For perhaps the first time since leaving the UK, I was awoken by my alarm this morning which I set for half 5 so I had time to freshen up and get ready for the Kroombit cattle ranch. I definitely slept well but I could have certainly done with a few more hours asleep after not getting to bed until 1 the night before. I didn't really have much to pack this morning and just simply changed into some long sleeved clothes as suggested by the cattle ranch. It was nice as well because when I booked the hostel they said they would give me a lift back to the bus station which they kept telling me was a 2.5km walk.
After taking advantage of the free hostel WiFi and transferring to the bus station, I made the a swift transfer between minibus and coach which was going to Toowoomba. As we left Rockhampton, seeing the big cattle statue when leaving for which what the town is famed for, we headed out into more arid areas which I guess was more like the outback. There were many dried up rivers and towns with aboriginal names, although my favourite was the village of Banana!
By half 8 we arrived at Biloela to be greeted by a cowboy to give us a lift to Kroombit which was a further 35km from the bus. I also met the other members of my group, two girls from near Manchester. En route we stopped at the dump which was funny because to me everything was just junk, but to our guide he was seeing all this stuff he wanted for back home. He ended up buying a pile of random stuff including a helmet and mats. We continued along the road which become a gravel track going at speeds in excess of 100km/h. He even showed us the remains of this pipeline that has been laid to pump gas to the coast as part of a mega money deal with China.
Upon arrival I had an unexpected breakfast awaiting which was good as I missed it this morning. It was toast and beans, although they called it Kroombit caviar! It was cooked by the heat of open fires. There was nothing planned for the morning so after settling in my dorm I went for a swim in their chlorinated pool to cool off as I was really hot wearing trousers. The whole camp was very well set up with lots of little features including quotes, a bar made from a lorry, and tables made from large trees to name a few things.
By 12 it was time for lunch, and in one word, "wow". I was given this massive steak along with potato skins and vegetable patties all cooked on the metal bbq, with pasta, beetroot, salad and bread on the side. It was an all you can eat meal and I was stuffed by the end! Everything was homemade by the backpackers who were working there. We were basically called the "guests" and were looked after really well, mainly because we were completely outnumbered seeing there was just 3 of us! The people working here are working on a food and accomodation basis, so are not earning anything, but are gaining their 2nd year visa through doing the farm work.
After lunch it was off for a horse ride, guided by our cowboy and a couple of backpackers who in effect run the camp, especially when they have school trips. I was given a horse called Bob, and after a quick briefing on how to ride a horse we were off. It is actually quite simple as you just turn the head to turn, and pull back to stop, all done with a rope. My horse just followed the other more experienced riders anyway. After heading over rocky terrain going up and down, all on my dry land with dead trees, we were told to herd the 300 or so goats. Between the 6 of us out here we successfully got them all into this pen, and I was just riding separately as I had really got the hang of riding by now! We just had to almost surround the goats to keep them as a pack.
After leaving the goats, we headed back to the stables with the horses, and I was pretty glad I wore trousers as I was really dusty! After a quick break, we were then straight into the car to go back to the goats we herded for a rodeo. We had to practice lassoing round a pole first, and although quickly getting how to fold the rope I wasn't very good at the whole wrist action. Before starting the rodeo, we had a quick clay pigeon shooting session, which I wasn't too great at. I kept losing the disks and shooting wide.
It was then into the goat pen where we were timed into how long it took us to lasso a goat, put our legs round it and have our hands in the air. If we took over a minute we could do it by hand. Despite not being able to lasso one, I found one which which wasn't running away like the others and I had soon mounted the goat, although I wasn't the fastest person. Whilst up here it was funny seeing another item salvaged from the dump, an ironing board he had welded into a table!
When returning to camp we got ready to go up to the appropriately named sunset hill to watch the sunset. A short drive up the hill which was a very rocky ride, we clambered up these rocks to see the sun set into the horizon of the extensive outback. I also got my photo of me on a rock looking outwards which I've seen many backpackers get before. It was a fitting end to the day watching the sunset, beer in hand, whilst having a good chat with the other two.
After returning to camp again we had this meat covered in sauce with bread and we had to guess the meat. It turned out to be goat meat which was really nice. That was just pre dinner, and we were soon onto starter which was vegetable soup, again all cooked in big pans on an open fire like everything else. By dinner I was half full, and we were presented with plentiful supplies of corned beef, pumpkin mash, vegetables and potatoes. Everything on our plate like every other meal had been locally produced at Kroombit!
This evening we were taught how to crack the whip, which I got the hang of after mastering the hand movement. The whips were a fair size! Our guide then told us some stories including past bush fires, and also about this plane which crashed in 1945, and was only discovered in 1994 just 300m from a road. He was making the point that the surrounding outback land has still been largely unexplored due to the sheer size!
To finish the evening we were taught some aboriginal bush dances which were very energetic line dancing kind of songs. Before long we were dancing to the likes of 5, 6, 7, 8 and the cha cha slide. It was good because the speakers were attached to the toilets too, which was good for me as I had my first case of diarrhea since leaving home. After the dancing died out it was onto the bull ride where you had to stay on the moving bull one handed. I was awful at it, but the fact it was on a bouncy castle made it more comfortable. This did my back in so I lay in their dentist chair, which was again from the dump, and by about 10 headed to bed as I was exhausted after a such a long day.
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