THE WEEKEND

Grr, I just wrote a really long post and then the computer lost it!!!! So here we go again....

Tom's friend hasn't come back this weekend as he had to go and help at his fathers farm. On Friday night Sarah, Tom and I went to Auntie Kay's (one of the teachers at Sarah's school) birthday barbeque. This was my first outback bbq! It was what you would expect: it was at the stables in town and most of the men were there in their jeans, shirts and cowboy hats! The food was great but the atmosphere was a bit quiet - Sarah and Tom agreed!

Yesterday morning I went out riding again at about 8am and then gave Sarah a lesson. She hasn't ridden for a while so it was mainly just getting her confidence back. She did really well and was doing rising trot by the end. There is also another horse Tex here that has been broken in but was left under the supervision of someone else for awhile and now we can no longer catch him. Chris has asked me to try and work with him, so yesterday was the start. We cornered him in the garden and then I spent about half an hour trying to get him to trust me. By the end I was able to pat him and have the bridle near him with the bit near his mouth. I felt this was a big enough improvement for the first day and it was starting to get too hot so we left it there. This morning I went back out and although we had to corner him it only took me a couple of minutes to get back to where we left of yesterday. After just under an hour, I was managing to put on and take off the bridle a number of times. Chris wanted the bridle left on for awhile and to leave him wandering around the garden. I wasn't happy with this as there are so many things the bridle could get caught on and then it would be even more work to catch him next time. I left it on for 10mins and then went to take it off. I was so surprised as I was able to walk straight up to him and fiddle around with the bridle and he just stood there! As you may have guessed, I'm quite pleased with how well it went! Fingers crossed I wont need to corner him first soon!

In the afternoon yesterday we also went swimming again. It felt so good jumping into the cold pool! I have been giving Sarah swimming lessons and she is getting on really well. She picks things up really easily. Yesterday was teaching breaststroke which she hasn't done before - thanks Yvonne for all your tips, they sure did help!

In the evening we went to watch Sarah's school play. First of all we went to the village park at 6pm and had Santa turn up on the back of a quad bike - no need for sleighs here in this weather! We then had a buffet salad bar before heading over to the village hall to watch 'The Fastest Handbag In The West'. The kids did great. Sarah was Cowboy Sam so I had plaited her hair to hide it under her hat! She looked great in her outfit! They then sang Christmas carols and I thought the most entertaining was "Aussie Jingle Bells". I have asked the teachers for the words so I will post them on here when I get them, they are quite funny. Sarah won the Literacy Award and so she was really pleased with this. The evening finished with us going back to the park for deserts.

I now sleep outside every night but even that is too hot sometimes. I don't think my room has been below about 29 degrees for about 5 days now and it is only that low at 6am! This weekend it has been int he low 40's and apparently it is to keep rising at least until the middle of the week - eek! Think I may be swimming lots! Looking forward to travelling just so that it is slightly cooler!

Still not sure what I am doing about Christmas and New Year yet. Should hopefully find out in about 2 weeks once things here are sorted out about where the kids will be.

Think I have covered everything I lost.

Hope you are all well.
xxx

WHAT A HEAT!!

G'day, what a heat it is here today! Chris is away collecting Tom from Longreach so I haven't had too much to do, just tidying up a bit. So, I thought today would be the day to top up (and sort out) my tan. When I woke up, it was so hot that I realised the only sensible time to sunbathe would be as soon as I dropped Sarah off at school. I got back here at 9 o'clock and quickly put on the suntan lotion and ran out to the beds. Within 2 mins of being on the bed I was all hot and sweaty. I only managed to put up with it for about 45 mins and then came inside for a shower and to make the most of the air conditioning! So much for sorting my tan out. My alarm clock was telling me that it was 40.8 degrees in my bedroom at 1.15pm today. It reached that yesterday but not until mid afternoon. Lets hope it cools down again soon although I doubt there is much chance of that.

Yesterday was good fun. After dropping Sarah off at school I got the horse ready and headed out to meet the rest of the guys mustering. They all started about 8.30am and were on motorbikes. Chris told me just to walk across so that my horse wasn't too tired, it took us an hour and a half to get to where they were and we arrived just as they had finished in that paddock. Thankfully they had a few more to sort out so I managed to see that. However, I just watched and didn't take part as I wasn't entirely sure what they were trying to do and no doubt I would have got it wrong! It was great to see them in action though. We then had the long walk back to the farm and by this time it was midday and so rather hot - especially in jeans and a long sleeved shirt!

