Interstate Feral Pig Field Day

Recently I attended a field day on controlling feral pigs. There was a series of presentations at Nungatta South followed by a bbq lunch and a tour of pig traps on my property. So well concealed I didn't know they were there.

As it turns Russell and Rodney, the local rangers form the Livestock Health and Pest Authority, are legends in trapping pigs. People, mostly from government agencies, had come far and wide to see how they do it. 

Pigs are bad. They stuff up landscapes by causing erosion through wallowing and rooting. There are estimates of over 20 million wild pigs in Australia and one of the concerns is their ability to transport diseases. Clearly they need to be controlled.

House Design

We went through two major redesigns (a luxe over the top house complete with pilates studio and library followed by a tiny yet delightful cabin with curtains separating bedrooms) before finally deciding to build three pavilions with a connecting semi-covered spine on the south. 

Lots of people think us crazy for having semi outdoor connections between rooms in a cold climate however we have visions of fox skin cloaks hanging at the doors (Brent designed a niche for such beside each door) for those bitter nights and it would be harder if we lived there all winter. Besides, what gave us the courage to take this bold step was to have excellent heating in all the house: going from a warm room to a warm room, cloaked in fur seems, if anything, damn sexy.

Takt's delightful new website has images of the house model and gives an insight into their design process.

Takt Website

Donald Judd Inspired Swimming Tank

When Takt delivered to us the model of our house with an open courtyard between the bedrooms and living pavilion, my instant thought was a swimming tank in this location. I plonked a roll of packing tape on the model to give them an idea of the scale and this led to what we are now building.

Long admirer of Donald Judd's swimming tank at Marfa, Texas, I think above ground pools are way cool. 

Above ground pools are particularly good if you can use the height to meet pool fencing code requirements. Accessing a 1.2m high pool off grade is clumsy and hard to make right but with our tank we will be accessing it off an adjacent deck by way of a gangplank, allowing the tank to sit quite comfortably at 1.2 m or higher.

Emus

Yambulla has always had lots of emus, living happily in their natural habitat. They are extremely curious and, like all of us, love shiny things. If you happen across a mob of them without startling them too much you can draw them right up to the car by catching something shiny in the light. This mob came up the hill from about 1 km away when I gently rotated what was on hand in the ute,  a pair of safety glasses, up to the sun.

Yambulla Dining Table

I finally finished the Yambulla dining table. Crafted from timber we felled and milled early 2012 at Yambulla, the table is designed to be used indoors or out, seats four comfortably but can be expanded to seat  eight or twelve at a push.

See Video

Yambulla Station

Yambulla Station is nestled in a valley surrounded by National Park

Yambulla Station is a breathtaking, incredibly remote, 1,000 hectare property. Originally the southern outpost of Nungatta Station which has been owned by my family since 1940’s, it is surrounded by the South East Forests National Park and backs onto the 48,000 hectare Genoa Wilderness Area. Yambulla shares with the park a myriad of endangered species and forest for as far as the eye can see. Click here for Location