Im currently writing this from a 'Site Kiosk' browser outlet in Melbourne departures lounge....never use them they are shit. Me and the old chap next to me just shared knowing, annoyed glances and a couple of words regarding the shite service and the eating of our hard earned dollars while we wait an age for the screens to load. Anyway enough already...im in a pretty chirpy mood...im on my way to Thailand and am finally looking forard to it. not that i wasnt before mind you...just a little apprehensive as usual and unsure of what coming, however i dont let that kind of crap stop me...oh no!
Im not sure when ill be writing again or updating as i dont think there are gonna many internet masts shooting up from the thai jungle....you never know though i may be wrong. I will get a chnace to use the town internet but we'll...you'll just have to wait. Cant go on too much only got 4min 58, 57, 56, 55 sec......
Gonna be in Thailand for 4 weeks on the much awaited voluntery project. No idea what the hell ill be doing but im armed with sweets and bounty's so it'll be a breeze im sure..
Before i depart, just wanted to say... i got bloody stopped again for a tnt check...my scruffy appearence.. must be. Anyway all clear this time.
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
"Eat your heart out Top Gun"
Lucy and I were very fortunate to go up in Tyson's little plane for a little arial view of Mildura. It was bloody cool. A little trepidation on both our parts but seeing as we'd kind of become accustomed to some recent scary shit we dealt with this in the usual fashion....giggling, interigating Tyson on his skills, calling Tyson a bastard and a little shit for almost scaring us to death with a rather animated mini demonstration of the steering, coming up with the most morbid of scenarios and bascially enjoying it to the fullest.
Lucy was designated camera person...as well..i was kind of busy...you see.....flying a plane! Anyway as you can see from some of the pic'she utilised my battery life to the best advantage....
"Drier than a witches tit"!
Yeah...um..not sure what i can say about the above 'quote' other than its another of Des's famous flurries into analogies. That Des, he's something else man....off his head....or as Lucy and I like to call it...mildely deranged.
This is my last morning in Australia. The birds are chirping, the cool breeze, playing with the tops of the palm tree's and that beautiful orange dawn glow is just creeping over the horizon. These are just some of the things im gonna miss about oz. In fact there's so many things im gonna miss, i really could be here all day telling you, but i have a 7 hour bus to Melbourne to catch and if i miss that then i will be in the shit, cause i got a 10 hour flight to Thailand after that!
I really love this country and am so glad i decided to travel here. Three months isnt really all that long but now im leaving i feel its time. Im ready for something else, a new challenge and some new landscape. Oz has some beautiful scenery and wildlife and some very colourful people indeed....(and i dont just mean the painted aboriginals).
Ive managed to create the most brownest and deepest tan ive ever known in my life and i just hope my endurance under the baking sun will last me awhile. However once the dyes down, who knows what damage i may have done to myself. Ill have more lines than an AA Road Map! Oh well bugger it...you only live once!
Thursday, 21 February 2008
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
Within 144 hours Lucy and I had totally undermined Rob’s authority in front of the Harvesting workforce, out in the vineyard. Let me explain….We were asked by uncle Des to go and get his ‘Ute’ from out by some shed, in the middle of no-where and in the dark. So after driving around and opening and closing gates and doing a complete circuit of the area, twice, we finally found the ‘Ute’.and I was designated driver. So I got it running (no internal lights, pitch black in there and after some confusion found the hand break in the dash) I then found the 2way radio handset. Lucy and I proceeded to call out random stuff to each other as I followed in her dusty wake, with only the tail lights of her cruiser to guide me along the vineyards and dirt tracks of Mildura....
“Yo,yo”
“Yo Bitch, can you hear me, is it working”
“hahahahahhahahha”
“Hey kel, who’d have thought it, 2 blondes on a convoy”
“hahahhahaha”
“Lucy, we’re finally tearing up Mildura”
“Hahahha, Yeah, fucking hell”
“Kicking up some dust there girl”
A little bit of quiet as I consider the terrible state of Des’ tire tread. Then some more random banter.
“Wanker”
“Oops”
“Kelly, we’re following Rob”
“ok”
At this point after some silence on Lucy’s part I realized we were being met by Rob and Des, and on looking behind us a whole convoy of tractors, harvesters, supervisors and backpackers. Looked like something out of ‘Alien’ all you could see were headlights and the low growl of the giant engines. We were then informed that our pissing about on the 2way had been heard by everyone else out there. Ahh...Bloody hilarious!!