When I got back Chris and his neighbour Bill were waiting for me and we went for a beer and lunch in the local pub. It was the first time I have been in the pub. It is just like a typical pub out in the middle of nowhere - nothing special but is has cold beer, just what we needed after being in the heat. Unfortunately Bill's dog got caught up in the scrub yesterday and didn't survive so it wasn't the best of musters for him.

I was really looking forward to a swim to cool down yesterday but Sarah didn't have a great sleep the night before and wasn't feeling to well so we ended up coming straight home after school. Even sleeping outside was really warm last night.

Tom has a friend coming home with him this weekend so I'm not entirely sure what the plans are, other than the fact that Sarah has her School Christmas concert tomorrow night. There is a barbecue then Christmas carols and then a play. I really don't feel like it should be time to think about Christmas - it's too hot and sunny for that time of year! Tomorrow will be good practice for getting into the habit of BBQ and Christmas carols!

Hope everyone is well back home. Miss you all.
xxx

JILLAROO WORK HAS STARTED!!

Hey everyone,

Spent my first day doing some farm work today. Got to put my fencing skills into practice! Didn't expect to be out doing that all day and so ended up with an amazing tan, although I went swimming after that and also got a tan then so I now have quite a few tan lines on my back! Not to worry, plenty of time to sort that out!

I also saw an Emu for the first time today - it was huge! It was just stranding in the middle of one of the paddocks. Tomorrow I am going to be joining a few people to muster some of the cattle so that should be fun - I'm going to be a jillaroo!!

Going to sleep outside again tonight, although no doubt I will get woken up by the horses as they are locked in the garden so they are here for me to ride tomorrow. Think I forgot to mention in my last blog that I rode one of the horses the other day. It was lovely and very well behaved. There are another 2 that I can work on while I am here so that is exciting.

Murray also mentioned I never really said what we did in Longreach at the weekend. We arrived on Fri night about 6.30pm and had tea at the motel then watched a film. On Sat we did our food shop and also looked around some of the shops. There was a lovely coffee shop where tom ordered a waffle and they came out with a waffle the size of a main course plate and covered in fruit and ice-cream! In the afternoon we had a look around the shop at the Hall of Fame to get the kids Christmas presents and then went for a swim. In the evening we went out for tea again and then had an early start on Sunday to come back to Jundah. I did most of the two and a half hour drive and wont find the Huntly - Edinburgh drive boring again, there is so much to look at on that journey! ;)

Hope you are not all too cold back there in Scotland!
xxx

FIRST 10 DAYS IN THE OUTBACK

Hey everyone, I have survived my first 10 days in the outback. I am getting on great and thankfully the weather was nice to me and cooled down a bit last week! One day it was high 20's and I was in trousers and a jumper all day! This weekend it started to heat up again and we are in the mid 30's again which is pleasant but it is supposed to reach the mid 40's next week - not looking forward to that so much.

I have been swimming everyday after school with Sarah and have been giving her swimming lessons. She has been improving at a great speed. Thankfully we have not been back to the waterhole yet.

At the weekend we went to Longreach to see Tom (he is at Agri College there) and we also did our big food shop! I drove most of the way there and all the way back. It is 223km from the farm to Longreach and we don't pass through one village. All you see is sand, some trees and kangaroos. The drive from Huntly to Edinburgh will no longer be so boring! hehe.

Since I arrived here, Sarah and Chris have slept outside every night. I have been too scared in case I got bitten by something, my bed with the mosquito net seemed safer. However, last night was so hot that I gave in and slept outside too. The starts were amazing and apparently it was a dull night for the stars. I saw loads of shooting stars just in the 10mins before I fell asleep. Thankfully I had applied enough insect repellent that I didn't even get one bite!

Away to pick up Sarah from school in about 15mins and then going for a swim which I am looking forward to.

Thanks to everyone who has been keeping me up-dated on the things from home. I'll try and post some of this heat over to you as long as you try and send me some of your rain - I haven't seen rain since I left the training station!

Missing you all. Take care.
xxxx

Hi all,

John I meant to write in my last post that I found one of 'Australia's Big Things', a pineapple in Gympie. Here is the proof for you:

Well, I have done my first few school runs. Yesterday Sarah took me to the water hole for a swim which I was looking forward to so I could cool down, but when I got there is was horrible muddy water and you sank into mud up to your knees, so I didn't get very far! Thankfully today when we went swimming, we went to the outdoor pool in Jundah. So much nicer!

