Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

Tidbinbilla occupies a valley below the Tidbinbilla Range in the ACT's mountain country, and it functions as both a nature reserve and a conservation breeding site. The Sanctuary, a fenced wetland area, holds platypus in the ponds and is walked on boardwalks; the koala enclosure and the eucalypt forest hold a small reintroduced population; and brush-tailed rock-wallabies, southern corroboree frogs and northern corroboree frogs are bred here for release. Mobs of eastern grey kangaroos graze the open valley, and emus wander the road. Walking tracks climb into the ranges, and Aboriginal rock shelters in the reserve record long Ngunnawal occupation. The reserve was severely burnt in 2003 and has been rebuilt since.

History

At Birrigai, over the hill from Tidbinbilla, digs found evidence of the use of fire some 20,000 years old, from the last ice age, and the name comes from the Aboriginal word Jedbinbilla, a place where boys become men; the last corroboree here was held around 1904. In the 1890s George Green and George Hatcliff built the rammed earth houses Nil Desperandum and Rock Valley Homestead, both badly damaged in the Canberra bushfires of 2003. About 8 square kilometres were set aside as a public reserve in 1936, the Institute of Anatomy built a koala enclosure in 1939, more land was bought for a national park and fauna reserve in 1962, the ranger David Kerr, appointed in 1966, laid out tracks and enclosures and a breeding scheme for the Cape Barren goose, and the reserve was gazetted in 1971 (Wikipedia, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve).

What's there

• The Sanctuary wetland - boardwalks with platypus in the ponds.
• The koalas - a reintroduced population in the eucalypt forest.
• The breeding programmes - rock-wallabies and corroboree frogs raised for release.
• The valley wildlife - large kangaroo mobs and emus in the open country.

When to go

September to May; dawn and dusk are best for wildlife, particularly platypus, which are hardest to see in the middle of the day. Winter is cold with frost and occasional snow on the ranges. Fire closures occur in extreme summer conditions.

What to expect

Platypus sightings need patience and luck, and koalas in tall trees are easy to miss entirely. Vehicle entry is charged. The reserve is forty kilometres from Canberra with no public transport, and it closes at set hours.

Nearby

The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex is close; Namadgi National Park lies south.

Key facts