Adelaide--Wildlife and Wine

Sunday, October 20, 2013
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
The flight from Melbourne to Adelaide was short and uneventful but we switched time zones, and had to move our watches back 30 minutes. There are three time zones in Australia, and the Northern Territories don't have Daylight Savings Time, which means that it has even a different time. Very confusing!

When we landed we headed straight for the Adelaide Hills and the Cleborn Wildlife Center, located in the National Park . This was an opportunity to pose for a photo with a Koala. They are bigger and heavier than I expected, and very passive. We also got a chance to see some Dingos, but it was midday and very warm and the animals were smarted than the humans because almost all of them were chilled out in the shade. After the Dingos we walked through areas with several varieties of Kangaroos, most of them were dozing in the shade. Even those who were grazing were much more interested in the grass than the food that we had bought.

After the park we retuned to Adelaide and watched for wild Koalas in the trees along the highway. We actually spotted 10 in about 20 minutes and I'm sure that there were many more that we missed. Koalas spend most of their time sleeping in the forks of Gum trees. The only eat the leaves of these eucalyptus trees, which would be poison to most other animals, but can be detoxified by their livers. These leaves are very low in nutrients, and the Koalas survive only because of their very low metabolic rate and reduced brain size.

After a bus tour of the city we checked into our hotel to rest and get ready for our home hosted dinner. The entire group was hosted by Sue and Leith at the home in the hills above the city. We had a chance for interesting conversations and an opportunity to taste some south Australia specialties, including Leith's amazing dessert of Cream Lamingtons.

The day was a free day,and Alan, Mimi, and I decided to take a wine tour of the Barrossa Valley. We tasted wines at four wineries, visited one of the iconic valley towns, whispered at the famous whispering wall, and had a delicious lunch before returning to Adelaide after a long but wonderful day.

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