Watching
Green Gully's Wallabies
By Julian Gosse
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Watching
Green Gully's Wallabies |
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Buying the wilderness area of Green Gully, with its resident population of endangered Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies, is one of the biggest projects the Foundation has ever undertaken so I was extremely keen to see this remote sanctuary for myself. The
$1.3 million property fits into a mosaic of surrounding wilderness areas,
like the final piece in a large jigsaw puzzle. The autumn trip to Green
Gully was led by Keith Muir, Director of the Colong Foundation for Wilderness.
It was a chance to see this vast property in the rugged Macleay Gorges,
currently run as a cattle farm. It was also a dry run in preparation for
inviting influential VIPs to visit the area. I was one of four representatives
of the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife invited on the trip,
the others being Executive Officer Leonie Gale and Director Sue Maple-Brown
and her husband Robert.
We were driven into the area by four wheel drive by the current owner, farmer Jeff O’Keefe. The area is very remote and after 30 kilometres of dirt road we descended into a deep valley down a precarious ridge. There was not much sign of life here as our driver told of earlier accidents on this track. All five of us had a great sense of anticipation as to what would unravel over the next two days as we walked down the Yarrowitch River from Brandy Creek to join the Apsley River and then on to the junction with Green Gully Creek. At the bottom of the valley we stopped at an old ramshackle yard, put on our back-packs, waved goodbye and headed down to the Yarrowitch. The river is some ten to twenty metres wide and up to a metre in depth. The surface of the river is constantly broken by rocks making a wonderful gushing noise. The valley has steep, but climbable sides, and we traversed the river flats as we headed downstream. We must have crossed through the river a dozen times that day until we found our camping spot on a large river flat. Great wedge-tailed eagles soared in the thermals above. Other bird life included sulphur-crested cockatoos, rosellas, fantails, wrens, apostle birds, spur-winged plovers and red brow finches. The stars were brilliant that night as we sat around the camp fire drinking a bottle of red which mysteriously found its way there. The moon rose late as we slept under the open sky. The next morning, after meticulously cleaning our camp site we headed down to the junction of the Apsley. What a mighty confluence this is, with vast areas of stones strewn around its banks as a testament to what happens when the rivers flood. The Apsley is about twice the size of the Yarrowitch. That morning we saw our first Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby sunning itself on a rocky outcrop, some way above the valley floor. I had never seen this species of wallaby before and was struck by its rich orangey-brown coat and bushy tail. We spotted the animal from some 40 metres away and it seemed quite undisturbed.
During the day we crossed the river ten or so times, always trying to follow the river flats. These flats were punctuated with white cedar, massive she oaks - some of which had been uprooted in floods - and of course eucalypts of various shapes and sizes. At the junction of Green Gully Creek we met again with Jeff O'Keefe who gave us a lift out of the valley. As we ascended we passed one particular rocky outcrop, with figs, where we saw at least a dozen Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies. The native figs were characteristic of Green Gully's rocky areas. Typically small, from two to five metres, the figs are used by the wallabies for shelter and presumably food. We also saw various kangaroos as we got higher. The view back from where we had been was spectacular, with the rivers winding along the valley floor like snakes in the distance. I emerged from the bush feeling calm and tranquil. Hopefully many more people will get the opportunity to do similar visits in future. I for one would go back like a shot tomorrow. Julian Gosse is on the Projects committee of the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife. |
