Caretakers Report Martyn Jones Margie and Martyn have now left Yerranderie. Margie is married. Martyn is about to cycle around Australia.
Summer 2001 Autumn 2002	Follow Margie as she hand rears our little orphan Eastern Grey Kangaroo "Fran"

Summer 2001

Martyn and I have just completed our first stint together at Yerranderie (Martyn having done 5 weeks on his own prior to my arrival) and we are still trying to catch our breaths.

Before accepting the position of caretakers, Val could not stress enough the absolute isolation of the area. Luckily isolation and loneliness are something Yerranderie currently lacks.

Between the October Long Weekend and the school holidays there has been a steady stream of visitors. Apart from two days over the weekend, when we were fully booked and had a steady stream of day visitors, there has been just the right number of guests so that we have had plenty of time to spend with each group yet the Town has maintained its air of peace and tranquillity.

At this point I would like to thank all the wonderfully friendly and warm souls who have ensured that we feel welcome and at home here. Yerranderie appears to draw a very special group of people. Almost everyone we have spoken to (be they people coming for their first or twenty-first visit) are genuinely enraptured by Yerranderie and this special affection they feel for the Town has often spilled over to include us.

Many people who have had long associations with Yerranderie and the area have gone out of their way to pass on their special knowledge to us and to encourage us when we were feeling we would never know enough to do the town justice. Once again, thanks to you all.

On those rare occasions when we have had no guests, we are still not alone. Between Kingy, the King Parrot and his mate, Queenie, Clancy the Kangaroo and her mob of 15 other ‘roos and joeys, the large flock of Crimson Rosellas and the marauding Lace Monitors, we have always had company. Frequent visitors are Lilly-pilli, the brush tail possum with her baby, and the flock of wood ducks.

The numerous animals here bring a very special magic to Yerranderie that cannot be overstated. Many guests ask how we train the animals to be so friendly with humans. The answer is that we don’t. Everyone who has lived here has always treated the animals and birds with kindness and affection and as a result some evenings we could believe we live in The Garden of Eden.

If you ever want to experience a bit of the true Australian Bush, take the chance and visit us here at Yerranderie. You might just agree that it is "Paradise in the Mountains".

Margie Creighton.

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Autumn 2002

All the fires in the Yerranderie area are finally out and the smoke has cleared.

Yerranderie was never in any danger from fires during the Christmas period although we were closely monitoring the Mount Werong/Bindook fire. The National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Rural Fire Brigades conducted extensive back burns along Limeburners Firetrail and the Colong/Oberon Stock Route and managed to limit the fire to the southern side of the Stock Route. Between this fire and the Nattai fires, Yerranderie joined Sydney in many smoke-filled days. Anyone for smoked salmon gums?

As the park was closed during the bushfire emergency, we had a few weeks without many human visitors. However, we were very lucky to have a few visits from a shy and rarely seen local. A large, male, black and tan dingo (black and tan dingoes account for about 3% of the population) visited Krubi Cottage a couple of mornings in early January. Maybe he was having a holiday from the fire-ravaged areas!

While we have had one rainfall of 24 mm, we are still doing rain dances. It is very frustrating when you can see the rain falling around you but never actually on you or the garden. Our minor drought here has had the wallabies practicing some new skills, namely climbing trees. Most of our fruit trees, especially the citrus, are now bare of any greenery up to about 2 metres.

We also appear to be unintentionally conducting a research project into possum intelligence. After losing our entire veggie patch about six times to Lillipilli and her baby, we thought we had her beaten. Our patch is now totally enclosed by chicken wire and corrugated iron with an ingenious door of wire, iron, wood and bungy straps. Unfortunately, this has just made Lillipilli think harder and learn new tricks. Maybe an intruder alarm and sensor lights would work? I wonder if that dingo would be available for some night patrol work? (No eating the intruders, of course!)

Anyway, we are now open for business and looking forward to some visitors of the human kind. The fires have widened the Colong/Oberon Stock Route up to the Bindook turnoff but the road deteriorates the closer you get to Yerranderie. You don’t need a 4W/D but ground clearance is very important if you want to travel faster than 10 kph.

So, if you want a break from the city or just some peace and quiet in the wilderness, come and visit us at Yerranderie.

Bye for now from Margie and Martyn

P.S. The drought has now broken and there is now no danger of bush fires for the time being.

Margie Creighton.