Thursday morning saw us on the road before 8am. I now have a terrible head cold so the trip over the mountains caused some problems with my ears. I am beginning to wonder if they will ever equalize. It is a bit of a worry as tomorrow I have to fly. The trip was quick and we met Aunty Meg and Uncle Bruce with plenty of time to spare at a lovely restaurant overlooking the sparkling waters of La Perouse, Sydney. What more could you ask for, a fantastic view, sunshine, chili char grilled octopus and of course great company. We spent a leisurely few hours over lunch and soaking up the warm atmosphere, such a change from chilly Orange. After farewelling mum and dad and catching up with my cousin Andrew I found my self back in my basic little room in the Formulae 1 hotel just by the airport. I am booked to catch the 5am bus to the International terminal in the morning.
After a 4.30am get up, I was soon checked in and then of course time for the obligatory duty free shop. I flew Cathay Pacific and fortunately for all of us the flight was almost empty. This meant that we all had at least 2 seats each, some even had 4 seats. As it was a day flight with only 2 hours time difference I was in no need for a sleep so was happy with my 2 seats. The leg room seemed more as well but that could have been something to do with the actual outside of the seat not reclining - only the inside of your own seat reclined. A much better system so that you do not have someones seat pressing into you.
We circled over Sydney in the early morning light then headed over the blue mountains. The early morning sun painted the cliffs along the ocean orange and then bounced of the ancient sandstone cliffs that are such a prominent part of the plateau that makes up the Blue Mountains. Soon Orange was visible nestled below Mt Canobolas with Lake Canobolas sparkling in the distance. Beyond Orange the soil began to visibly redden as we headed inland and north. I suppose this is what they mean but the Red Centre. Stretching for 1000's of kilometres, streams meandered across a vista of brown desert, flat and treeless.There were a number of dry lakes to be seen however there seemed to be water in a lot of the rivers winding through the dry interior, so it must have been raining somewhere. Pockets of hot air thermals rose to greet us bouncing us over rough dirt tracks replicating what could be seen below.
Before I had a chance to get bored of the vista, we seemed to be about to cross the the Gulf of Carpentaria definitely in the Top End now. You suddenly realise the isolation of the communities out here as you can be literally hundreds of kilometers from your nearest neighbour. I watched an episode of Australian Story the other day where they were talking to a couple who were working with Aboriginal communities in an attempt to improve their education. In such isolation this is no easy task and flying over this area certainly brought the problem home. There is so much that needs to be done to boost education and health in these communities. It is amazing how generous we can be with the plights of those living in other countries suffering from extreme poverty, yet here it is in our own backyard, untreated, unsupported, ignored. There are Communities with over 90% illiteracy rate and preventable health conditions like scabies, trachoma, diabetes, and malnutrition are common. There are classrooms without teachers and medical centres without doctors. Of course the extreme isolation does play a big factor but there has to be more that can be done. These communities are really becoming the forgotten people.
The closer we get to Darwin the sheer number of tiny dirt roads criss crossing the land increases and tendrils of smoke lazily unfurl, evidence of communities becoming more frequent. Suddenly the dry sandy delta meets the sea then the plane turns back across Australia towards Darwin. Take a memo, must travel to the top end. It took roughly 4 hours to get from Sydney to the top of Australia, a total distance of approx 4500km. Now it is time to enjoy some of the Cathay Pacific entertainment as we pass over the islands of Indonesia. Hong Kong and my new life draw closer.
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
On the road to Canberra to visit with Molly Monster and Archie Rascal.
My trip started on a high note when I went to pick up my very compact hire car to find that I had been upgraded to a Mitsibishi Outlander 4WD with all the bells and whistles you could ever want. Just goes to show that living in a country community has its benefits as the owner of the local Avis car hire is both a distant relative and family friend. He also insisted that I keep the car for an extra day but only paid for the three. Who am I to complain?