Tonight Sarah is at a sleep over at the school, so I'm getting a chance to up-date this! Mainly been tidying up the house and helping Chris with some filing today. As Sarah is away tonight I might go for a run tomorrow before it gets too hot. It gets light so early in the morning that I'm awake from about 6am anyway.

Missing you all lots, wishing I had the cold weather you are all having. I spend most of the day trying to stay inside at the moment!

Hopefully speak soon
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

IN THE OUTBACK!

Hi, I've arrived in the outback at my new home until Christmas. The bus journey wasn't too bad although I now see what people mean about the straight roads for miles and miles and miles! Saw lots of kangaroos as well but unfortunately the majority of them were lying at the side of the road. My bus got into Longreach at 10.15am yesterday morning and it was 39 degrees! Chris wasn't coming into town with the family until 5pm and had checked me into a motel so I had the day to look round Longreach. This gave me the opportunity to visit the Australian Stockmans Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre. This was good very interesting but after 3hours I was feeling rather tired and headed back for a rest.

Chris arrived at 5.30pm with his 12 year old daughter and his 17yr old son. They are a lovely family and we went out for a meal then stayed at the motel over night. It was breakfast at 5am this morning so that we would be back in time for Sarah to get to school. Their farm in just outside Jundah which is about 215km from Longreach. Thankfully my tasks are indoors mainly as I am going to struggle with this heat! I'm in charge of getting Sarah ready for school and taking her there and back. After school we will go swimming most evenings and during the day I've just to tidy up the house. They don't have any outdoor work at the moment because of the heat. It wasn't the job I was intending to get but the family are lovely and it is going to give me a taste of the outback.

I have been invited to spend Christmas and New Year in Newcastle with the family I did the training with last weekend. I think Mark and I are going to go there and then head to Sydney for New Year. I then plan to travel for a few months and hopefully pick up a job after that when the mustering starts back up again - that could easily change though if Murray comes out to join me!

Anyway I better not spend too long on here. My mobile phone doesn't work out here so no point in sending me messages.

Speak soon.
xxxx

Friday at the Training Station

Hey everyone,

Last day at the training station today. It was great fun, we were mustering on horse back and then once we got the cattle into the pens we then separated out 8 calves and has to ear tag, vaccinate, castrate and brand them. It was interesting but the first viewing was a bit difficult! Really enjoyed the mustering part though.

Tonight we have had a barbecue and a few beers. Tomorrow we leave here at 9.30am to get the 11.05am bus from Gimpie to Brisbane, getting in about 2.30pm. I then have to get the 5pm bus to Longreach which doesn't get in until 10.35am on Sunday morning - lovely trip that is going to be. I don't think I will be getting mobile reception on the cattle station so would be best to email me rather than text. I know I will be getting internet access. Hopefully over the next week or so I will get a bit more time to sort out photos and get some more online!

Have had a great week here at the training station. Feel like a Jillaroo now! Looking forward to my next job. Will try and keep you posted on how it goes.

Take care
xxx

WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY TRAINING

G'day, sorry I couldn't get on the internet last night due to the storm! Yup, yet another one! As you can see I have added some photos into the earlier posts.

Well yesterday morning it was too wet to ride the horses so we had our fencing lesson. It was rather good fun actually and I can now fix fences so that is a bonus!

After lunch, we thankfully managed to get a shot on the horses but this was cut short by about 2 hours due to the storm arriving early. Riding was fun but very strange. Legs straight down and forward, loose reins and funny extra things on the saddle that get in the way lol. The way the horses are treated here is very different to back home. Here they are treated as work animals and not pets so when grooming you only groom where the saddle goes, pick out their feet and check their mouth! We were riding with thunder and lightening all round us though but stopped when it started to rain. Unfortunately no photos were taken yesterday.

Last night I had a bit of a job stress as during the summer here they lay their horses off and don't use them for mustering so finding jobs looked difficult.

Todays main lesson was tractor work. In the morning we practiced driving the tractor and in the afternoon we spread fertiliser. When we weren't on the tractor we were gaining confidence on the quads and motorbikes. Managed to reach 41km/hr today on the motorbike so slowly improving!

Got a photo of me in my work clothes:

Very fetching I thought!

Tonight I got a job sorted. Not exactly what I wanted but the family sounds lovely. The main task is to take the 12yr old girl to school and home again and then swimming. However during the day I should also get to do some farm work. The family sound lovely and it is not too far from here (well in Oz terms anyway) and so it will be good up until Christmas at least. It is about 100-150km southwest of Longreach.
Last day on the training ranch tomorrow. Hopefully mustering horses.

