| "Not sad it's over, but happy it happened!!" - part 1 |
| 7th October 2004 |
| The end of the last update, I left you in Cairns, where we had a few days for some rest before heading off to become "cowgirls" for 2 weeks!! When I had been to Oz 2 years ago, I had visited Springmount Horse Station, in the Atherton Tablelands, 2 hours drive inland from Cairns for trail riding. I had loved it so much that had vowed to go back there one day to work, and to fulfil my dream of working on a ranch!! I didn't quite expect to be back there so soon, but was excited, though a little apprehensive at just how we'd cope!? A typical day consisted of being up around 7ish, (after already being woken up earlier by the cockerals crowing!), to start work at 7.30 (ouch, for a backpacker!). The 8 of us "helpers" divided up the first round of tasks, ranging from: cleaning the toilets (nice!); cutting fresh grass for the calves; feeding the chickens, piglets or pet kangaroos; raking leaves from the garden; sweeping the yard; hand feeding baby goats with baby bottles; or "walking" the goats i.e. herding the 40 or so goats from their field where they had completely obliterated all of the grass, to green fields beside the river, then back again. The only problem was that they tended to bolt off in different directions, cross the river or road and be gone! So we spent most of the time just chasing them back to where they were supposed to be!! And virtually every day at least one of us were spotting snakes (including the ever-so deadly "Taipan"!?!), so tromping around in long grass was not an attractive prospect! Aaahhh!! Damn goats!! I have to add that this job was the least favoured even over cleaning the toilet block! Though the best job was "chasing" the horses in! Every morning we had to go fetch them from the field where they are overnight. So there were 2 or 3 of us running around the paddock like mad women shouting and waving leafy twigs around at the horses to get them to move...then chase them back through more fields and across the creek back to the yard, so we could brush & saddle them for the guests!! Not a bad way to start a sunny morning! The guests arrived shortly after and once we'd prepared and dished out morning tea and scones, it was time for some of us guides to get ourselves and the guests ready for the two and a half hour morning ride to "Coo-ee Hill", and the rest of us stayed back in the kitchen to prepare and cook lunch. We took the rides through the farm's land, beautiful countryside, gum-tree covered hills and creeks. After lunch, we took the guests to learn how to throw boomerangs and for a quick dip in the creek, then it was off on the one and a half hour afternoon ride, where the guests got to pick up a few more "horse skills" and try their hand at cantering. Then there was just time for them to have afternoon tea and freshly made cookies, and load them back onto the minibus. It was almost the end of our work day, but a bit more clearing up and we were free!! It was sooo tiring, but really good fun! Had some strange things to do at times though...driving the farmer round to his son's land (his sons bought most of their land from them), and loading the ute (pick-up truck thingy) with hay bales with the tractor, then driving the ute (never driven one of those), loaded with 6 huge hay bales (never driven with those before!?) strapped to the back to the farm!?...quite scary, but felt like a true farmhand cruising around in a hay-laden ute!! Also picking passion fruit to feed to the GOATS (?! They cost £1 each in the supermarkets here!?), chucking them in the back of the trailer, then riding back to the farm IN the trailer sitting on top of all the fruit, eating as we went!? Another close encounter with hay was "volunteering" myself to help load a hay truck to go to market...but this thing was a HUGE double-decker lorry...scarily high up top, pulling in huge circular hay bales 3 times the weight of me from the tractor, and unbeknown to me the truck had transported a load of cattle the day before, so there's me, sweating my guts out trying to roll these heavy bales, dodging spiders in the hay, in ankle-deep cow s*it...hmm, nice!?! One more thing I must tell you about the horse station though was the fact that we were there in cattle-mustering season!! I was really excited about the chance to get involved, so again "volunteered" myself to help out. With my improved horse-riding skills, I was able to spend a day with the farmer's sons and their scrub cattle. We arrived to a pen of cattle, and had to sort them using gates, fences and large prodding sticks...it was all very tense, as you're IN the pens with these huge animals...they really are big...luckily they don't comprehend that if they run at you they could kill you, and shy away when you just wave your hand at them!! After sorting, we saddled the horses and drove groups of cattle on horseback back up to pasture...these were the ones to "keep" and graze for longer before selling them. It was an amazing day, something I've always wanted to do, extremely tiring, and I ended up with quite a few "battle scars" to prove it!! Well, our 2 weeks quickly came to an end...just as I was getting settled in the country way of life, and had really started to enjoy it. It was reluctantly back to the bright lights of Cairns...even though it is a small town, seemed soooo big and daunting after 2 weeks in the middle of cows and crops! The next day was the time when me and Shaz would split up for our last 5 weeks in Oz...was weird to leave her and to be alone again. I was off to the West coast again, a whopping 28 hours of travelling to get back to Shark Bay, to visit a friend and relax after my exhausting few weeks! I spent my last 4 weeks in Oz not doing a great deal (as did Shaz in Cairns!)...just chilling out, exploring the local beaches and camping. We went on a 4-day camping trip to one of the stations in the area, stayed in old fisherman's huts and spent the days exploring the coastline by boat. I also got taken out on my first ever fishing trip! It was something I'd never done before, and had always wanted to give it a go. The weather was sooo kind to us, and the water was like glass...after exploring some islands we found a potential fishing spot, and after having my hand-line cast for me (well, it was my first time!), I managed to wrestle with a 53cm Pink Snapper!?! I couldn't believe my eyes! After casting my own line this time, not even 5 minutes later, I pulled in another one, 58cm this time!? Where did that come from?! They were both "keepers" as over the legal size limit, and after learning to fillet them, we fed ourselves for dinner. Still can't work out whether it was beginner's luck or a good teacher!!? ;o) ... |