So armed with lots of CD's and some carrots to munch on (I have become addicted to lovely sweet, fresh, crunchy, yummy carrots) I hit the road. First town, Cargo a mere 4 miles from where I grew up. Now the main street only boasts a shop/post office, the village hall and the pub. Next town along is Canowindra, famous for its dog legged main street and for being one of the centers of ballooning and of course for being the place that I went to High School. Canowindra is set on the Belabula river and the surrounding countryside lay large and relatively flat covered in all the different shades of green interspersed with bright yellow canola crops. You could be mistaken into thinking that the drought was at an end until you look closely at the size of the crops. I had to keep reminding myself that I was seeing the landscape in the winter and not summer as I usually do. Being the beginning of spring, new born lambs pranced around their mothers, flocks of black faced sheep lay in the sunshine and surprisingly I caught the odd glimpse of the long necked regal profile of Alpacas sitting like sentries guarding the sheep. What a wonderful reminder of Peru. The sky seemed huge, it is amazing how little you actually see of the sky living in the city. Here it goes on for ever and is the most deepest shade of blue. I have never seen skies like Australia anywhere else in the world. It is something to be seen to really understand what I mean.
Before I knew it, Cowra loomed ahead. Cowra is best known for having a Prisoner Of War (POW) camp there during WWII. This camp housed 2000 Italian POW's on one side and 2000 Japanese POW's on the other side. The Italians were model prisoners and they did not even really need to be guarded. In fact most of them worked on the farms around the countryside and came and went as they pleased. It seemed they were just happy to be in sunny, warm Australia after the cold muck of the war. The Japanese however were a different kettle of fish. They were not happy to be there at all. It wasn't just having the POW camp that made Cowra famous as there were a number of these around the country, it was the fact that there was a mass break out from this camp by the Japanese. Many kamakazi Japanese believed that being incarcerated was dishonorable and not good karma so one night they staged a suicidal mass break out in an attempt to return to Japan. They soon realised they were in the middle of no-where and rather than returning to the POW camp preferred the more honorable route of committing suicide and were thus found hanging the next day from sheds around the district.
I decided to take the low bridge over the Lachlan River and passed by massive pylons covered with beautiful modern Aboriginal Art and then set of for the slightly longer drive to Boorowa. On the way the landscape became a little more hilly. Now I needed to be a little more vigilant with looking for kangaroos as it was approaching dusk, the time that roos are on the move. I have first hand experience of being hit by roos bounding across the road without a care in the world, and I can tell you that in my experience the roo often comes off better than the car. They are one huge piece of muscle and can thus leave a pretty big ding in the car. But instead of roos all I saw was huge flocks of white cockatoos converging on the surrounding paddocks in search of recently planted grain. I am sure the farmers were less than impressed but they were certainly a spectacular site, white against verdant green.
It was an easy drive to Boorowa only meeting the odd car and huge double trucks and of course the policeman waiting patiently by the side of the road with his speed camera waiting to catch an unsuspecting speeder. I was lucky that a couple of cars met me just before the policeman and flashed their lights warning that a policeman was waiting around the corner. Of course I wasn't speeding so did not need to be warned!! Boorowa... now what is it famous for? Well for me it is famous as the place that my car has broken down far too many times. And I am not just talking about one car breaking down, but virtually every car I ever drove on this road. This road is the one that I regularly travelled as I lived in Canberra for about 12 years, having studied at the Australian National University and then continued working there. As Boorowa is almost exactly in the middle of the trip between home and Canberra and really there is not a lot there, it is the worst place to break down in, and I have had to leave a couple of cars there to be fixed and had to get someone to drive a long distance to pick me up. So it is always with trepidation that I begin the drive to Boorowa. I am sure it really is a nice little town, in fact it is also the place that we choose to meet with family sometimes being the middle point, so we have had some fun days and some very cold days, meeting the extended family in the local park for a picnic lunch. Dad also assures me that they do the best scones, jam and cream with real homemade jam!!
