Day at Swan Valley

Today was our wine and chocolate tour in Swan Valley – we also ended up going to Caversham Wildlife Park, which as you can all imagine made me very happy. We knew it was going to be a good day for as we were on the bus heading to meet Vicki, our advisor, we spotted several dolphins playing in the river! They were a bit far out but I managed to capture a few shots. 

After about a 40 minute bus ride we arrived at the Margret River Chocolate Company. Two funny things about the name: 1). It is actually in Swan Valley and not Margret River. 2). They are not legally allowed to call it a Chocolate Factory (I think it was because the chocolate itself is imported?) hence the name Chocolate Company. I had expected a tour of a factory with lots of samplings but since it wasn’t a factory – it was more of a big chocolate store – the only free samples there were three bins of chocolate pastilles (think flat chocolate chips). They were quite good and I went back for several helpings… when in Rome, eh?

Behind the Chocolate Company.

 After the Chocolate … Company we went to Caversham Wildlife Park where we were able to get up close with several different animals and see a “Farm Show.” First we saw and fed some kangaroos. The white ones were especially cute. 

That last one is one of my favorite photos so far... just like the way the Kangaroo contrasts against the dirt and the way it curls. After the Kangaroos we saw this ridiculous looking creature called a Wombat. I guess the best way to describe it is as a Marsupial Nocturnal Pig. As you might have guessed it is not the most attractive animal, sorry Big Bubs (what they named the Wombat). 

We then went to the Farm Show where we learned about sheering sheep (trying say that 10 times fast).

 It was pretty interesting to hear about and see (as they did a live demonstration). The guy who sheers it, does it one piece – think about how satisfying peeling an orange in one piece is and then imagine doing 18 pounds worth of wool in one shot. It was pretty neat to see them take the crumpled ball of wool and then toss it out to show that it was one long piece. 

After the sheering demonstration, they showed us a whip and demonstrated how to crack it. This whip isn’t used to hit the animals but instead is used to get the sheep’s attention. They asked for a volunteer to try and make the deafening crack and I went up. 

The guy gave me a pretttttyyy cool hat and tried to show me how to do it. Much much harder than you would think. The way you are supposed to do it is whirl it around your head helicopter style and then mid swing change directions so it curls back on itself. Tried three times but couldn’t do it. Think Indiana Jones’ job is safe.

 After this they called up some of the kids in the audience and had a race to see which one of them could feed milk to baby goats the quickest (ahhh just got that they had kids feeding kids). Well done Caversham … well done. 

This little girl’s face was pretty priceless. 

After the farm show we passed through the farm exhibition where there were some adorable baby rabbits (they were selling them for 20$ … showed some good self restraint and passed on getting one for a pet).  

I want some credit for not buying one ... 

Must have been because of the flash but this goat looks like he has an eye of water and fire. Also, cow eyes are pretty wild looking. 

On the way to the Koala exhibit we saw a male peacock showing off. 

Although there were lots of bushes in the way, I managed to get a few good photos of the Koalas. Check out the little baby! 

As we exited through the gift shop I saw the perfect present for any occasion… 

Anything less than genuine just isn't going to cut it... Mmm… nothing like some good ole’ Kangaroo scrotums!

After the wildlife park we went to the Sandalford Winery where we were given many different wines to try and a nice plate of cheese. 

The guy taking the photo counted to three before I could smile.

Wine tasting on an empty stomach was an unsurprisingly enjoyable experience. 

Tired and happily buzzed we returned to Perth to come back to Trinity. A day well spent.