Wildlife Land Trust / Sanctuaries / SA / Wandandian

Johan Ramerman is the owner of Wandandian, a property located approximately 20km north east of Sedan, South Australia. The property is a dedicated wildlife sanctuary, and it is Johan’s intent for it to remain as such. Johan is in the process of negotiating a heritage agreement for the property with the South Australian government.

The property covers 32.5 hectares and consists of Mallee scrublands, with plenty of native vegetation including various wattles (Acacia spp.), eucalypts, blue bushes (Maireanas spp.), saltbushes (Atriplex nummularia), silver sheens (Pittosporum Tenuifolium), rough halganias (Halgania cyanea), grey copper burrs (Sclerolaena diacantha), sennas (Senna artemisioides), hopbushes (Dodonaea viscosa), Australian bluebells (Wahlenbergia stricta), wallaby grasses (Austrodanthonia) and fuzzy New Holland daisies (Vittadinia cuneate). Johan plans to identify all vegetation present on the property and record it in a register.

Wildlife species known to inhabit the property include red (Macropus rufus) and western grey (Macropus fuliginosus melanops) kangaroos, emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae), mulga parrots (Psephotus varius), yellow-plumed honeyeaters (Lichenostomus ornatus), white-browed babblers (Pomatostomus superciliosus), yellow-throated miners (Manorina flavigula), southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons) and echidnas (Tachyglossidae). There is also an abundance of reptiles including eastern bearded dragons (Pogona barbatai), barking geckos (Underwoodisaurus milii), broad banded sand swimmers (Eremiascincus richardsonii), nobbi lashtail dragons (Amphibolurus nobbi), Murray-Darling carpet pythons (Morelia spilota metcalfei) and eastern brown snakes (Pseudonaja textilis).

This sanctuary is featured in Wildlife Lands 17!

Becoming the owners of Wandandian was unplanned. We were about to head off to Queensland to house-sit homes and pets for people for most of 2015 when the opportunity to purchase this land came. So, within a week we had a look at the property, met the owner, agreed the price and bought it. We named this beautiful property in the Murray Lands of South Australia Wandandian, which apparently means ‘Home of the Lost Lovers’. This is apt as we had re-met in 2012 after going out together in the early 1970s. 

Wandandian provides us with total peace and quiet yet is only 90 minutes from Adelaide, 15 minutes to the River Murray, and less than 30 minutes from the Barossa Valley. It is a semi-arid region which has suffered many years of drought but we find it a pleasure to live here. Comprising 32 hectares, it includes mallee eucalypts, various acacias, blue bushes, saltbushes, silver sheens, rough halganias, grey copper burrs, sennas, hopbushes, Australian bluebells, wallaby grasses and fuzzy New Holland daisies. We have red and western grey kangaroos, emus, southern hairy-nosed wombats and echidnas. There is also an abundance of reptiles, including eastern bearded dragons, barking geckos, broadbanded sand swimmers, nobbi lashtail dragons, eastern brown snakes and a Murray Darling Basin carpet python. Birdlife sighted includes superb fairy-wrens, singing honeyeaters, black-faced cuckoo-shrikes, brown-headed honeyeaters, grey butcher birds, galahs, mallee ringnecks, spiny-cheeked and white-eared honeyeaters, white-winged choughs, common bronzewings, thornbills, weebills, willie wagtails and mulga parrots. 

We are slowly identifying and recording the flora and fauna on the property, and plan to include this on a website along with photos from our wildlife cameras. We have a lot to learn and hope to be good custodians of this wonderful place and will also be listing the property under a South Australian Government Heritage Agreement to ensure it is protected for future generations.