Outbackpacker course and Wilgena Station

North again to a small place called Goomeri east of Gympie where the Outbackpackers course was held. The course took place on a beef farm and we stayed in their hostel about 15 mins drive away. It cost $550 including accommodation, food, grog and a guaranteed job! It was a great week with lots of fun and good tuition and advice from our instructors Mat and Rance. The food was fantastic for lunch and dinner, good hearty meals for being out and about on the farm. We rode horses, motorbikes, quads, drove tractors and 4x4s, all on some good fun tracks. We also learned how to use chainsaws, repair fences and muster the big scary Bramen cattle they have here. The Friday night there was a big piss up which left me not feeling too well on the Saturday morning.
The job we found is in the middle South Australia on Wilgena Station near the town of Tarcoola, only 2500 kms or so from where we were! We were hoping to get work in southern Queensland or New South Wales but this was our only option. It has turned out ok though as it’s a nice place with a very friendly family running the farm and the work is not hard with plenty of variety.
Wilgena is a sheep station of 5076 sq kms of red sand and scrubland, there is not much here but the sheep seem to do alright on it. Its very dry here usually and the water is from deep bores and large rainwater tanks for drinking.
The work consists of doing water runs around the property twice a week, mustering sheep on motorbike, fixing leaks and fences, (lots of fixing leaks), fixing the motorbikes, and everything elses associated with running a sheep farm. I will get some pics of life on the station on my next post.

Smile everyone! the moon has lined up with venus and juipter tonignt to smile down on us :)

Surfing again! Agnes Waters and Noosa

The most northerly point to surf in Queensland is in Agnes Waters and the township of 1770 so that is where we went next to catch some waves. It’s a nice place, very small and friendly. We met some nice people and got some good waves. It’s really a longboard wave there so not too easy on my board but met a guy on the beach who let me borrow a board to get out there. I even had a skate in the skatepark when there was no waves one day which was strange as it’s been a long time since I stood on a skateboard!
On the way to Noosa we stopped by to visit Mary Poppins in Maryborough to say superkalafraglisticexpiladocious! The writer of the book comes from there and they put a statue of her on the street!
Arriving in Noosa Heads was a shock! It was crazy and packed full of people as unfortunately we had arrived at the height of the school holidays! I couldn’t even park the van so we turned around and went further south towards Peregrine Beach and Coolum Beach on the recommendation of the guy who lent me the board in Agnes Water.
I didn’t want to give up too easy on Noosa as I had heard so much about the surf there and got up at 6 the next morning to go out before it got crowded. That was the best thing we could have done as we got a parking spot in the national park, walked up to Teatree Bay and had a fantastic surf! The walk through the park itself is lovely and if you look carefully you might see some koalas sleeping in the trees! I even had some dolphins come really close as you can see from the picture, no it’s not a shark!

That weekend it was the 100th anniversary of national parks so there was a nature show with some of the animals to see and even got to touch a snake and crocodile! There was also a free BBQ, cultural talks and didgeridoo lessons to take part in with a representative of the local aboriginal people. We weren’t too good at it but it was good to try.
The next day I had a surf at Teatree bay again but didn’t get on too well as the waves were a bit small and it is a longboard wave again. I walked another 500m up the track to Granite and that was much better! Steeper waves, easier to catch and much less crowded. I surfed till I was too tired to stand up anymore.
The wind picked up later so we headed down to Peregrine Beach to get out windsurfing, it had been a long time since my last sail in Exmouth! The waves were quite small but enough to get a couple of turns and try some aerials. I stayed out till the sun set and the wind dropped and swung offshore. The next day wasn’t as windy and the surf was very small so I had a nice cruisey sail just enjoying the wind and the water.
It was a shame to leave after being by the surf for such a short time but it was time to work again and start the course with Outbackpackers that would give us out next job.
However the night before we had to leave we found out we got our tax back and had money again! After searching the second hand shops in Noosa we found a beautiful surfboard for Iris and managed to get a quick surf in before we left. A shame we got it so late but we will have the board when we are back at the sea again!