By now dusk has laid its mantle over the countryside and as the trees have thickened by the side of the road, it really is the witching hour when it comes to the need to be aware of roos. But I was lucky to see none, at least none that were alive. There was a lot of evidence of roo activity by the number of carcasses on the side of the road, obviously hit by trucks travelling by night. Trucks come off a lot better than roos when they are hit. Many local vehicles have what we call “roo bars” on the front of their vehicles, strong metal bars so that if you hit a roo with the front of your car you are more likely to survive the hit, though the roo is usually not so lucky. I did not have a “roo bar” so was being very careful. Before I knew it I had passed the sign welcoming me to the Australian Capital Territory, Canberra. However you would never know that you were in the Capital City of Australia. My sister lives in the other side of the city and believe it or not, I drove across most of the city and did not see a single house until I was a couple of hundred metres from Kristin's house.
Canberra is the largest inland city in Australia, yet appears to be more like an extremely large park with a city hidden inside it. Each suburb is divided by paddocks, forests, lakes etc so whilst being in the middle of the city it can seem as though you are actually in the country. Along the route I took, I could see street lights perched high above the trees but the houses were completely hidden by the thousands of trees that make up Canberra. I read in Bill Brysons book “Down Under” (a book that I highly recommend reading) that Canberra had 10 000 acres (about 4000 hectares or 40 km²) of parks, now if you compare that to the size of Central Park NY with 768 acres and Hyde Park in London with 340 acres, you begin to realise just how much parkland there is! What is also interesting about Canberra is that there is not one city centre but four, Civic, Belconnen, Woden and Tuggeranong.
So how did Canberra get to be like this? Apparently in the early 1900's both Sydney and Melbourne were fighting over who was going to be the capital city of Australia. So rather than chose between the two, someone decided they would build a city between Sydney and Melbourne and that would become the capital, and thus in 1913 Canberra was born. NSW gave a parcel of land that was definitely not much good for farming for the capital to be built on, rather a long way from anywhere and not even by the coast. Canberra is an entirely purpose built, planned city designed by two architects from Chicago USA and set around a huge man made lake. The entire road system is circular instead square gridded which causes many a head ache for visitors as they find themselves literally driving around in circles. As the centre of Government, it is viewed as a public service town and because of the deliberate and controlled planning it is often thought of as heartless and sterile. But I always found it a pleasant city to live in, for me it was more of a cross between a city and the country and thus I was more at home. The leafy suburbs and open wooded areas invite the native wildlife to gather in abundance and it is not at all uncommon to see kangaroos and wallabies in the heart of the city! Bicycle paths meander throughout the whole city linking suburbs and keeping riders away from traffic. It certainly is a great outdoors city with plenty of sailing, rowing, running, riding, and sports of every persuasion. I have spent many a day watching my niece Tahlia play either soccer (football) or futsal (indoor soccer).
But I am not really here to enjoy the sites of Canberra but to visit family, especially my nieces and nephews. Unfortunately (or as it turned out fortunately) Molly aged 1 and Archie 3 years old both had a serious cold. Now I say fortunately as this meant that Archie was happy to sit quietly on the lounge and snuggle, being read copious stories with a particular bent toward Bob and Builder and anything that had diggers and animals in it! A stark contrast to the otherwise very busy and often defiant little boy who tares around the house getting into anything and everything possible. It was so nice to be actually able to sit quietly and cuddle. However as the days wore on and he got progressively better, he also got more active and by the time I left, Archie Rascal had definitely emerged.
So armed with lots of CD's and some carrots to munch on (I have become addicted to lovely sweet, fresh, crunchy, yummy carrots) I hit the road. First town, Cargo a mere 4 miles from where I grew up. Now the main street only boasts a shop/post office, the village hall and the pub. Next town along is Canowindra, famous for its dog legged main street and for being one of the centers of ballooning and of course for being the place that I went to High School. Canowindra is set on the Belabula river and the surrounding countryside lay large and relatively flat covered in all the different shades of green interspersed with bright yellow canola crops. You could be mistaken into thinking that the drought was at an end until you look closely at the size of the crops. I had to keep reminding myself that I was seeing the landscape in the winter and not summer as I usually do. Being the beginning of spring, new born lambs pranced around their mothers, flocks of black faced sheep lay in the sunshine and surprisingly I caught the odd glimpse of the long necked regal profile of Alpacas sitting like sentries guarding the sheep. What a wonderful reminder of Peru. The sky seemed huge, it is amazing how little you actually see of the sky living in the city. Here it goes on for ever and is the most deepest shade of blue. I have never seen skies like Australia anywhere else in the world. It is something to be seen to really understand what I mean.
