Melbourne: Home, home on the open range

Looking over the plains at the animals, it's easy to expect a warm desert wind. Photo / 123RF

Danielle Wright spends a day at a zoo just outside Melbourne, without the kids in tow

The zoo is the last place I would have thought to take my husband Gavin on a date, but on our last escapade from the kids - which wasn't so well planned - we found ourselves in an Irish pub trying to chat in between bursts of celtic tunes and a tipsy 80-year-old hell-bent on chatting to us.

This time, we're lured to Werribee Open Range Zoo - 35km from Melbourne's CBD - by an off-road safari and winery package. We're met at the gates by our safari guide Dave Edgington, a retired teacher, who helps us board an open-air 4WD vehicle. Soon we're rolling over red dirt around the zoo's African Savannah-themed grounds.

First, we pass caramel coloured Mongolian horses with Mohawk manes and American bison, neither straight out of the Savannah. But, Dave tells us that even though a Mongolian horse isn't from Africa, it's there because of its role as the world's first horse species, and the bison were thought to be the first animal on the planet to inspire people's desire to protect a species after drastic figures showed 80 million of them were reduced to 4000 in just 200 years.

"Zoos are now capable of conservation work with programmes such as ambassador species and ark species. I call these our 'insurance policies', because no one knows what information we'll need to tap into in the future," says Dave. "An enormous effort from dedicated people goes on behind the scenes to save these beautiful animals."

We see so much new life at the zoo and pass baby Sahara, a doe-eyed camel just 11 days old, following her mum as she tries to create a little space between the two. Around a small river bend, we spot a hippopotamus mother and baby snuggling next to each other in the sun, waiting for nightfall and their one meal of the day - always grass. Later, we spot a baby rhino, Leeroy. Three lion cubs have also been born at the zoo that morning.

We drive close to the zebras - who "always have a mean streak" - and long-horned bulls with faraway looks in their eyes. We watch the cattle chewing in silence as bunnies hop in and out between their legs. Dave admits some children on their junior safaris are most impressed with the bunnies.

We get up close to Banjo, a one-eyed zebra, and Kiwi-born giraffe Jelani can be seen moving his head like a dinosaur, high in the sky. He's known as the "class clown" of the herd and has a lot of energy, especially compared to the rhinos nearby. They sit motionless, lifting their eyelids from time to time to watch us.

Looking over the plains at the animals, it's easy to expect a warm desert wind. Instead, Dave hands out blankets to put on our knees in the bracing Victorian gusts as we head back to base. It's a novel experience being at the zoo without our children, and a breeze exiting through the gift shop without any tantrums, before heading over to nearby award-winning Shadowfax winery restaurant for lunch.

A few minutes drive from the zoo, we turn down a lane fringed with tall, skinny gum trees and stop at an industrial-looking rusted sheet metal building. Inside, the decor has rustic wine barrels on one wall, glass doors with chopped wood behind them near the open kitchen and high barn-like ceilings offset with retro coloured-glass panels.

The room is heaving with large groups clinking glasses and slopping food, enjoying themselves with gusto. It leaves us to enjoy our meal without the feeling of eavesdropping that you get at a quieter establishment.

The freshest ingredients from Shadowfax's kitchen garden complement the Mediterranean-influenced menu. Before we start on the food, though, we're given a wine tasting starting with a provincial French-style rose, then an elegant pinot noir, the savoury spice of the minnow and a peppery shiraz, taking our palates on a journey from weak to strong flavours. They also have five varieties of gin and Victorian craft beers to choose from.

Restaurant manager Matthew Ehmke cruises in and out of each table offering the perfect balance of attention to every guest. He tells us of one of Shadowfax's winemakers - Kiwi Matt Harrop - who worked at Nautilus in Marlborough, as well as vineyards in Italy, Moldova and the Hunter Valley. To us, the reds we taste are beautifully reminiscent of the Waiheke wines back home, rather than the Australian wines we've tried.

We're given tasting plates of some of the stand-out dishes, including salt and pepper calamari; buffalo mozzarella, confit vine-ripened tomato basil vinaigrette and crisp rye bread; handmade goat's cheese tortellini; house smoked chicken, burnt leek, wild mushroom, chive and mascarpone wood-fired pizza; and crisp pork belly, nashi pear puree, cabbage, snowpea, mint and parmesan salad.

Each dish competes with the next for melt-in-the-mouth appeal, ending in the beautifully presented dessert of buttermilk panna cotta with lemon curd, blueberries and mandarin sorbet. It's almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

Sharing the plates and having the distraction of the wine tasting means we always have something new to talk about, rather than letting our talk return to the topic of our busy family life. By leaving time, we feel refreshed.

It's a thoughtful and restorative experience spending time with the animals and ending with a wine tasting and vineyard lunch just prolongs the grown-up fun. All in all, a far more enjoyable date than sitting in a pub trying to hear each other talk.

CHECKLIST

Getting there

Werribee Open Range Zoo is 35km from Melbourne's CBD. The 'Shadowfax and the Savannah' package includes admission and an off-road safari at the zoo, as well as a two-course meal and glass of wine at Shadowfax Winery. Bookings essential, visit zoo.org.au.

Where to stay
Mansion Hotel and Spa at Werribee Park is in between the zoo and the winery. It's an Italianate mansion with 4ha of manicured gardens and onsite day spa.