East coast, Pacific Ocean! Townsville to Whitsundays

On that Saturday night we arrived in Townsville with a roadworthy test booked on the Monday morning. We stayed in a campsite that weekend as I didn’t want to drive without the van being registered.
It’s a nice town with a great promenade, interesting markets on Sundays and a cool rockpool for swimming safely without stingers. The little jellyfish can give a very serious sting here from October to April. Many places have net in the water to create a safe place to swim, otherwise you have to wear a very nice stinger suit, to cover you from head to toe.
While we were there we managed to catch the Full Moon Drum Circle. Held each month on the full moon everyone in the crowd is given a drum, shaker or bell and a rhythm to beat or shake and is great fun.

As for the van it didn’t pass the test for a few silly things, not important but expensive to repair, like a tear in the driver seat and the door seal not being too good. I couldn’t get my hands on spares from wreckers anywhere in Queensland so there was a bit of stress for a couple of days. I got in contact with the guy who sold me the van and managed to get it reregistered in his name until I can get everything fixed.
Phew that was a load off my mind; I could drive the van again. As we had been in Townsville a few days now it was time to head south to Airlie Beach the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands.
Airlie was quite a contrast to everywhere we had been while up north, a total tourist town full of backpackers and other holidaymakers. We also had the misfortune of getting there just at the start of the school holidays!
Running out of money now we needed to find work so spent a few days looking for work on boats, hoping to get a job on one of the many tourist cruises operating around the Whitsunday islands or even just cleaning work, something for a short time just to keep some money in our pockets.
The trip to and around the islands is one of the must do things in this area but is a bit expensive and touristy with the tour companies here. I really wanted to get on a yacht and do some sailing; I hadn’t been on the water at all for two months at this stage!
Luckily we found a guy with a private yacht who took us a german girl and another couple out the islands for only $45 a day each!
He has a lovely wooden boat called Bright Morning Star a 15 meters long and one of only two of that design, the other fitted out for performance racing. Our skipper John is an interesting character who lives on board, cruising up and down the coast.
It was fantastic to be out on the sea under sail in such a gorgeous vessel and the scenery of the Islands was amazing. The beach on Whitsunday Island itself had the finest, whitest sand I had ever seen, being 98% silica. Snorkelling was great too, almost as good as the Ningaloo reef. It was a shame to be back on land after three great days although the trip back was a bit rough and Iris didn’t feel so good. I wouldn’t mind swapping the van for a yacht though!
We didn’t find any work in Airlie Beach so we booked ourselves onto a course for working on farms/stations in the outback with a company called Outbackpackers. The main reason was they guarantee a job before the end of the week course. It was over a week before the course started so we were very keen to do some surfing before going inland again!!! So it was time to head south again to the closest waves!!

Kununurra to Wilgena Station part 2

Next stop Mt Isa, Queensland.
When trying to sort out the registration for the van I discovered that I had only to the end of the week to get it sorted where previously I understood that I had two weeks after it finished to get it renewed, this was about midday on Wednesday! We jumped in the van and left Darwin to shoot down 1650km to Mt Isa in Queensland! With only a day and a half to do it if we were to get a safety certificate done and get the rego transferred into my name on Friday we wanted to do the 650km in the first half day and the other 1000km on Thursday.

This meant driving in the dark, you have to be very careful driving in the dark in the remote parts of Oz as this is when the kangaroos come out and jump in front of the car. With only about 60kms to go this is what happened to me, just when I couldn’t see from the lights of a road train coming towards me two big roos jumped across the road. I just missed the first one and hit the 2nd one smack in the middle of the roo bar. It’s a good thing I have the bar as I only have a couple of dents in the front panel, without it would have been much worse.

Not stopping at Maratanka hot springs would have meant we’d have got there sooner but it was well worth it. The water was lovely and refreshing and apparently very healthy with good minerals and salts and so on. Thanks for the tip Victoria!
We got there at sunset which is when the flying foxes wake up, we were treated to the spectacular display of the sky full of bats, similar to the thousands of bats that crossed our campsite every night in Kununurra on their way to town for the night. Must be more insects for food around the lights during the night.

