highest spot in the area, for a view across Adelaide to the sea. Then we visited Cleland Wildlife Park, where I enjoyed up-close encounters with a variety of Australia's amazing birds and animals. From there we had a picnic, stopped off at a winery for a taste, then dropped down the other side of the hills to a large river, the Murray, for a nice view and a coffee. It was a good day and so fun to see the natural beauty of this area of the country.

A kangaroo joey in its mother's pouch.

Wombats - they are chunky, furry, fuzzy, cuddly, and look like stuffed animals.

Feeding a wallaby.

Peter and Margaret, and an emu in the background.

I had a small collection of stuffed koalas when I was a kid...now here's the real thing!

It was a pretty cold day and had begun to rain while we visited the animals, so we ended with a coffee...

...before finding another spot for our picnic.  I saw why the Gunns and the Hawkins became friends: they both know how to do awesome picnics!

An Adelaide Hills wine farm for a tasting.

Our late afternoon destination was the Murray River, a huge river that runs for several thousand kilometers, from the Snowy Mountains west towards Adelaide before turning south to the sea.