“Yo,yo”
“Yo Bitch, can you hear me, is it working”
“hahahahahhahahha”
“Hey kel, who’d have thought it, 2 blondes on a convoy”
“hahahhahaha”
“Lucy, we’re finally tearing up Mildura”
“Hahahha, Yeah, fucking hell”
“Kicking up some dust there girl”
A little bit of quiet as I consider the terrible state of Des’ tire tread. Then some more random banter.
“Wanker”
“Oops”
“Kelly, we’re following Rob”
“ok”
At this point after some silence on Lucy’s part I realized we were being met by Rob and Des, and on looking behind us a whole convoy of tractors, harvesters, supervisors and backpackers. Looked like something out of ‘Alien’ all you could see were headlights and the low growl of the giant engines. We were then informed that our pissing about on the 2way had been heard by everyone else out there. Ahh...Bloody hilarious!!
Darwin-Sydney-Melbourne-Mildura
Three planes and 36 hours of sleepless travel, I roll into Mildura. And when I say roll, I mean literally roll. Almost didn’t touch down as the airplane from Melbourne to Mildura was a small propeller job that felt like you were riding a paper model and only held about 50 people. Got about 10 feet from the tarmac and the plane just took off again. Drive, obviously didn’t like his chances against the strong thermals outside. There were some strong thermal’s inside, let me tell you! It was probably the most turbulent plane ride id ever had and the guy next to me threw up. “That’s the most terrifying plane journey I’ve ever been on” He said. Whilst dabbing the perspiration from his brow. My response, total laughter…in his face. Couldn’t help myself to be honest, because I thought it was pretty cool and I’ve grown a little accustomed to dangerous excitement. Well, second attempt and we were on turf, no worries.
Three planes and 36 hours of sleepless travel, I roll into Mildura. And when I say roll, I mean literally roll. Almost didn’t touch down as the airplane from Melbourne to Mildura was a small propeller job that felt like you were riding a paper model and only held about 50 people. Got about 10 feet from the tarmac and the plane just took off again. Drive, obviously didn’t like his chances against the strong thermals outside. There were some strong thermal’s inside, let me tell you! It was probably the most turbulent plane ride id ever had and the guy next to me threw up. “That’s the most terrifying plane journey I’ve ever been on” He said. Whilst dabbing the perspiration from his brow. My response, total laughter…in his face. Couldn’t help myself to be honest, because I thought it was pretty cool and I’ve grown a little accustomed to dangerous excitement. Well, second attempt and we were on turf, no worries.
Tuesday, 12 February 2008
Kakadu National Park
Got to know Ann a bit more and we spent the next couple of days doing the ‘single gals doing it together’ thing. Joined her, on the second tour. This time we didn’t really get what we expected. Big coach, no backpackers, bloody boring commentary, in coach sound effects and our company was basically made up of British Tourists dithering and fussing over flies, heat, water bottles and “When’s lunch”. Just not the kind of thing we were promised. Apparently its wet season, so the wildlife wasn’t gonna be up to much either (another detail the receptionist failed to mention). However we entertained ourselves by taking the piss out of everything and getting stuck into the complimentary red wine and cheese at the end.
Got to know Ann a bit more and we spent the next couple of days doing the ‘single gals doing it together’ thing. Joined her, on the second tour. This time we didn’t really get what we expected. Big coach, no backpackers, bloody boring commentary, in coach sound effects and our company was basically made up of British Tourists dithering and fussing over flies, heat, water bottles and “When’s lunch”. Just not the kind of thing we were promised. Apparently its wet season, so the wildlife wasn’t gonna be up to much either (another detail the receptionist failed to mention). However we entertained ourselves by taking the piss out of everything and getting stuck into the complimentary red wine and cheese at the end.
Oh and for some strange reason, one of the (slightly excitable) passengers, thought we were sisters. Obviously the German and Welsh accents sound more simular than I thought...
Litchfield National Park
This tumble off the vine of virtue was actually not my fault…well not entirely anyway. After the free Champaign and massive prawns following a long day visiting waterfalls, swimming, spotting wallaby’s, walking through forests, checking out giant termite mounds and having to chat and be filmed by ABC Northern Territory TV (they were doing a short tourist documentary) I needed some light relief. ‘Bet’, not lost, I was raring to go…a small glass of white was followed by another and another and well it all gets a bit blurry from there on.
Nina (from Finland), Adam (from Hampshire) and Ann (from Germany) were my co-pissheads and we had a bloody good night, then it was morning and “I ain’t drinking again”.
