Roo spotting!

We had a very relaxing Saturday in the Hunter Valley Gardens. We had a lovely coffee next to the band stand and listened to a great a live singer playing guitar while the kids ran around and danced, burning off lots of steam.

We started our Christmas shopping there as we need to have UK and Irish presents in the post by the end of the week. There are so many lovely gift shops and it is so easy to buy presents there when you are relaxed and not in a busy shopping center. It is probably slightly pricier but worth it for the "feel good" and convenience.

On our way home we decided to be adventurous and took a different route than normal. We drove along long straight roads with vineyards as far as the eye could see.

At one point we saw a small turtle about the size of an adult hand scuttling across the road with its neck outstretched. It was too late to brake but luckily it was half way across and our wheels went either side of it. It didn't seem bothered and just kept scuttling along!














We have a family bet offering $5 to the first person in the family to see a kangaroo or koala in a natural setting. We knew that we were in Roo territory as we had seen a lot of dead kangaroos on the sides of the roads, road-kill as they are referred to here. They are really big and solid and I think the car would know it if you hit one at speed. I spotted a group of them sunning themselves in the distance and we pulled up to see if we could take some photos.


As we were doing this a big one bounded across the road just a short distance ahead of us. The kids were all really excited and I came home $5 richer!