Before I knew it, Cowra loomed ahead. Cowra is best known for having a Prisoner Of War (POW) camp there during WWII. This camp housed 2000 Italian POW's on one side and 2000 Japanese POW's on the other side. The Italians were model prisoners and they did not even really need to be guarded. In fact most of them worked on the farms around the countryside and came and went as they pleased. It seemed they were just happy to be in sunny, warm Australia after the cold muck of the war. The Japanese however were a different kettle of fish. They were not happy to be there at all. It wasn't just having the POW camp that made Cowra famous as there were a number of these around the country, it was the fact that there was a mass break out from this camp by the Japanese. Many kamakazi Japanese believed that being incarcerated was dishonorable and not good karma so one night they staged a suicidal mass break out in an attempt to return to Japan. They soon realised they were in the middle of no-where and rather than returning to the POW camp preferred the more honorable route of committing suicide and were thus found hanging the next day from sheds around the district.
I decided to take the low bridge over the Lachlan River and passed by massive pylons covered with beautiful modern Aboriginal Art and then set of for the slightly longer drive to Boorowa. On the way the landscape became a little more hilly. Now I needed to be a little more vigilant with looking for kangaroos as it was approaching dusk, the time that roos are on the move. I have first hand experience of being hit by roos bounding across the road without a care in the world, and I can tell you that in my experience the roo often comes off better than the car. They are one huge piece of muscle and can thus leave a pretty big ding in the car. But instead of roos all I saw was huge flocks of white cockatoos converging on the surrounding paddocks in search of recently planted grain. I am sure the farmers were less than impressed but they were certainly a spectacular site, white against verdant green.
It was an easy drive to Boorowa only meeting the odd car and huge double trucks and of course the policeman waiting patiently by the side of the road with his speed camera waiting to catch an unsuspecting speeder. I was lucky that a couple of cars met me just before the policeman and flashed their lights warning that a policeman was waiting around the corner. Of course I wasn't speeding so did not need to be warned!! Boorowa... now what is it famous for? Well for me it is famous as the place that my car has broken down far too many times. And I am not just talking about one car breaking down, but virtually every car I ever drove on this road. This road is the one that I regularly travelled as I lived in Canberra for about 12 years, having studied at the Australian National University and then continued working there. As Boorowa is almost exactly in the middle of the trip between home and Canberra and really there is not a lot there, it is the worst place to break down in, and I have had to leave a couple of cars there to be fixed and had to get someone to drive a long distance to pick me up. So it is always with trepidation that I begin the drive to Boorowa. I am sure it really is a nice little town, in fact it is also the place that we choose to meet with family sometimes being the middle point, so we have had some fun days and some very cold days, meeting the extended family in the local park for a picnic lunch. Dad also assures me that they do the best scones, jam and cream with real homemade jam!!
By now dusk has laid its mantle over the countryside and as the trees have thickened by the side of the road, it really is the witching hour when it comes to the need to be aware of roos. But I was lucky to see none, at least none that were alive. There was a lot of evidence of roo activity by the number of carcasses on the side of the road, obviously hit by trucks travelling by night. Trucks come off a lot better than roos when they are hit. Many local vehicles have what we call “roo bars” on the front of their vehicles, strong metal bars so that if you hit a roo with the front of your car you are more likely to survive the hit, though the roo is usually not so lucky. I did not have a “roo bar” so was being very careful. Before I knew it I had passed the sign welcoming me to the Australian Capital Territory, Canberra. However you would never know that you were in the Capital City of Australia. My sister lives in the other side of the city and believe it or not, I drove across most of the city and did not see a single house until I was a couple of hundred metres from Kristin's house.
