Australia 2006- Monarto Park

Fall foliage in Adelaide. Paths through the forest were colorful and crisp under foot.
My trip to Australia in 2006 was a little bit different. Lots of zoos, parks, animals, etc. Like these ring tailed kangeroos in Monarto Park.
And lions, lionesses. These were so neat, they'd follow the meat truck at dinner time. They knew who was carrying their steaks.

Giraffes. The park keepers put big limbs of their favorite trees on a post and the giraffes would all gather around, reaching up or standing on hind legs to get to the limbs, just like they would in the wild.

Did you know Adelaide is in Egypt?

Last year the Adelaide Museum reopened their Egyptian exhibit. I was so happy to spend a couple hours wandering through it. I will get to Egypt one of these days.

The blue woman is Nut, a sky goddess.

One of the symbols that represented 'woman' was a cow. Hathor was a fertility goddess. The murals are so awesome.


Of course if you visit Adelaide wineries are around every corner. This is a pretty one. It's very easy to spend the day sampling wines and cheeses. Make sure you have a driver.

A couple hours outside of Adelaide is a nice park made up of a dam and lake. The water in the lake is the water resource for all the surrounding communities.

Check out the little dinosaurs! These lorikeets love the berries on a cedar tree.

Trails in and around Adelaide

A lot of the parks have trails that vary from easy day walks to vigorous multi-day excursions.

Some of the cliffs have great little cave like areas that give you a break from the sun and a place for your imagination to run wild on what was once there.

Stairs can lead up to steep overlooks and more cliffs.


A trail that once bordered a rushing river and lively waterfall. Now the water is almost gone due to the multi-year drought.
Mt. Lofty is the highest point in Adelaide. A great place to spend the day, over look the valleys and have a cappuccino or glass of wine.

Playing in and around Adelaide

There are some great hikes along the edges of Adelaide. This part of the landscape reminds me of the Southwestern states of the U.S. I kept thinking I'd find a cliff house tucked away in the overhangs. The river and waterfall that sculpted this area were almost dried up due to the extensive drought.



This area of tortured and blown down trees takes a little effort to traverse. Everything is still alive and green.


Of course hiking has to be inter-spaced with shopping. This great little lamp is just one of many found in a little shop in Hondorf.

One of the gardens on the edge of the city. This garden had great sprinklers hidden in the trails. They threw up great sprays of water and cooled the hundred degree temperatures.

Of course, after hiking and shopping, you have to lie in a pool and think about your day. Amazing how wonderful lemonade and vodka goes down after a hot day.