Wildlife Land Trust / Sanctuaries / NSW / Valesco

David Jones is the owner of Valesco, a property situated in Weabonga, approximately 60km southwest of Walcha, New South Wales. The property is a residence, recreational site and dedicated wildlife sanctuary. David lives off-grid on the property and wishes to continue to do so while preserving native habitat for wildlife.

Valesco covers 4.5 hectares on hilly, rocky country, around 650 metres above sea level. The property is largely comprised of eucalypt woodland and is bounded by a permanent creek. The surrounding properties are a mixture of cattle properties and native bush.

Wildlife is abundant and includes eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolor), koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus), brushtail (Trichosurus vulpecula) and ringtail (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) possums and platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). A wide range of native birds are also present.

Several feral species are also present on the property, including deer, pigs (Sus scrofa), cats (Felis catus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes).