Farm work November - it's not everyday you see tumble-weed roll pass!

Week 6 - week 10

Still worked hard throughout November, here are the things I got up to:

Cutting fruit trees, putting up some netting for the birds to stop nesting on the house, took a drive over to Sandlewood Downs the next property to pick up a car, the farrier came, sorted the kitchen cupboards out, lots of cattle arrived this month.

Another thing that arrived was the new lawn...it was 2 hard days for the men laying all the turf. I helped at points grabbing the rolls and making sure they met nicely and were straight before rolling them out.

One morning Joaquín was out collecting wire from the old fences and lost the side of the ute! After eating lunch we spent the rest of the lunch break searching for it, luckily we found it not far from the dump...Dave never knew it was ever lost in the first place.

Rode Timmy for the first time he gave me a few bucks but luckily I stayed on this one! I've been training up Timmy, getting him calmer for the children to ride. I also made the small yard bigger so the horses and ponies can do a good canter in there.

One morning I had to stop what job I was doing as Dave was trying to get hold of Joaquín he couldn't find him along the fence he sent him to take down and he didn't reply on the radio. I got sent on the search for him, rushed around on the quad and was constantly talking on the radio...as I was just about to give up and go back when Joaquín's voice came over the radio! We found him but along another fence he didn't finish the day before.

Zoomed over to the school one morning to help out...made sandwiches for another school which had come over for the day to help build something and play games with the children.

The car had to go into town for a service so one afternoon I had to pick the boys up in the ute...the seat doesn't move forward so I was on the edge of the seay driving it!

Most weekends we spent our time booking and organising the month of Christmas travels, when Joaquín's parents will be over with us in Australia...many adventures coming up! I cut Joaquín's hair...it was quite a good cut for the first time but I won't be taking up hairdressing as a career!

Went with Joaquín one weekend to do fencing. He owed some hours so was making them up. I sat in the ute and tried to catch up on my blog (didn't do the best job as I'm so behind still). It had been raining the day before with a big storm and only a few times we nearly got bogged. We didn't though because we were good at avoiding them super muddy patches.

One Sunday Joaquín and I went to have a ride when Digby and Claudia were already up and out riding. We stood and watched them...Digby had his first canter on Luna in the small yard on the lunge, he was bouncing around and having a great time smiling all the way around. It was the Claudia's turn she went in on Oman and has her first canter too. I was so proud of her as when I first arrived she was reluctant to even ride without a lead rein. Well the bar was raised for Joaquín...it was his turn to ride and he was expected to have his first canter too. He managed it on Oman and seemed to enjoy it.

Another weekend I made mango jam...we had brought a box from the school for a fundraiser. We had 16 mangos to eat between us before they turnt bad. I decided to try the recipe I got from India to make the jam...it was tasty but didn't quite work out exactly how I wanted it to.

One Saturday we bumped into Melanie and Cyril while doing the weekly shopping. They had invited us over to theirs the next weekend. Where we went over, sat out on the verandah and had burgers and ice-cream. We chatted for so long that we left when the sun had already set.

A few more thunderstorms this month too! We ate by candle light one evening and went to bed early as we couldn't see to do anything.

Digby had a swimming competition against other school in the 'area'. He won 2 races, came 2nd in another 2 and then won the trophy for the 7 year old champion. His photo appeared in the local newspaper.

Once I took Claudia down for a lesson on Oman when I found about 8 cattle in the paddock...so after the lessons we had to muster them out and back into the other paddock. Claudia rode behind them down the fence and I slightly to the side so they didn't run the wrong way. Claudia was so happy and excited that she had done her first "real muster." Claudia had her first lunge lesson on Luna as well this month which she eventually enjoyed!

The flies had come out in there 100's, I counted 32 flies on one arm once and then one evening on my way home I got  chased by about 50.

Farm work October - it's not everyday day you see a kangaroo jump past the kitchen window!

Week 2 - 5

The start of this month was very dry and most of the dams and streams were all dried up or had very little water. So the kangaroos were hanging around the house in search of water. We had many just hop by our windows.

Then the rain started and we didn't see the kangaroos around the house again. It turnt out to be quite a wet month...with many many thunderstorms. 

One time in the middle of Digby's riding lesson, a storm, all of a sudden was upon us and we got drenched. 

Another time Joaquín got stuck in the mud.

After all the rain the grass and trees grew. Everything became greener and greener. This was the house when we arrived and then after 2 weeks of rain.

2 main things happened when the heavens open:
Wet weather road...we have to use this road to gain access to the main road as the main driveway becomes too muddy.
Loosing power...this can happen for a few minutes or many hours. Once 6 poles came down on the property in a storm and the electricity guys had to come and fix it in the middle of it still pouring down.

When the rain came so did the toads and frogs...we now have some as pets who sit on our outside chairs eating the bugs (which have also come out in their millions - bug spray needed!). We also hear the giant chorus of frogs down by the river which is so loud.

Only a few times I got stuck in the mud...when it rains the ground gets super soft; I got the ute stuck in the mud one time at the dump. I tried to call for help on the radio but no one answered so it was a walk back to the house, at least it's not far away! The other time I got bogged was in the car on the way to town...the rain had been pouring and Dave said the car would make it out to the road but the first corner I get to into the mud we go. Dave had to tow us out then we get stuck 3 meters later...it was time to take ute with 4 wheel drive!

Kids back to school (Digby goes everyday to the local state school which is very small with 11 children...Claudia goes to Kindergarten twice a week)

I have been doing the usual morning routines and have established an afternoon routine of collecting the children from the bus, teaching the children to ride, making sure homework is done, preparing dinner, watering plants, feeding the animals and bath time.

Other jobs I have been doing:
Sorting toys, tidying the tack room, working the ponies (including being chucked off...no injuries luckily, just bruises), burning rubbish at the dump. We had to look after Dan and Michael's dogs and chickens while they were on holiday. Weeding, cleaning, fishing the fish out of the tank and moving them, blending egg shells for the garden, de-hydrated herbs.

Some other fun things happening:
I baked many yummy treats, the kids enjoyed playing in the muddy puddles, the children had their first friend to sleep over, we went over to Begonia station, a neighbouring property, for "coffee" and cake at the cafe.

On a weekend there was a 'Beef and Reef' night at the local sports club. We had a great night with delicious food and met Melanie a backpacker working at a neighbouring property; her partner was sick so didn't get a chance to met him. We spent the night chatting away.

One Saturday when we were in town going to get our food shopping, on the only main road through the town I got pulled over by the police...for a random breath test (they do that here), this is the first time ever for me! The officer said, just doing a random breath test, is that OK...I replied yes. He never asked for my name or driving licence just blew into the machine and passed so off I drove.

Joaquín's birthday

This was the month of Joaquín's birthday and as we were out in the middle of nowhere there was not much I could plan or get for his birthday. My main present to him was a riding lesson...he had never sat on a horse before. He got the hang of it pretty quickly. He rode on Oman.

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Farm work September - it's not everyday you pluck a rooster!

We spent a day packing up our stuff, we ended up having 2 rucksacks, 2 backpacks, 2 suitcases and 2 bags as we needed to take some food with us as well as our belongings. When we had finished packing it was time to say goodbye to our wonderful hosts and head into Brisbane city for a night in the hostel. I struggled with all my bags so I waited at a bus stop while Joaquín took his stuff to the hostel then he returned to help me.

I had the worst nights sleep ever in a hostel; as everyone in the dorm room seemed to snore! It was up early to catch our bus for the 8 and a half hour journey to St George.

We had to change buses a few times and we stopped for lunch at Moonie Crossroads. Reaching St George at about 4pm, Kate was there to pick us up and drive us out about 30/40 minutes to the property. Where she showed us to our home for the next 3 months, Dave popped in with a beer to have a chat. We spent the rest of the evening unpacking ready for work the next morning.

Week 1
We are working on a 350,000 acre cattle property, I can't even compute how big that actually is but I don't think I will even see half of it while I'm here.

Up bright and early everyday for a 7am start. The first day Dave showed us the animals and then I went over to the house and met the children, Digby (7) and Claudia (5). Claudia's welcome was wonderful...saying "yay, you are my new backpacker. I love you." That came with a hug too! I got a tour of the house and garden - feeding the lamb, chickens and watering the plants.

The children were still on school holidays this means this first week would not be the normal routine, which was nice as it gave me some time to get to know the kids. In the afternoon I went for a swim with them in their pool. Finishing up the day by watering plants and feeding and locking up the animals for the night.

For my second day Kate, the kids and I went into the local town so I could remember the way and know my way around the town. We got a bit of food shopping and headed back.