Canberra is the largest inland city in Australia, yet appears to be more like an extremely large park with a city hidden inside it. Each suburb is divided by paddocks, forests, lakes etc so whilst being in the middle of the city it can seem as though you are actually in the country. Along the route I took, I could see street lights perched high above the trees but the houses were completely hidden by the thousands of trees that make up Canberra. I read in Bill Brysons book “Down Under” (a book that I highly recommend reading) that Canberra had 10 000 acres (about 4000 hectares or 40 km²) of parks, now if you compare that to the size of Central Park NY with 768 acres and Hyde Park in London with 340 acres, you begin to realise just how much parkland there is! What is also interesting about Canberra is that there is not one city centre but four, Civic, Belconnen, Woden and Tuggeranong.
So how did Canberra get to be like this? Apparently in the early 1900's both Sydney and Melbourne were fighting over who was going to be the capital city of Australia. So rather than chose between the two, someone decided they would build a city between Sydney and Melbourne and that would become the capital, and thus in 1913 Canberra was born. NSW gave a parcel of land that was definitely not much good for farming for the capital to be built on, rather a long way from anywhere and not even by the coast. Canberra is an entirely purpose built, planned city designed by two architects from Chicago USA and set around a huge man made lake. The entire road system is circular instead square gridded which causes many a head ache for visitors as they find themselves literally driving around in circles. As the centre of Government, it is viewed as a public service town and because of the deliberate and controlled planning it is often thought of as heartless and sterile. But I always found it a pleasant city to live in, for me it was more of a cross between a city and the country and thus I was more at home. The leafy suburbs and open wooded areas invite the native wildlife to gather in abundance and it is not at all uncommon to see kangaroos and wallabies in the heart of the city! Bicycle paths meander throughout the whole city linking suburbs and keeping riders away from traffic. It certainly is a great outdoors city with plenty of sailing, rowing, running, riding, and sports of every persuasion. I have spent many a day watching my niece Tahlia play either soccer (football) or futsal (indoor soccer).
But I am not really here to enjoy the sites of Canberra but to visit family, especially my nieces and nephews. Unfortunately (or as it turned out fortunately) Molly aged 1 and Archie 3 years old both had a serious cold. Now I say fortunately as this meant that Archie was happy to sit quietly on the lounge and snuggle, being read copious stories with a particular bent toward Bob and Builder and anything that had diggers and animals in it! A stark contrast to the otherwise very busy and often defiant little boy who tares around the house getting into anything and everything possible. It was so nice to be actually able to sit quietly and cuddle. However as the days wore on and he got progressively better, he also got more active and by the time I left, Archie Rascal had definitely emerged.
A taste of Orange @ Bondi Beach
It was a cold damp morning, barely hitting 2° on the thermometer as I took the dogs down to the dog run to be locked up for the day. This was definitely not on the top of their agenda, swapping a warm house for a damp cold run for the day, but wha
t else were we to do as we were going to be out for the whole day. We were bound for Sydney where Mitchell was playing in a big band in the Pavilion at Bondi Beach. For the past couple of years Orange has been promoting it's wine and food along with it's music at Bondi beach.
t else were we to do as we were going to be out for the whole day. We were bound for Sydney where Mitchell was playing in a big band in the Pavilion at Bondi Beach. For the past couple of years Orange has been promoting it's wine and food along with it's music at Bondi beach.So after filling the car with a drum kit then squeezing in we set off. By Lithgow on the edge of the Blue Mountains the temperature had shot up to around 3° when we pulled off for a coffee. The group of bikies that had arrived at the same time were certainly not finding the ride that pleasant with the low temperatures. But as we got closer to Sydney the weather started to warm and by the time we were actually at Bondi Beach the mercury had crept into the
mid 20's. The beach was packed with sun worshipers and wetsuit clad surfers bobbed in the water waiting for the perfect wave. We soon found the rest of the family members who were joining us for the day and set off to explore the stalls. There were at least 25 vineyards present and after selecting lunch of a venison wrap accompanied by a nice red malbec I settled down in the sun to listen to the big band. Surely life could not get much better than this, sun, good food and wine and music all at iconic Bondi Beach.
