The Claypit is one of three picnic areas in Foxes Lair based on two shallow pits, which fill and empty seasonally. Over the years, it has been a labour of love and source of frustration.
The reason for the existence of the twin excavations is unknown, with possibilities being a brick clay quarry (unlikely as it is poor quality clay, borrow pit for adjoining Bottle Creek dam or as a soak. The initial name, Beavers Dam was also a mystery until several years after I renamed it Claypit for brevity. Ranger Guy Maley told me that he and other kids used to throw sticks in the water, which were were blown by wind into one end to resemble a beaver’s dam.
The area was converted to a picnic area because it was a magnet for off-road vehicles that created havoc on trails and in the bush elsewhere in the reserve.
This blog records changes at the claypit over the years. It has been a challenge for the shire and volunteers, but also very satisfying to record improvements at the site.
The reason for the existence of the twin excavations is unknown, with possibilities being a brick clay quarry (unlikely as it is poor quality clay, borrow pit for adjoining Bottle Creek dam or as a soak. The initial name, Beavers Dam was also a mystery until several years after I renamed it Claypit for brevity. Ranger Guy Maley told me that he and other kids used to throw sticks in the water, which were were blown by wind into one end to resemble a beaver’s dam.
The area was converted to a picnic area because it was a magnet for off-road vehicles that created havoc on trails and in the bush elsewhere in the reserve.
This blog records changes at the claypit over the years. It has been a challenge for the shire and volunteers, but also very satisfying to record improvements at the site.
View from road 2011
2012 the area is off road vehicle area
2019 after logs emplaced to stop vehicles
2024 facilities in place
Work began in 2016 when Tony and Deb Hughes-Owen donated bridge timbers that were emplaced by the Central South Naturalist Club to create a picnic area, and entry roads on the eastern side were blocked using falling trees. This started a battle of attrition which lasted several years. 4WD drivers breached the barriers and trashed facilities, then I would repair them and cart in tonnes of rocks, logs and soil. The tide turned after I had emplaced so many boulders that it was unsafe for 4WD activity (yay!).
Images below show a 2016 incident
Images below show a 2016 incident
 Table and trees pushed over |  Sign and benches ripped out |  Barrier smashed |
The famous “Claypit Challenge” arose from actions to spoil off-road vehicle fun in the pits.
I scabbed rocks, logs, and limestone blocks from a range of sources to create a stepping stone circuit for the young and young at heart. Wooden stepping stones flopped because they floated, and the shire’s insurance assessor cast an eye over and (justifiably) insisted that the logs and rocks were a safety hazard and had to go.
Luckily I discovered a heap of cut limestone blocks at the local tip. These were carted in with my trusty ute and later supplemented with blocks donated from the shire to create today's configuration.
another source of satisfaction is revegetaion from plants that volunteered or were planted on the banks where topsoil was spread over the clay.
Photomonitoring is a great activity for conservation groups because it enables them to see the fruits of their labour.
Images below show the transformation of the eastern pit.
I scabbed rocks, logs, and limestone blocks from a range of sources to create a stepping stone circuit for the young and young at heart. Wooden stepping stones flopped because they floated, and the shire’s insurance assessor cast an eye over and (justifiably) insisted that the logs and rocks were a safety hazard and had to go.
Luckily I discovered a heap of cut limestone blocks at the local tip. These were carted in with my trusty ute and later supplemented with blocks donated from the shire to create today's configuration.
another source of satisfaction is revegetaion from plants that volunteered or were planted on the banks where topsoil was spread over the clay.
Photomonitoring is a great activity for conservation groups because it enables them to see the fruits of their labour.
Images below show the transformation of the eastern pit.
2012 kept bare by vehicles
2017 wooden stepping stones floated away
2019 mixture of stepping blocks and logs
2021 All blocks in place with help from Jimmy Dyer and Willow
Jan 2025 revegetation well underway