This first week was mainly learning the routines and the property. My first morning job is to feed the horses and lock them in the stalls, yard or paddock. The 4 horses and ponies in were Luna, Bluebell, Oman and Illusion; the other horses were out in the big paddocks.

I then go to the house to make the kids lunches ready for the day, make sure they were eating breakfast, getting dressed, teeth cleaned and bedroom was tidy. Next I needed to go outside feed the chickens and collect the eggs, feed the lamb, water the garden/plants and check the hydroponics (a greenhouse with a fish watering system for growing herbs, fruit and vegetables). After that and a smoko (that is what they call morning break) I would have time to do another job or two before lunchtime.

As this was not a normal week with the kids off school, I didn't have an afternoon routine as such, yet!

Other things I did this week:

I met the 'neighbours' Dan, Michael, Jesse, Mikey and Annie. Dan works for Dave and him and his family live on the property too. Jesse and Mikey go to school with Digby and Annie and Claudia go to Kindergarten together.

I had to pluck the feathers off a rooster. The 3 roosters were old enough to be killed for dinners so we chopped the heads off (one ran around like a headless chicken), put them in boiling water and plucked them ready to be gutted. The feathers were eaiser than I thought it would be to pluck out.

I did some craft with the children, worked the ponies, burnt rubbish at the dump and organised the fridge.

We get the weekends off so on the Saturday we went into the town. We only get signal just before we reach town and in the car Joaquín's phone was ping, ping, ping...he had forgotten to tell everyone he was going to be unreachable. I showed Joaquín around the town, we did a spot of shopping and then headed down by the river to a local festival where "ABBA" were playing.

Once that had finished we grabbed our food shopping for the week and headed back for a chilled out evening.

We woke in the night to it pouring down so we actually spent the day cleaning and chilling. We were going to head into town for some more of the festival and market.

Brisbane and Gold Coast - September 2017

I was feeling quite good after a great nights sleep...but it was up early and time to head back to the airport to catch a flight up to Brisbane. A short flight but we had amazing views out the window on the way of Sydney, the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

Once arriving we jumped on the train and made our way to some lovely gardens were we found a nice shaded spot to rest with our bags. 

I went in search for some picnic food in the city centre. It was then time to meet up with Joaquín's cousin, Paola, we caught the train with her all the way to her home. This is where we were staying for a while until we found a job. We met Tom, Paola's husband, and got the grand tour of the property with Snoopy the dog. After dinner we had an early night.

I was so lucky not to be feeling jetlagged my body must have set it's clock back very quickly.

The next day we just stayed at the house. We met Tomas another guest they had staying, took the dog for a walk, planed a few things we wanted to do in Brisbane. Then met Francisco when he arrived back from school.

For the next few weeks we either stayed at home chilling and looking for jobs or we were out exploring.

The things we got up to:

Looked at some beautiful churches and cathedrals of Brisbane

Walked in both Botanical Gardens in Brisbane

Hired some bikes to zoom around the city

Jumped on a ferry to see Brisbane from the water

Seeing amazing views over the city from Mount Coot-tha

Museum of Brisbane and going up the clock tower

Planetarium

Queensland museum

Gold Coast
One day we took a trip down to the Gold Coast by train, this took us just over 3 hours. Once we got there we took a stroll along Surfers Paradise beach, ate an early lunch and then ventured up the tallest residential tower in the world. 77 floors up to Skypoint. We had magnificent views of the Gold Coast. 

Of course the day would not be complete without and ice-cream by the beach. In the afternoon Joaquín and I went and played miniature golf...this was his first time playing and managed to get a hole in one but I still won both rounds. It was a lot of fun. We took one last stroll along the beach before making our 3 hour journey back.

My Birthday
This was my first birthday I had ever had away from the UK. It started with Joaquín waking me up with breakfast in bed and him singing happy birthday to me with my cake. I got given some beautiful opal earrings and necklace. It was then a 2 hours drive down to Tambourine Mountain were we went for Tree Top Challenge. This was a high ropes course, first we got suited and booted, then it was off to climb the courses. We started off on the easy green ones making our way up to the extreme black course! The black course was definitely challenging and it was made more difficult because we were so tired from all the other climbing up and down ladders, balancing on tightropes, walking bridges, zipwiers and Tarzan jumps from the other courses. It was then time for the drive back home and stopping on the way home at a restaurant for dinner. I had an amazing birthday.

