It was a dark and wet morning. The rain drop were heavy, and the clouds looked as though they had set in for the day. (Bugger)
We had so many plans today, but it looked like none of them would eventuate. By the time we climbed out of bed and had the Pajero packed it was already after 10am.
The rain kept falling and it kept getting heavier and heavier.
Buy this stage, we thought it couldn't hurt to see if the Raptor Domain Free Flight show was still going ahead as we were driving past it anyway. We called in and I jumped out to find out what was the go - while Bec and Scarlett stayed nice and dry. As it turned out, they have an undercover area that they still do a slightly modified show in (with very little flying) - but at least it was up close and personal, with lots of hands on.
We all scampered under the cover out of the rain and patiently waited for the show to begin - wrapped under blankets provided by the raptor show people.
First to make an appearance was two orphaned birds - a Currarong and Magpie. These guys are still fairly young and they ended up being quite cheeky and mischievous doing the show. Scarlett wasn't impressed, and kept asking when are the big eagles coming out.....
Next was a cute little guy called "Chip", an Australian Kestrel. He was a beautiful little bird, and we soon discovered that we were lucky to see him - as during a show in the open flight arena the previous week, she was attacked by a wild Sparrow Hawk! She was last seen flying at a great rate of knots over the open fields with the Sparrow Hawk right on his tail. After a couple of hours, and after "Chip" had relaxed a little, he returned to the Raptor Domain a little worse for wear but uninjured.
We were then introduced to "Boo" next, a Boobook Owl (or Mopoke). This little fellow was very wet, and duly shook all the water off his feathers and onto the entranced visitors. Very funny. We were all given a chance to have "Boo" fly onto our hands and both Scarlett and I jumped at the chance.
Soon, "Casper" the Barn Owl made an appearance. He was a beautiful boy who walked around the visitors and jumped from person to person from knee to knee. Bec and Scarlett posed with him while I jumped up and took a photo or two. At the end of the show "Casper" was rewarded with his own form of chocolate - a mouse. It was great to see this little guy polish off the mouse and stand there for the next 5 minutes with a mouse tail hanging out of his mouth! (It reminded me of when we feed our pet Diamond Pythons Willow and Achilles).
Next was a surprise! We were the first group of visitors to be introduced to an orphaned Barn Owlet that still had its baby plumage and looked very cute. It still didn't have a name, so Scarlett raised her hand and suggested "Soren" from the movie 'Guardians of Ga'Hoole'. I think the name might stick, as the keepers were very impressed.
Lastly, we were introduced to "Alex" a 9 year old female Wedge tail Eagle. She was majestic! Unfortunately due to her size, we weren't able to touch or hold her, but we still had the chance to get up close and personal, and watched her finish off some yummy Kangaroo meat.
I found the Raptor Domain to be a very informative and hands on experience. These guys save injured or orphaned birds, and release what is viable back into the wild. I ended buying some 'Hot' Raptor Sauce, as proceeds go into bird rehabilitation.
Although it was a wet day, we were still able to salvage something with the Raptor Show. I can seriously recommend this place to anyone considering visiting Kangaroo Island.
The rest of our visit was cut short due to the rain - as it only got heavier. Bec rang the ferry people and changed our return ticket. It was now a 'controlled' mad dash back to Penneshaw to catch the ferry.
The say theferry ride itself was a 'little rough' is an understatement, as the seas were a little sloppy and all over the place. Bec and Scarlett were both feeling a 'little' seasick, and were very relieved to finally reach land again.
As it was still raining, we decided to head up to the southern outskirts of Adelaide and visit the Horndale Winery that had been highly recommended by John and Ann Palmer, the parents of our close friends Damion and Kristy who live on the Gold Coast. This was an excellent detour, as Bec 'enjoyed' tasting all the different ports available. Phil - our proprietor, was an expert on wine and port selection. When he found out that John and Ann had highly recommended them, he was very accommodating and a wealth of knowledge. we were going to buy a 'small' 5 ltr Baltic Barrel of Tawny Port (for caravanning of course), but he insisted we wait as the barrels on the shelf still had not been broken in or aged properly yet. So unfortunately we walked away without a barrel - but Bec still bought a bottle! We have their contact details and plan on ordering a barrel in the near future to be delivered somewhere down the track! Mmm...
Rain! It never stopped all day. We then headed back to Myopolonga to where we had left our caravan. ....And went to bed
(and it was still raining!).
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