Wollombi Wine and Weeds
Weekend away in the Hunter
On 15-16/10/2016 the Hunter Intrepid Landcare group went on an adventure at Martindale Creek hosted by Marion and Trevor on their beautiful Witjweri property. On the first day we went wild on at least seven plates of quiche, five tubs of cakes and of course your necessary daily intake of fruit and vegetables to balance it off! In the afternoon, Marion and Trevor took the group for a walk around their property learning about plants and animals. When night time came in, the group attempted to start the camp fire the old fashioned way, with nothing but a stick and fire in our eyes. Unfortunately, we were not as good as we thought and had to admit defeat! For dinner we whipped up a delicious meal consisting of spaghetti bolognese and garlic bread. Of course the night could not be completed with out a classic drop bear story and marshmallow on sticks. The next day, those who were brave enough to stay embarked on a mission to climb one of the mountains behind the property. Throughout the journey, we were all impressed by Marion and Trevor's skills at identifying every plant we came across except for the one that started with C. Everyone elegantly powered up the mountain climbing over large boulders, rock hopping and balancing on a small ledge on the edge of a cliff. All this just to get the perfect view. The long climb was filled with ups and downs and was absolutely worth it after seeing the beautiful view from atop the mountain rocks and were lucky enough to be joined by goannas and rock wallabies. Confident that we had conquered the world, we hiked straight down the mountain and unfortunately so did we resulting in a few trips and falls. Rob racked up the highest score. Determined to get back to the quiche and cakes waiting at home by themselves, we gallantly continued our way down the treacherous mountain. Not everyone made it alive. Unfortunately after a late lunch and a wonderful weekend we all had to go back to our city lives!
Hunter Intrepid Landcare would love to thank Trevor, Marion and Martindale Creek Landcare for hosting the Weeds and Wine event, teaching us about land caring and taking us for a wonderful hike around the property and up the mountain. We enjoyed seeing your passion and dedication for land caring, we were all deeply inspired by your love for the environment!
We hope to work with you again!
Number of volunteers: 10 (including 2 hosts)
Area of land cleared of weeds: 500m x 50m