This tumble off the vine of virtue was actually not my fault…well not entirely anyway. After the free Champaign and massive prawns following a long day visiting waterfalls, swimming, spotting wallaby’s, walking through forests, checking out giant termite mounds and having to chat and be filmed by ABC Northern Territory TV (they were doing a short tourist documentary) I needed some light relief. ‘Bet’, not lost, I was raring to go…a small glass of white was followed by another and another and well it all gets a bit blurry from there on.
Nina (from Finland), Adam (from Hampshire) and Ann (from Germany) were my co-pissheads and we had a bloody good night, then it was morning and “I ain’t drinking again”.
Top End
On my return to Darwin I was hoping to get a flight straight out of there as “The beach is shit” (the receptionists words not mine) and the town was pretty ordinary and boring. Unfortunately I already booked my onward flight sometime ago now and it’s a bit of a bother re-booking, as there’s a large fee involved. Not keen on fee’s me, so stuck around for a bit instead.
Bloody humid as hell in Darwin and no way of actually getting anywhere or being able to do any ‘free’ activities that didn’t include either testing the sting of Darwin’s Box Jelly Fish or accidentally trampling through the home of a local Aboriginal.
However, not one to be defeated in the face of boredom, I found a couple of local National Park Tours that offered some culture, wildlife, backpacker interaction and most precious of all…Air Con! I had actually asked the receptionist about the ‘croc wrestling’ I’d seen somewhere on the internet, however she sadly informed me that “They no longer do crocodile wrestling” Oh, bugger, I thought. Apparently “It got out of hand”. Whose hand, I don’t know. Well it wasn’t all bad, got to hold a ‘four’ footer and see some bloody big croc’s get fed and jump about, around our boat. Awesome! This trip also created some new friends and unfortunately a major fall off the ‘wine wagon’ for me.
On my return to Darwin I was hoping to get a flight straight out of there as “The beach is shit” (the receptionists words not mine) and the town was pretty ordinary and boring. Unfortunately I already booked my onward flight sometime ago now and it’s a bit of a bother re-booking, as there’s a large fee involved. Not keen on fee’s me, so stuck around for a bit instead.
Bloody humid as hell in Darwin and no way of actually getting anywhere or being able to do any ‘free’ activities that didn’t include either testing the sting of Darwin’s Box Jelly Fish or accidentally trampling through the home of a local Aboriginal.
However, not one to be defeated in the face of boredom, I found a couple of local National Park Tours that offered some culture, wildlife, backpacker interaction and most precious of all…Air Con! I had actually asked the receptionist about the ‘croc wrestling’ I’d seen somewhere on the internet, however she sadly informed me that “They no longer do crocodile wrestling” Oh, bugger, I thought. Apparently “It got out of hand”. Whose hand, I don’t know. Well it wasn’t all bad, got to hold a ‘four’ footer and see some bloody big croc’s get fed and jump about, around our boat. Awesome! This trip also created some new friends and unfortunately a major fall off the ‘wine wagon’ for me.
Saturday, 9 February 2008
Finally my Skydive dvd has been seen and cringed over, however the dvd was too big for blogger peeps to allow it to be downloaded to my blog. Im not fibbing either, its not as bad as i thought and im quite gutted you all cant see my flapping arms and cheeks and totally hilerious verbal commentry. However i have a 'still' of it and you'll have to be satisfied with that for now, till i get home and bandy it about the posse!
Saturday, 2 February 2008
'We of the Never Never'
Right....said Fred, my last day was yesterday and probably the last time I see 3 square meals too. My aching back, finally turned on Mataranka and as the coach fumes lay in my wake I ponder the last 10 days. Decisions have been made...opinions have been considered, history has been studied and hopefully friendships have been born. Mataranka, a town of approx 300. A dangerously inviting landscape of bush and branch. Eucalyptus trees invade every acre, whilst keeping silent watch over the flamboyantly sculptured termite mounds. The Eco System in full swing, helped along by the cattle, dung beetles and many plant and bird life that thrives here amongst the thermal springs and fertile red earth. A place I'll never, never forget.
Where most children are taught from home until about 14 and then sent to boarding school in Darwin or Brisbane. Definitely flying doctor country, with no medical attention for miles and I don't even know if there's a dentist? A strong community spirit, that ensures the people of this town, are always on hand to help. A life style I feel would be perfect if only it was somewhere less humid, isolated and less populated by bastard ants!