Friday in Mt Isa and I made over 50 phone calls but couldn’t get a roadworthy test for that day anywhere. The registration didn’t run out till Saturday night so we decided to make a run for Townsville as we didn’t want to be stuck in Mt Isa for long. Only 895kms away, just down the road…

Kununurra to Wilgena Station part 1

I am finally updating this from the last couple of months as I have been much too lax with the blog. I will tell you what has happened since we left out jobs at the Sandalwood plantation in Kununurra in Western Australia to the present where we have just started jobs on a sheep farm on Wilgena Station in South Australia.

We decided to pack up and leave Kununurra on the spur of the moment, just decided one day and told work we would not be back tomorrow and went. That’s the beauty of having a casual job doing farmwork here with no responsibility. We didn’t even feel guilty as they had too many staff at that time anyway.
It felt great to be on the road again although it was a shame to say goodbye to our friends who were a little surprised to hear of our imminent departure.
The plan was to surprise our friend Veronica who was leaving Australia soon and we wouldn’t have seen her had we stayed a few more days in Kununurra.
The highlight of the 850 kilometres was Lynchfield National Park not too far from Darwin. The stunning waterfalls and swimming holes in the gorges were fantastic after a month on the farming plains fed by Lake Argyle. Lovely and cool in the hot humid weather also!
We arrived in Darwin after only a day and a half of driving (including the time spent at Lynchfield) and met our friends Gary and Naz whom I knew from Perth and had travelled with to Exmouth. Veronica was surprised by out arrival when we finally found her, although I had given here a inkling by not realising how well connected the Estonian community was when I wrote that I was leaving on Facebook, thinking that as Veronica didn’t have me as a friend on the site she wouldn’t know about it.
Darwin is a nice city, being more cultured that I had otherwise experienced so far in Australia, the major downside being the humidity which wasn’t even bad when we were there but plenty hot and sticky for us. The best part was the Mindil Beach sunset market. It had plenty of hippie clothes, loads of food from lots of different countries (we went to the Australian stand to try crocodile and possum!) and good music.

Off to work again

Iris and I are starting work tomorrow on a sheep farm in the outback. Its waay out in the middle of nowhere and we will be there for 2 months. When I finish I will get a good update on what we have been up to.
You may be able to contact me on this number 043.9.8.0.1.7.0.1 if it has reception! my vodafone number certainly wont!

Inland again.

We are heading inland again after much too short a time at the sea.
There is a week long course we are starting today where a company will see if we can drive tractors, motorbikes, rise horses and muster cattle etc. They guarantee us a job after the week doing some farm hand somewhere. Should be a good week and good fun, haven't been on a horse for a while...

Surfing....

Im on the East coast and back in the surf again, it is great.
Just left Agnes Water and 1770 today on the road to Noosa.
I will put some pics up soon, i will i will i will.

Kununurra

Hi no pics this time im afraid. I am workin in a sandalwood plantation and its gettin hot!
The build up to the wet season is starting so will have to get out of here soon.
I lost my phone so email is the best way to contact me and should get my number back when I get to a place with a vodafone shop.
Take it easy everyone

Hard Work

We are in a nice little town called Kununurra now not far from the Northern Territorys. Along drive here but saw some nice things on the way.
There was a brief stop in Broome for some drinking and partying with a friend. The open air cinema was a treat, the oldest operating cinema of its kind. It had a nice old feel to it with deckchairs and watching the movie under the stars.
Our next stop on the way was Geki Gorge where we took a boat tour on a river carved from an ancient reef of the Devonian era. Saw load of crocs swimming and lying about also, only the small freshwater ones, no huge salties though.
Been trying to find seasonal farm work here in Kununurra but its not so easy. The majority of jobs are picking pumpkins, eggplants and rockmelons. We found a job picking eggplants but couldn’t last more than two days as its hell on the back. Hoping now to find some work in a sandalwood plantation or in a packing factory.

