Wee Jasper Jaunt
19 December 2018 / Report by Patrick McBride, Photos courtesy of Rob Wilkins & Rod Nicholas
Wee Jasper is a small town to the west of Canberra usually reached from Canberra by driving a roundabout way through Yass. The recent sealing of the last remaining gravel stretches on Mountain Creek Road, which links Uriarra Crossing with the Yass to Wee Jasper road, now offers an alternative shorter route from Canberra.
Twenty-five of us in sixteen cars assembled at Russell Square on a warm sunny morning and after the signing in formalities we departed for Uriarra Crossing. From here a winding road led through picturesque farmland and forest to the Yass - Wee Jasper road at Mountain Creek. More winding hilly road then led to Wee Jasper, ideal territory for enjoying a sports car.
At Wee Jasper we drove across the bridge into town and continued to Carys Cave where morning tea was set out for us in a pleasant shelter festooned with grape vines. We chatted together for half an hour, viewed the mini museum at the kiosk (they sell jasper, it’s a greenish mineral that takes a high polish) then returned to the cars for the drive to Yass. At the end of the Carys Cave track the cars were halted for a photo then we were off again for a brisk drive along a winding road with no other traffic to hold us up.
Lunch was at Roses Café in the main street of Yass. This place has the same wide-ranging menu as the long-established Roses Café in Goulburn and is part of the same group. They gave us our own room beside the main dining area and soon the buzz of conversation filled our space. By no means as loud as the MX-5 Men’s Shed can become on Thursday mornings but loud enough to make it kinder to the other patrons to have a wall separating us from them. An hour or so later and amply refreshed and relaxed we made our own ways home.
