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South Australia Conservation project - Rockin' Rock Wallabies
I arrived in Adelaide to join the project. After a full volunteer briefing at the office, I'm excited to find that my first project will be a trip into the outback - we're off to monitor the threatened Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus) in the beautiful Flinders Ranges of South Australia.
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Our Team Leader, Alice, explains that our project will help to gather important baseline data and is part of a wider program to monitor the species in South Australia. The data we collect will help to manage and protect the wallaby and its habitat, and it will also help to protect many other species living within the same area.
After a long drive, with brilliant views and a changing landscape to look at, we arrive at our accommodation early in the afternoon. It's fantastic - a grand old homestead on top of a hill behind Blinman, the highest town in South Australia. With a total population of only 20 people, we later discover that even Blinman can be a happening place, despite its isolation!
Alice takes us to visit the project site, and gives us a comprehensive safety briefing - this is important because it covers the specific activities we'll be doing, and also the remoteness of our location - I am falling in love with the outback already.
Then, under Alice's supervision, we learn to set up some wallaby traps ready for the next day - can't wait to see one! We go back to our homestead on the hill, and enjoy an evening meal together. |
While we're eating, Alice explains more about the wallabies. She tells us that in most areas of the Flinders Ranges the wallaby is very rarely seen - they are rare and usually well hidden by their amazing camouflage. After the meal and washing up, we all gather for a training session about the process of catching a wallaby, the use of the equipment and considerations of safety and ethics.
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Early on the first morning of trapping, the moment had finally come where we would find an elusive Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby. Very quietly, and carrying lots of equipment in our backpacks, we carefully climbed up to the first trap on the side of a rocky ridge.
We had caught our first wallaby! Alice pulled the wallaby out of the trap by the tail, it kicked around fiercely and then was put straight into a hessian bag - it was all very exciting, and our training sessions yesterday meant that everyone knew exactly what to do. |
After the adrenaline of the scuffle subsided, we sat down and put our training to use. After first identifying the individual wallaby by microchip and making sure we had a DNA sample, we needed body measurements, weight and skin fat measurements. The wallaby was female with young in the pouch. Alice stretched the pouch open so that we could all see the tiny bald wallaby - called a ‘joey' - latched onto a nipple inside. Very carefully, we measured the joey too. After all the measurements were done, the female was released and she took off up the sheer rockface next to us. Unbelievably, she scaled it in a flash with ease and grace and then was gone.
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The next few days were full of discoveries. We caught around 6-8 wallabies each day, including females with joeys at different stages, strong males that were more difficult to handle, and small fluffy juveniles that were strangely curious about us and seemed to look at us in wonder. We also caught lizards in the traps from time to time, and once a small Euro, another member of the kangaroo family. Each day was different and exciting.The days were so hot that we started at first daylight to avoid the heat of the day. |
By lunchtime, we finished trapping and headed back to the homestead for lunch followed by a nap, some book reading, a chat - or all three! We went into Blinman on some afternoons for a walk to see the historic sites, the old copper mine and just to chat to the locals. And every night, without fail, we walked 100m up to the top of the ridge near the homestead on the hill, with plastic chairs, to sit and enjoy the amazing view and magical sunsets that stretched across the Flinders Ranges before us.
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By the end of the week, none of us wanted to leave! It was a great drive back through the Flinders Ranges National Park, and we stopped at Brachina Gorge, one of the few places where you can often see Yellow-footed Rock-wallabies bouncing around the slopes not far from the track - it was great to think about the wallabies we'd seen and handled in the more remote areas, and to know that we have contributed to the survival and recovery plan for this beautiful species. |
And, despite our sadness at leaving, there's always another project to look forward to. Next week, we'll be in Adelaide, helping with the Urban Forest One Million Trees program - this time it's a chance to help restore habitat for very urban wildlife, and another way we can make our contribution to conservation in South Australia!
 Further information on the Conservation Volunteers Australia Project
Return to CVA Travel Stories
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