Ive enjoyed my time here, and am thoroughly grateful to the O'Brien family for letting me eat, sleep and hopefully help, without too much bother on their station. Meeting some of the real people of Australia, the people that have lived and worked in the Northern Territory for generations, has been special. Getting away from the anonymous cities, the mostly European backpackers and for once the drinking culture that comes with socializing with them. However on my return to this path I will try and curb my taste for wine and also eat better and more organically in the future (funds allowing of course) as up here you realise how much crap goes into the thoroughly over processed foods we've all been brought up on. Claire and Mike never waist anything and always cook meals from scratch with the resources growing on their land. Claire's cold room and larder would have Nigella Lawson drooling, and I wont forget the endless and handy tips she has given me, from brass cleaning to hair bleaching.
I loved their attitude towards the animals too. They treat their quality Brahman stud cattle with respect, kindness and patience. Always breedng them in a relaxed and organic environment. Giving them attention and TLC. In return..they are happy, content and inquisitively beautiful creatures. While here, I felt looked after and trusted, however at times I also felt in the way, useless and awkward. It may have been my inexperience as a new comer to wwoofing and probably not having a bloody clue about cattle stations. Having said that, Ive learn't so much about the outback life and Aboriginal routes (one of the reasons I chose the Northern Territory in the first place). How they live now, how they used to live and how they feel about themselves and the unworkable situation they now find themselves in. I also now understand that not all Australians are racist or embarrassed about them. They empathize and understand, especially the ones who have worked with them and used to have them on their stations. They are just at a loss as to what they should do next, a question of allowing them to live their lives according to the socioeconomic situation (with the child abuse, domestic violence, drunkeness, young death rates, no sense of the value of money or possesions and unemployment) that comes with it, or have them adopt the Australian way of life, which could lead to a whole other can of cultural worms turning over the sacrificial soil. Im glad I came up here and found out for myself what its all about. Having spoken to a lady of the stolen generation, I feel I know better than the idol gossip and character assasination, ive become used to from other Australians. Im just sorry ive had to cut it short. I must admit that I totally underestimated the environment, climate, expectation and generally simple way of life. A life I have a lot of respect for but unfortunately could no longer live.
Day 10
Did'nt get away with a lye in today...oh no. Up at 6.00am. Milking, feeding, and moving cattle about before breakfast. Met Mike's brother Rory (either another Rory or ive got the other guys name wrong). Very nice chap with a gentle disposition, very likable. We all milled about this morning and then i said my final goodbyes. Claire gave me some jam to take to mildura (I just know Lucy is gonna love it) and a nice meat recipe...so i can pay my way by cooking for her too. Being my last day the bloody weather decided to calm down a bit and it was actually cooler than any other day...typical. Wont miss the flies or the ants though and being almost piled by a bunch of heifers for daring to hold onto a bucket of tucka for more than 10 seconds while I (remmber this time) to close the gate. Bloody cow's...eyes bigger than their four belly's i think...Anyway its been 'real'.
Friday, 1 February 2008
Day 9Up at 6.10am. Really tired today. Heat and humidity has left me rather lethargic. My mind isn't what it was either...which i know, wasn't much to begin with. Absent minded as hell and with no inclination to do bugger all. Probably cause I know I'm going tomorrow and so mind, body an spirit have begun to wind down. Did some very slow and laborious work in the tool shed and then the usual milking and feeding of the cattle. Not much else to do today as Claire is away and Mike is less motivated than I am. Took about 30 minutes to eat a granny smith earlier....no wander the cows take an age to chew their tucka in this heat! Have come to the conclusion that I prefer the smell of cow dung to rotting grass too. Have also decided that mosquitoes must be the devils idea of a joke and he , or it, or whoever is down there shoving forks up people's arses, should get their arse up here and burn the bloody lot of them! I know I'm going on a bit about the humid conditions but I really have never been in such a tropical climate and sometimes the only way to describe it, is the feeling you get when you're sitting to close the fire....your skin feels hot and you need a break. Well that what its like for a large portion of the day here. Obviously inside you are at least out of the sun, but somehow the heat penetrates that boundary and cooks you....like a microwave. I'm also having a bit of a bizarre moment whilst writing this....Mike, Moira and Rory are all sitting on the sofa watching 'Keeping up Appearances'....strange viewing for cattle station owners, don't you think? Mike doesn't surprise me though cause he's obsessed with rubbish TV and basically any sport. Claire made a really lovely meal for all of us. Prawns and stirfried veggies...mmm..scrumptious stuff.
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