Driving the car in Australia...at least I am still driving on the same side of the road as England but the indicators are on the opposite side so I kept putting the windscreen wipers on!

In this time we managed to find a job and we were to leave Brisbane for another adventure.

To Australia again...the flight and Sydney - 03.09.17 - 05.09.17

Well after travelling home from Oz to go to the wedding in Santorini and then spending a very short time at home trying to sort my house out and seeing friends I was back on a plane back to Oz.

I said my goodbyes, hopped on a train to Heathrow and checked in for my very long journey back to Australia. I flew on the same plane from London to Sydney only stopping in Dubai to refuel. This was such a quick stop after disembarking, going through security and a toilet stop it was time to start boarding again. I tried to stay on Australian time on the plane after stopping in Dubai so I wouldn't have jetlag too bad. It was easy to stay awake when I needed to but getting to sleep was much harder.

I left the UK on the Sunday 3rd and arrived in Australia on Tuesday the 5th...I had missed out a whole day due to the long flight and the time difference.

Arriving about 5am with virtually no sleep I was in for a day of trying to stay awake till night time. After I collected my backpack and made it through customs I found someone waiting for me...Joaquín! I was so excited and happy to see him after being away. We made our way to the taxi rank and headed to our hotel to drop our bags but luckily they said they had our room ready so we could check in there and then...I was quite relieved to have a quick shower before heading out for breakfast. 

We found Celsius (a great recommendation from Ling - thanks), this was a small cafe right on the harbour with the waves crashing on the rocks beside us. Afterwards we took a ferry over to Circular Quay and made our way to the Pylon Lookout of the Harbour Bridge. 

We read on the way up how they managed to build the bridge and then had spectacular views from the top of Sydney. It was clear but windy so we could see for miles.

I was fighting back the sleep and had lunch but I couldn't resist a quick nap on returning to the hotel. I had to meet up with Susan and Janet very briefly to collect some of my things I had left at theirs (it saved me taking it all the way back home just to bring it back again). 

• It was then time to eat again; Joaquín and I met up with Luis for dinner. We ate yummy Italian food while we had a great catch up but I could keep my eyes open much longer so it was definitely time now to sleep.

Santorini - Becoming Mr and Mrs Bance

Day of the wedding

14th August 2017

In the moring me and the girls chilled around the pool before going to grab an early lunch at Avacardo restaurant. I had a Greek dish which was delicious. On heading back to the hotel it was time to start getting ready for the big day!

After a quick photo shoot we were ready and Barry and Justin were here with the taxi. We arrived at the venue to find Jude and Groomsmen waiting in the shade...it was so hot to wait in the sun. As everyone else was arriving, we all gathered around with our water chatting before we took our seats. 

The view from this venue was amazing but as we were sat in the hot sun we had parasols to give us a little shade.

The bride had arrived and it was time for her to walk down the aisle. 

At first the bridesmaids came down in 2's then Miranda walked down in floods of tears which I think set off everybody and when Suzy followed with her mum everybody was fighting back the tears...including me! It was such an amazing moment to see 2 people you have known for a very long time finally tie the knot. 

I was so honored to be there and be part of their special day. Once the vows were said with chocked voices they were pronounced husband and wife and became Mr and Mrs Bance.

Time for a few photos before we all went inside the venue to welcome the newly wed couple onto the dance floor for some dancing before dinner was served.

We were all sat on round tables in places where Jude and Suzy had been on holiday together and then in the places our names were spelt out in gold. 

The newly weds sat on their own table with the wonderful backdrop of the cliffs and ocean. We had four courses with the spectacular view of the sunset.

Just before the sunset we all made our way outside for the cutting of the cake and more photos.

It was then time to make our way back to our seats for dessert while we had many many speeches.

Jude went first to thank everyone who was there then everyone else's followed. Each in their own rights funny and well put together to shed many different lights on the couple.

When the speeches and food was all over it was time to start the party and fill the dance floor for a night of dancing. 

We had a song sung by Cedrik and the bouquet was thrown by Suzy...who was the lucky one to catch it???

The venue was closing but the wedding celebrations had to continue so a lot of us headed into town to a bar and continued to dance the night away (moring away!) 

Finishing off with more chicken nuggets and arriving back to the hotel to see the sunrise.

After only a few hours sleep it was time to pack up, grab some breakfast and make our way to the airport and say goodbye to the beautiful island and wish the couple a wonderful honeymoon.