mid 20's. The beach was packed with sun worshipers and wetsuit clad surfers bobbed in the water waiting for the perfect wave. We soon found the rest of the family members who were joining us for the day and set off to explore the stalls. There were at least 25 vineyards present and after selecting lunch of a venison wrap accompanied by a nice red malbec I settled down in the sun to listen to the big band. Surely life could not get much better than this, sun, good food and wine and music all at iconic Bondi Beach.Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Adventures with cattle in Australia
A cool day greeted us this morning, yet the sky was a deep, deep blue, with not a cloud in sight. Whilst the air was nippy, the sun certainly warmed our backs. Rugged up against the low temperature (around 5°C) Dad and I headed out to collect a mob of cows and calves. We had to move them a couple of kilometers to the yards. Anyone who has ever moved cows and calves will know that you really need to keep your wits about you as cows do not like to be separated from their calves. This I found out the hard way when I was but a young child and I was accidentally caught between a cow and calf who had been separated and she was not the most even tempered cow in the history of mad cows. I had my younger sister with me who was no more than a couple of years old and ended up having to pick her up and run for our lives, narrowly evading a good stomping by an irate mother. So with this in mind I was very wary of our progress. We set of on a quad bike (four wheeled motorbike) and on foot to begin the muster. Not a sound could be heard except the odd mooing of a cow, or the call of a bird. Gone are the sounds of cars, horns blaring, engines roaring. As spring is approaching, many trees including the Australian wattle, are in full bloom. The smell of fresh grass, tree blossoms and of course fresh manure curled around my nostrils distracting me from the task at hand. There was only one moment of concern when a very young calf decided that I looked like her mother and she wanted to come to me. This set my pulse pounding, not from the fear of the calf but of what the mother was going to do to me if the calf got too close. A big stick soon warded off the curious calf and we were on our way again. There were 2 very small calves in the mob, so we separated both with their mothers early from the rest so as to not distress them. They were left in a lovely green paddock to frolic and graze. The rest of the mob – 47 cows and 43 big calves were herded to the cattle yards where the fun was to really begin.
First most important job, find a good weapon to protect yourself in the yards. You have to remember that these are no small animals. The smallest calf weighed about 300kg. The largest cow around 900kg. Not something that you want to be kicked or trampled by. And they do not really like being confined in yards. Dad chose a handsomely handcrafted carriage whip, much finer than a stock whip and easier to use in the yards. I chose a long piece of bright orange poly pipe, I wanted the cows to really be able to see me as I ran at them screaming like a banshee and waving a bright orange object!!
With our weapons of choice firmly gripped, we headed into the yards. 90 extremely large animals in small cattle yards can be a little daunting and our first job was to separate the cows from their calves. Remember I have already warned you that this is not something you want to do, so with eyes checking in all directions I headed in waving my piece of orange pipe around and trying to show them who was really the boss. Actually it was not as hard as I though it was going to be and within 30 minutes we had separated them without an injury to either Dad or I. Now came the task of convincing silly calves to move into confined spaces so they could be drenched with chemicals to protect them from intestinal worms and parasites. More yelling and wildly swinging orange pipe with lots of running around and the calves were done. Nearly lost fingers once on the gate chain when trying to open the pen, obviously I did not do it fast enough for the likes of the calf I was releasing who decided to barge out almost trapping my hand in the chain.
The calves then had to be returned to their paddock. They were to begin their new life without their mothers from today. After the experience in the yard they were happy enough to trot off down the lane with the smell of fresh grass beckoning them and they did not realise they had left their mothers mooing for them to return. After pushing them over a small creek (stream) crossing and having to follow on foot, they were eventually in their new home. On the way to this paddock we passed another mob of cattle and noticed that one of the cows was currently in the middle of having a calf and not having an easy time of it. It looked like once these calves were home we were going to have to return and push the poor unfortunate mother back to the yards where we would have to help her have her calf. But when we returned to get her we were greeted with the sight of the calf coming out, our assistance was not needed. The calf lay in the sun as it's mother gently cleaned it with her tongue having to fight off the other cows who also wanted to be part of this cleaning ritual. We left mother and baby in peace to bond and begin a new chapter and headed back to the yards to deal with the remaining cows. Now was the time to be really scared.
