Description: We will be visiting a private property in Wee Jasper which fronts onto the Goodradigbee River. The house is very interesting, having been built around the rocks.
Meet at: Denman Village shops off Felstead Vis, Denman Prospect, at 7.30am for carpooling.
Walking distance: 2 kms
End time (approx.): 12:30 back at Denman Village shops.
What to bring: Water and morning tea, sunscreen, a hat and sturdy shoes.
Name of leader and contact details: Please register with the leader, by email to liabattisson@outlook.com, providing your name and mobile number, and the name and mobile number of an emergency contact. Please do so before 7pm on Friday 6 September 2024. Numbers will be limited to 16.
It was a perfect spring day when seventeen of us met for carpooling at the Denman Village shops to travel to Wee Jasper, where we were met by our hosts, and their son and two grandsons, who joined us for the walk around the property. Eastern Spinebills and New Holland Honeyeaters were supping on the flowers in the garden as we arrived.
We then moved into a nearby paddock where one of our members explained a little about the many fossils which could be seen in the rocks there. The children had a wonderful time, scrambling over the rocks. As we made our way down to the Goodradigbee River on the edge of the property we saw a Black-shouldered Kite and a Nankeen Kestrel. Small flocks of Yellow-rumped Thornbills and Superb Fairywrens were on the boundary fence and in the blackberries in the neighbour’s yard, and Welcome Swallows and Fairy Martins were hawking overhead.
There were Great Cormorants and Australian Pelicans amongst the birds on the river, and a Straw-necked Ibis nearby. A large flock of Pacific Black Ducks flew off the nearby overflow pond as we approached. Satin Bowerbirds were using the garden when we returned to the house. Some of our party had a look at the house, which has been built into the rocks.
We said our goodbyes to our hosts and most of our party went on to the Fitzpatrick Trackhead, on the Hume and Hovell Track, for morning tea. Here we read about Hume and Hovell’s Expedition, noting that this year is the bicentenary of their journey.
On the way back to Canberra we had a brief stop at the junction of Mountain Creek and Wee Jasper Roads, to have a look at the fossils in the roadside bank.
Lia Battisson