Keep me up-to-date with all your news please.
xxx

TUESDAY TRAINING

Hey everyone, what an amazing day today (even though it started with breakfast at 6am!). Firstly I got over my fear of motorbikes and managed to ride around and not crash! :) Managed to reach 20km/hour! OK, I know that's not very fast but it was fast enough for me going over loads of bumps and stones! Scott, your tips are great and I will keep them in mind if I have to use a bike when out on the ranch.



Then after loosing my $4 bet on the Melbourne Cup, I cut down my first tree with a chainsaw!! We didn't get to ride the horses today as a storm was forecast for this afternoon and they thought it would be better to work with the chainsaws because we could practise cutting up wood inside if necessary. The storm did arrive but not until we were on our way back to the house at about 5.30pm There were some amazing forks of lightening, I'm glad it has stopped now though as I think it could have been quite scary sleeping in a caravan during a thunder storm.

To complete the day today, I saw wild kangaroos for the first time! There were three of them bouncing through the ranch on our way back from cutting down trees! I now feel as though I am in Australia.

Will hopefully get some photos up later in the week when I am not so tired. 6am start again tomorrow so off to bed now.

Miss you all. xxx

LAST DAY AT RAINBOW BEACH AND FIRST DAY AT TRAINING FARM

Hi everyone,

Well thankfully the thunder storms cleared on Sat night and we managed to spend Sunday on the beach sunbathing and swimming in the sea. I even managed to go for a very short jog along the beach at 8am! In the evening we went to the sand blow at the top of the coloured sands cliffs at about 6pm and saw some amazing views. As we arrived onto this huge area of sand, to our right we saw the sun set and to the left we saw the moon rise over the sea! Unfortunately the cameras did not pick up on the colours very well for all the photos but on the way back to the resort I got a really good one of the moon reflecting on the sea.

Sun set:

Rainbow beach at night:

Moon on walk back to resort:


Today we came to the training ranch and after buying my boots, cowgirl style hat and shirt, and jeans, we headed to the ranch to practice on the quad bikes. We are staying at Mathews house which is about a 15-20 min drive from the actual ranch. Phone reception isn't great to apologies for lack of texts!

Tomorrow morning we are to be having breakfast at 6am and to arrive at the ranch about 7.30am We will then feed the 9 horses before getting lessons on the motorbikes! Not so sure about this part of the course tho as I hate motorbikes! Quads I can cope with but not so sure about the 2 wheel bikes. In the afternoon we are being tested on our riding skills so fingers crossed that should be fine. We just have to show that we can trot and know our correct diagonals!

Later on in the week we are going to spend a day mustering the cattle and then we will be branding the calves. We also get taught about fencing, how to use a chainsaw, tractor work and a load more. All sounds great fun.

Fingers crossed I can keep you up-dated every night but I'm not sure how often I will get the chance to come online.

Take care. xxx

RAINBOW BEACH

Hey everyone,

I'm writing this in a thunder and lightening storm so I apologise for any mistakes and random typos as you should all know how much I hate these types of storms!! Lets hope the power stays on long enough to type this!

Well today has been amazing fun, I've seen the largest vegetated sand dunes in the world (which also consist of different coloured sands!), dolphins, turtles, a shipwreck from the worst storm on record in 1973, Honeymoon beach, a rainforest on a sand dune and the heaviest rain ever!! All of the above was experienced on surf and sand safari's tour of 'Cooloola National Park and Coloured Sands". The vehicle we took was rather strange, it was a 4x4 vehicle which when in water, acts as a boat! see the photo below:

How cool does that look!!
Here is a photo of part of the sand dunes on Rainbow Beach, look at the number of different colours of sand! apparently it is to do with the different minerals in the water. At the bottom of the sand dunes there are springs with fresh drinking water that runs into the sea. We tasted the water but I still believe good old Scottish water is best!
When on the Larc (the yellow vehicle above) there was a boom net which we could go on. Below is a photo of Mark, me and Jo on the net, it was great fun. Mark and Jo are also on the training programme with me so you will no doubt hear them mentioned numerous times later in the week!
We then headed up to Double Island Point which is the 2nd most eastern point in Oz. below is a photo of part of the amazing 360 degrees view.