Remember I pointed out earlier that these mighty beasts weighed as much as 900 kilograms. Now that is a lot of meat, and a lot of weight to put behind a swift kick if you were annoying them. So with even more trepidation I headed back into the confines of the yard. There were times when I seemed to be getting nowhere fast as 1 or 2 cows would go into the correct pen and by the time I got the others looking like they might like to join them, the original ones had decided to leave. And you do not mess with these mighty beasts our you may end up with a swift kick or a head butted into your belly. A lot of screaming and waving of the orange pipe eventually showed them just who was boss of this mob and I only almost got barged over twice and had a couple of attempted kicks but fear kept me one step ahead of them.
Now I sit in front of the computer, my face all ruddy from the excesses of sun and wind, missing the fresh air, and the sounds and smells of the country as the day draws to a close. A gentle breeze ruffles the gum trees surrounding the house as the sun contemplates retiring for the day.
First most important job, find a good weapon to protect yourself in the yards. You have to remember that these are no small animals. The smallest calf weighed about 300kg. The largest cow around 900kg. Not something that you want to be kicked or trampled by. And they do not really like being confined in yards. Dad chose a handsomely handcrafted carriage whip, much finer than a stock whip and easier to use in the yards. I chose a long piece of bright orange poly pipe, I wanted the cows to really be able to see me as I ran at them screaming like a banshee and waving a bright orange object!!
With our weapons of choice firmly gripped, we headed into the yards. 90 extremely large animals in small cattle yards can be a little daunting and our first job was to separate the cows from their calves. Remember I have already warned you that this is not something you want to do, so with eyes checking in all directions I headed in waving my piece of orange pipe around and trying to show them who was really the boss. Actually it was not as hard as I though it was going to be and within 30 minutes we had separated them without an injury to either Dad or I. Now came the task of convincing silly calves to move into confined spaces so they could be drenched with chemicals to protect them from intestinal worms and parasites. More yelling and wildly swinging orange pipe with lots of running around and the calves were done. Nearly lost fingers once on the gate chain when trying to open the pen, obviously I did not do it fast enough for the likes of the calf I was releasing who decided to barge out almost trapping my hand in the chain.
The calves then had to be returned to their paddock. They were to begin their new life without their mothers from today. After the experience in the yard they were happy enough to trot off down the lane with the smell of fresh grass beckoning them and they did not realise they had left their mothers mooing for them to return. After pushing them over a small creek (stream) crossing and having to follow on foot, they were eventually in their new home. On the way to this paddock we passed another mob of cattle and noticed that one of the cows was currently in the middle of having a calf and not having an easy time of it. It looked like once these calves were home we were going to have to return and push the poor unfortunate mother back to the yards where we would have to help her have her calf. But when we returned to get her we were greeted with the sight of the calf coming out, our assistance was not needed. The calf lay in the sun as it's mother gently cleaned it with her tongue having to fight off the other cows who also wanted to be part of this cleaning ritual. We left mother and baby in peace to bond and begin a new chapter and headed back to the yards to deal with the remaining cows. Now was the time to be really scared.
Remember I pointed out earlier that these mighty beasts weighed as much as 900 kilograms. Now that is a lot of meat, and a lot of weight to put behind a swift kick if you were annoying them. So with even more trepidation I headed back into the confines of the yard. There were times when I seemed to be getting nowhere fast as 1 or 2 cows would go into the correct pen and by the time I got the others looking like they might like to join them, the original ones had decided to leave. And you do not mess with these mighty beasts our you may end up with a swift kick or a head butted into your belly. A lot of screaming and waving of the orange pipe eventually showed them just who was boss of this mob and I only almost got barged over twice and had a couple of attempted kicks but fear kept me one step ahead of them.
Now I sit in front of the computer, my face all ruddy from the excesses of sun and wind, missing the fresh air, and the sounds and smells of the country as the day draws to a close. A gentle breeze ruffles the gum trees surrounding the house as the sun contemplates retiring for the day.
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