Exmouth for the Sea

I have just spent all morning surfing in excellent waves! I’m getting better at this surfing lark. The weather is nice an warm but not too warm, not many flies and mozzies about here either. The water is a bit nippy without a wetsuit but I don’t mind that I’m getting plenty of use out of it.
On the way here we stopped in Shark bay and caught some squid, (tasty fresh calamari) and saw the dolphins in Monkey Mia.
Since Lancelin the van has been overheating when we drive over 90kph so got it checked out in Carnarvon to find out the radiator was buggered and had to get a new one. Carnarvaon is not the nicest place to hang around so we were very glad to get out of there after 5 days and spent $680 on the van.
We spent a night at the blowholes which was very busy as the aussie version Christmas holidays has just finished now. The next day we drove up a very sandy rough road to Gnarraloo and had a nice surf and great snorkel there.
Coral bay next and I was lucky enough to have enough wind for a windsurf. It was great as its really shallow for about 2 km to the reef and I could see loads through the lovely clear water.
These pics are from the first day in Cape Range national park when it was crazy windy.
I got to use my 4.2 North Ice for the first time here and I was really overpowered on it. It’s a really nice sail and was great when the wind dropped a bit later. I spent some time practising different gybes and interesting ways of falling in.
There is great snorkelling around here and some interesting walks that were too hot to do last time I was here.
I’m going to have lunch and then see if I can spear a fish for dinner. Should be good surf tomorrow. Take it easy.

Warm again!

We are in Geraldton now and it’s a lovely sunny warm day and the swell looks like its picking up. I’ve just got a haircut and feelin good. Yesterday I shot a fish and cooked a big fish curry for dinner, it was only spoiled slightly by someone taking my snorkel and fin bag and my fillet knife from the beach while I was out.

Lancelin was great with good surf and a bit of windsurfing also. Some more friends came up for a day also and
we all got in the water, good times. The girls rented a surfboard and enjoyed themselves, we had 3 days of good surf till we moved on.
I’ve been getting used to my surfboard now but on the last day I left it for sale in the surfshop and bought another. It’s the same length 7ft but wider in the tail and thinner with more rocker in the nose. The main thing is that it has removable fins so it fits under the bed with my windsurf kit. I had a surf on it and it’s a nice board.

The water is not warm here in the winter so I bought a wetsuit in Perth. It’s a West 3x2, a good suit and from Western Australia. I’ve used it quite a bit in the last week and it was definitely worth it.

We tried some sandboarding also with the hope it would be similar to snowboarding. I wasn’t too impressed by it as it was hard to go fast and only then in a straight line. No carving turns down the sand dunes!

We are gonna stay a few days here as Tarvi, an Estonian guy travelling with us has a lobster poisoning from his time working on a crayfish boat and has to stay in hospital for a short time until they fix him.

Travelling again! Hurray!

Im back on the road again with Herbert and he is looking good. I have changed the Feng Shui interior design with the bed at the back and cooking at the front. The big advantage is that the windsurfing board is now under the bed giving much needed headroom!
The work in Frankland River on the olive farm was alright, mainly consisting of driving a machine that shakes the trees for the olives to come off and beating the ones that don’t come off so easily with a big stick. The machine constantly broke down so plenty of time was spent fixing it. As its winter here now the mornings and nights were pretty cold, down to -3 one night. I was working 11 hour days 7 days a week most of the time and it was tough. We had to take 2 days off after 14 days in a row and I escaped to Albany to stay at some nice beaches and see the sea.

Albany is a nice town, not too big and quite a chilled out atmosphere. I imagine it’s a lot busier during the summer. I also visited a really nice little town called Denmark, quite an arty little place.

I have been working with Estonians on the olive farm, learning a few words and now have an Estonian travelling companion which means I need the more space that comes with the new layout of the van.

On the way back to Perth we called in to Will my mate form Yorkshire at the dairy farm he is working at, where he cooked spearfishing.us a dinner and I gave him a hand moving the bull. He has a nice place there with mandarin, orange and lemon trees and even a pet kangaroo!

Windsurfing!! On a whim I decided to have a look at Safety Bay and it was windy! It was very good to get on the water again even though it was a bit cold. It was ok at first because the sun was out but the wind dropped and it started to rain so I had to come in. Definitely need a wetsuit in the winter here.

Now I’m heading north again, first stop Lancelin for some surfing and spearfishing....