Feeling At Home In Wee Jasper

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Thursday 27th October – today, with the weather fairly pleasant, we decided to spend some more time in and around Yass. So after a fairly casual start we went to the Information Centre to gather some details on a place called Wee Jasper. It’s about 50 kilometers out of Yass through very rural, farming country and Caroline and Andy had recommended it last night. Armed with a picnic and a flask, we set off at about 11:00am and just meandered slowly through the beautiful, undulating countryside. We almost ran over a snake which seemed to be basking in the midday sun but we knew we had missed it as, when we reversed to take a photo, it slithered off into the long grass. Occasionally a view of a lake was visible which supported our mistaken view that Wee Jasper was all about a lake. Caroline and Andy had suggested that it was more of a camping and walking area and they were to be proved right. We made our way down a steep winding road which, at one particularly narrow and sharp bend, had a large mirror erected to aid navigation. Crossing a narrow bridge over the River Goodrabidgee, we reached the small village of Wee Jasper and made our way beyond the village following a gravel road towards the Billy Grace Reserve camp grounds. We happened upon an area called Sarah’s Playground where a school group had set up camp and a couple of independent caravans were also there. It’s a fairly basic camping area with no power or showers but there is a toilet block. The signs suggested that we ought not to be there unless we were actually camping but we found a delightful, quiet spot next to a creek and decided it was an ideal place for our picnic. We spent a very relaxing hour or so there before drifting further up into the countryside heading for The Swinging Bridge Reserve. This involved a bit of a climb and another close encounter with wildlife – this time a large lizard was sunbathing and steadfastly refused to budge so we had to drive around it.

On reaching The Swinging Bridge camp grounds we found another beautiful riverside spot with some rapids both top and bottom of where we settled. There was no-one camped in this area so we had it entirely to ourselves apart from another couple who arrived with canoes on the top of their car. The rapids meant that it was not entirely suitable for canoeing so they soon disappeared. We investigated the reason for the name Swinging Bridge and did, indeed, find a swinging bridge. Unfortunately it is a private, “locked” bridge giving access to a remote private property so we were unable to cross it. There were a few “weekend” cabins dotted about and we could see that it would be a fantastic place to escape to for a while. The drive back to Yass was equally as enjoyable as the outward journey and, again, with the occasional glimpse of the lake which is known as Lake Burrinjuck, a result of the Burrinjuck Dam across the Murrumbidgee River. Back in Yass we investigated the Banjo Patterson Park which is a fantastic tribute to the man, perhaps most famous for Waltzing Matilda, who wrote so many well known Australian poems including “The Man From Snowy River”. The reason for the interest in Banjo in this area is that when he was a young boy he moved with his parents to ‘Illalong’ Station near the village of Binalong which is just a few kms from Yass.

We tried to find a lookout, not an advertised one, by driving to the highest point of the town from where the views were pleasant. Then made our way back to the caravan park via “The River Crossing”, a small causeway cum bridge which is often under water, but today we had a dry crossing. Back at the caravan, the park began to fill up again as it has each day we’ve been there. A few campers like us will stay for a few days but the usual trend is to use the park as an “overnighter” so most units coming in will be departing in the morning. As it happens, we were also to be on the road in the morning so we undertook a few preparations and then made for an early night.

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Photos

This snake was quite happy to slither away
and we were pleased that Graham managed to swerve and miss it (although it probably was a venomous Eastern Brown)

Comments

[GuggaBraga]

Feeling At Home In Wee Jasper
Hello - loved reading about your trip and also looking at the photos. Seems such a nice trip in my favourite country!