We finally made it to the Bookpurnong Cliffs – locally known as the “Booky Cliffs”. Tried to visit a few weeks again but my navigator – Reginald – lead us astray. Wrong turn on the back roads – check out past blog “Wine, Wetlands and Waterways” for the full story. This time I was assured all would go well – he had done his research! Need I say more! Our “unexpected detour” was less drastic this time – at least we were heading in the right general direction! But – as often happens with “wrong turns” – good things happen. We had a little adventure – an unexpected encounter. Kangaroos, many kangaroos. They were everywhere! Huge variety of colours and sizes. Big bucks to joeys; reddish brown to light grey. I don’t know if I’ve seen so many in one place before – and that’s saying something! Gave up counting at thirty – heaps more. They were all near the roadside – happily nibbling on saltbush. Lots of stares as we drove past – or should I say crawled past! Kangaroos have a habit of jumping out in front of you! Not good for the health of your car – or for any passengers if you hit them at speed! Anyway we soon hit a dead end – no pun intended – realized our mistake, turned around and headed back. We even had one kangaroo escort us out – bounding along in front of the car, showing us the way. Very helpful – or keen for us to leave? Not really sure!
We arrived at the entrance of the Murray River National Park and headed towards the Booky Cliffs. Lots of little roads and tracks – some pretty rough – obviously damaged at some point after some heavy rain. Had to drive pretty slowly in our little car – not a lot of clearance! Happy to find the odd sign post along the way – always helps! Finally arrived at our destination and it was all worth it. We stood in awe on the banks of the Murray River – Booky Cliffs on the other side. Beautiful as the evening light drew every colour out of the red/orange/yellow dirt – lovely contrast to the dark shadows and crevices along the cliff face. Re-traced our drive through the park – more kangaroos, bridges across pretty creeks. We then looped back around towards Berri – landmark water tower on the horizon – we didn’t get lost this time!
We celebrated Bastille Day with old friends in Remark recently. Most are winemakers – most had worked with Reg in the past. No trouble guessing the theme for the night – amazing French wine combined beautifully with delicious French food. What more can I say! Magnifique!!
Love Di and Reg
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