Hi Ginks in Wee Jasper

30 September 2023 / Words: Rod Nicholas. Photos: Rod & Maryanne Nicholas

The road to Wee Jasper demands caution. It is a narrow country road with uncompromising—and occasionally non-existent—shoulders. Blind corners and steep drop-offs to the valley below. Encounters with wildlife are not uncommon, as evidenced by the wombats sunning themselves on their backs. Rural vehicles can emerge from obscured driveways. Heavy rains over recent years have left the roads marked with repairs and hidden challenges. The storm the previous night may have left debris across the track, especially on some of the hillside corners. It was enough to label this a ‘hard run’, best enjoyed by confident drivers.

But for all that, it is a lovely country trip through picturesque farmland and forest as we headed out from Molonglo along the Mountain Creek Road.

Our destination was the Wee Jasper Distillery, a mere 70 km from our starting point, and we took it fairly easily up to the turnoff on the Wee Jasper Road, where we found the first section of ‘twisties’. The road twists uphill on uneven ground but the recent addition of guardrails all but obscures the rather sudden descent on the left-hand side into the farmland below. For the experienced, it’s a chance to test the rev limits—and the nerves of the passengers—but for others it was a careful introduction to the joys of a hill climb.

We drove along the ridge line for a while, meandering through the bush, happily avoiding the few potholes that had previously pockmarked the road. I had been warned about a dodgy cattle grid, and drew to an almost complete stop to cross it, a wise move considering the chunks of tarmac missing on either side. (I learned later that the grid is a privately owned device on a public road, and the farm holder is in dispute with the local council about who should pay for the repairs needed.)

Shortly after, we started the descent to the village. The road narrows and drops steeply, the guardrails disappear, and the blind corners are adorned with mirrors. The last thing I wanted was to meet up with a 4WD and caravan on one of these corners—instead we got a bus! Hugging the roadside, mindful of the rock wall to the left and the 50m drop to the right, we all managed to get past and cross the Goodradigbee River into the little village.

The Bureau of Meteorology had promised some sunshine, and ‘some’ was all we got. A chill breeze sprung up as we parked at the Distillery, and a spatter of rain dampened the road. Inside, however, it was toasty warm, and we received a hearty greeting from our hosts Shannon and Jenny, settling into the comfy chairs and ordering some food and tastings. Both were delightful, and more than one bottle of quality gin was acquired.

Shannon treated the tasters to several of her gins (the Fig Jam Gin and the Pink Gin were particularly good) and we even got to try her handcrafted small batch brandy, which was a very special treat.

Bellies full, tastings held, photos taken, we headed back out along Wee Jasper Road to Yass, a short 55 km to the east. Passing the Mountain Creek Road turnoff, we crossed the magnificent Taemas Bridge as it spans the Murrumbidgee River near the headwaters of Burrinjuck Dam. The 200m long steel bridge, now heritage listed, was built in 1931 at a cost just shy of £61,000, upstream from several earlier attempts that had been destroyed in floods. Another uphill set of twisties followed, with tight bends and a long, steep way back to the river on the left-hand side; a delight for the driver, albeit somewhat unnerving at times.

Repairs had improved the road from here into Yass, and a remarkably short time later we were heading back to Canberra.

This was our third (or was it the fourth?) attempt to get to the Distillery at Wee Jasper, earlier plans thwarted by Covid, bad weather and even worse road conditions. With most of that stuff behind us, it was a delight to finally get there, and the warm welcome was similarly delightful. Wikipedia describes Wee Jasper as a picturesque hamlet of 127 residents. It hasn’t changed much in the forty years I’ve been visiting, although the general store is long closed, and the restaurant and pub burned down many years ago. But it is still pretty, with great camping, walking and fishing—if that’s what you like—or some top notch gins, vodkas and (now brandy) at the little oasis of the Wee Jasper Distillery.

Oh, and some wonderfully friendly MX-5 roads on the way.

We’ll be back!