The beach on the right is the beach we drove along to see the shipwreck and this is the point from where we saw the dolphins and the turtles swimming below. There was also a lighthouse up here but not enough time to upload the photo I'm afraid!

We then headed along the top of the sand dunes - nothing like those at hone, the photo below shows the view we got from the bus......trees, trees and more trees! There was also a rainforest part that we went through to, and yup, it was on the sand dunes too!

Then the rain started at 3.30pm and it has rained since including thunder storms.

Been a great day though. Hope you enjoy the photos!

Love,

L

xxxx

ARRIVED SAFELY!

G'day!!

I arrived in Brisbane on Thursday morning, although there was a bit of a panic when I reached Edinburgh Airport! Murray and I arrived at the airport at 5.15pm, as planned, for me to catch the 7.15pm flight. As we looked at the board we found out that the plane was delayed by 40mins, leaving only 40mins to change terminals etc in London. We quickly popped to the ticket desk to be informed I had been moved to the 6pm flight which gave me 5 mins to check-in and quickly up through security. Therefore, the coffee Murray and I planned to go for was changed for a very quick goodbye. After that the flights went smoothly and ran to time which was good. However, it was the final leg from Singapore to Brisbane where it actually hit me as to what I am doing and how long I plan to be here!!

I arrived at Brisbane and was met by one the guys from the 'Outback Packers', the company I am doing this course with. He took us to the hostel to dump our stuff and then we headed into Brisbane centre to sort out bank a/c's, medical cards, visa, phone cards etc. After that me and 3 of the others on the course went for a walk round Brisbane and visited the Lagoons and the Botanic Gardens. We then headed back to the hostel for showers as it was too hot to be outside. Everyone else fell asleep so I headed downstairs and bumped into 2 other girls and went back into town with them to buy my first pair of thongs (the Australian term for flip flops!). We got back to the hostel at about 5.30pm and I planned to go for a quick nap before tea, however this turned into me going to bed for the night and woke up again at 5am - oh the joys of jet lag!

Today we got the Greyhound bus to Rainbow Beach and arrived here at 3.30pm. We headed down to the beach for a walk and it was amazing - lovely golden sand and clear blue waters! Thankfully it has been a bit cooler today although storms have been forecast for tonight. As long as they happen during the night I will be happy.

Tomorrow I am off on a surf and sand safari along rainbow beach which sound great fun. Will inform more about it when I next up date this.

Hope you are all well, missing you all. Keep in touch.
xxx

Hi everyone,

Well since my last post I have finished my tour of scotland. The final part of my Scotland tour started in Tranent where Murray and I headed towards Livingstone for a cross-country race where he did really well coming in 3rd. After the race, a load of us from Hunters Bog Trotters (my NEW running club!) headed up the road to Fort William for the Great Glen Relay. However, in the middle of the relay smoke started coming out of my car wheel so I missed the most exciting bits of the race while the nice man from the AA fixed my car. After my car was fixed and the race completed (Murrays team beating the record but still only in 3rd place) we popped in past Uncle Kenneth and Auntie Moiras in Inverness for tea. Then we headed back to Huntly to see the rest of the family.
The following week was rather busy and involved taking Laura to A&E to get her leg in plaster, a morning with Granny, a day with Talis, a day at the beach with Mum, lunch out with Grandma and an afternoon catching up with Yvonne and Shona and between all this the stress of trying to pack things into a rucksack that eventually I had to swap for a bigger one. Thankfully everything seems to fit in it!
On Friday I left Huntly for the last time for a while, and after lunch with Anne in Aberdeen I headed down to Dundee for a night on the town with Debbie. Cocktails in the union were tasty! After this I came down to Edinburgh for a last chance to meet people with a night out in The Human Be-in. More tasty cocktails! It was great to see so many people there before I left.
I managed to drag myself out of bed on Sunday and Murray and I went on an adventure to the beach and found an old ship wreck and enjoyed a picnic. In the evening I went out to Colinton to see Aunty Kay, Uncle David and Anna, Cara and Kirsten. Since then it's just been pack pack pack with lists of things to buy and remember to do, although I sneaked off for a cheeky meal with Murray last night at Kublai Khan's Mongolian BBQ in Leith. Now I'm ready to go I think, and typing this is the last thing I'm going to do before getting my bag on my back and hiking up to the bus stop, to wait for the no 15 bus to take me on my adventure. If all goes to plan, the next time you hear from me I'll be relaxing and recovering from jet lag at Rainbow Beach Backpackers in Oz!