Hometown touring

Travelling is kaput, maybe forever, but let's all cross our fingers and hope that's not the case otherwise I'm likely to go completely bonkers and a bonkers me is not something the world is ready for, let me assure you. Fear not though, it's kaput, but there's still options for those who look for them.

Being travel-restricted has meant many have been exploring their own locations a little more and I've certainly been doing so myself - Sure, hometown-touring may not be as exciting as jetting off overseas but it's about all we have available - In fact many cannot even do that so it's best to count my blessings and get out and about in my local area.

Setting my feet upon paths they have not previously trodden is something I enjoy; Being in remote or isolated places exhilarates and energises me and I chase that feeling. Sometimes though, those new paths are not far away which was the case when I visited this botanic gardens located only thirty kilometres away from home. I'd not been to this botanic garden previously but had heard it's a decent place for a wander and not overly crowded so I arrived with high hopes. Here's a few snaps from my day.

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Wittunga botanic garden - The beginning

Wittunga was originally established as a private residence when owner, Edwin Ashby, built his home, in 1902. He had orchards and ran cattle and pigs on the property but his true passion centred around gardening and raising public awareness of Australian flora about which he often wrote about and spoke publicly; He loved gardening and dedicated his life to it with the creation of these gardens.

Ashby was a passionate gardener and in the 1930's developed a deep-watering-system that delivered impressive results - It seemed deep-watering once in three to four weeks rather than more regular surface watering was beneficial. The system influenced how horticulturalists care for Australia's native vegetation and is the basis of the sustainable watering practices widely used around the country today.

A fascination with the link between the water-smart flora of Australia and South Africa lead him to plant South African varieties that thrive in the similar climate here in South Australian and the result is a demonstration that it's possible for water-smart gardens to be as interesting and vibrant as more water-dependent ones.

With his love of flora, predictably, came a love of fauna, birds and butterflies, and he fostered the connection between the two ensuring that what he planted complimented the local fauna. Today visitors can benefit through an abundance of birdlife and a stroll in the butterfly garden at the right time of year will be shared with hundreds of them.

The garden was handed over to government ownership in 1965 and ten years later was opened to the public as a botanic garden - A process of extension occurred and is on-going with improvements being made each year.

Exploring

I freestyle-explored although free guided walks are available and visitors can book more private guided experiences if they wish. I grabbed a free map and wandered about on the Naming Walk which meanders it's way around the gardens, billabong and in front of the historic house itself.

It's called the Naming Walk as along the way information is provided about the origin of plant names, sometimes named for the characteristic of the plant and sometimes from a person - I read a few which I found quite interesting, but mostly just wandered about.

I'm not a huge gardener with most of what I do in the garden revolving around self-sustainability although as a kid I recall helping out my mum and dad in the family garden a lot - This left me with an appreciation of gardening and plants so I have the ability to meander about and find interest in places like this. I'm a huge fan of the outdoors and natural places so wandered about enjoying the serenity and weather mainly.

The Protea, sometimes called sugarbush, which hails from South Africa.

The flora

As above, Edwin Ashby enjoyed the connection between the South African and South Australian climate and flora so much of the garden features plant life from those distant shores interspersed with more local plant life. It adds interest as it's not often one sees plants from so far away together with local flora. I allowed myself to feel like I was in South Africa for a time as I wandered about.

One will pass Maluka beds interspersed with cacti and succulents then find South African Fynbos and Erica's. Further on one finds the very Australian Hakea and Banksia with over 140 different species of the former within the gardens.

The South Australian Blue Gum and Grey Barked Eucalyptus stand tall, visible from almost every point and make an ideal place for the birds to sit and sing their chorus. Australian Myrtles, Bottle Brush, Kunzea, Netbush, Tea Tree, and Paperbark are all present along with the South African Protea, Cone Bush, King Protea and Red Hot Poker. There's even two Japanese Persimmon trees which are the only remaining fruit trees from the old days.

One of the persimmon trees - The fruit looked amazing and persimmons are tasty but there was a strict do not eat policy much to my disappointment.

The mix of flora ensures that all year around visitors will find colour and something in bloom and if that's not enough then the birds will keep them busy; They sing consistently.

The birds

I like hearing birdsong when in the great outdoors and there's no shortage here at Wittunga botanic garden. Eastern spinebills, wattlebirds and New Holland honeyeaters add their song to rosellas, lorikeets and the various duck-species that splash around in the billabong. As I wandered about I was left with the feeling of solitude, of being isolated, despite there being others around within the garden with the birdsong negating any human noise that might have spoiled the effect.

A shot over the billabong, an Aussie word for waterhole, with some aptly named South African red hot pokers in the foreground.

Facilities and getting there

There's a very cool looking playground for the kids and loads of picnic areas with rotundas and picnic tables spread throughout the grounds as well as many grassed areas to throw out a picnic rug. What I thought was very cool was the smaller, more intimate, grassed picnic areas perfect for couples or very small groups, perfect for those who want a little privacy. The botanic garden takes wedding bookings with several spots looking ideal for the ceremony and subsequent photographs.

There's many wheelchair-friendly paths and a couple of toilet blocks located at opposite sides of the gardens with free car parking is free which is fairly abundant although considering the size of my vehicle I chose to park outside the gardens in a side street.

A very short walk away is shops and cafés and I saw a few bringing their picnic foods and drinks from there - A pretty good idea although I'm more of a make my own sort of chap: Cheese, cold cuts and a bottle of wine. I didn't picnic on this occasion, but I'll do so next time for sure.

Overall I was pretty happy with my day of walking around these gardens. It was a cool day but blue-skied with some warmth provided by South Australia's winter sun and I thoroughly enjoyed wandering about, listening to the birds and generally just finding some peace and quiet, a little balance.

After a few hours of hometown touring a man generates a fairly big appetite which this pasta dealt with admirably.

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I'll be honest and say that the plant species were not the main focus for my visit - It's the natural space that attracted me, the outdoors, fresh air and lack of the typical noises society produces that attracted me plus the fact that I'd not been there before as well.

I spent a few hours in the gardens then headed to a restaurant for a late lunch of penne with smoked salmon, capers, caramelised onion, baby spinach in a garlic and cream sauce then headed home feeling pretty good about my day - Not a bad bad hometown touring kind of excursion I'd say. What do you think?