It was just two weeks ago that I went camping with Beki and the Deans.
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| The Roper River |
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| The Deans on the Mistress |
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| Driving up to the station |
I am so lucky to have met Beki, her friend Zoe and her family, when I was here a few years ago. To really see this part of the world you do need a few friends to show you around. Heck.. to make it in the world at all you need friends.
On my own I could check out the springs and lots of the tourist places. But.. it is nice to go a bit deeper.
So we did the camping trip out to Elsey Station and I had the opportunity to get out on the river a couple of weekends ago. Then, this past weekend, I got to see the cattle station: the place they call home.
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| The living area from the yard... |
These places are huge. Clayton and Zoe manage over 400 miles of Australian landscape.
Ray Downey had asked me about the gardens here.. what they grew.. when. It seems that gardening in the Top End follows a similar schedule to B.C. - also because of extreme weather. Extreme just relates to heat and rain, rather than cold and snow.
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| The garden |
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| Pumkins, cucumbers, watermelon.. |
In the N.T. they start planting in the fall.. (our spring). So things are really starting to grow now.. The watermelons at the watermelon farms around here are just starting to be harvested, which will continue until October/November I expect. The mangoes at the farm will start being harvested in maybe September.. and that will also continue for a couple of months. But here at the station, it is Zoe's husband that seems to be in charge of the garden. He has a few different sorts of melons including Rock Melon and watermelons. He has a few different sorts of squash and there is corn and tomatoes as well as a herb garden.
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| Yum! |
The way the living area is set out is brilliant.
I have seen this at many of the places where they have the space and privacy.. out door living in the true sense of the word. This way of living is just so practical here.. Some make container homes, while this couple have moved a 'camp' of some sort in.. a whole whack of those ATCO trailers.. two rows for sleeping (each of the four children has their own bedroom).. the parents have renovated one to make a large sleeping area for themselves. There is a kitchen trailer.. a living trailer with a television and such.. a school trailer (as the kids do school-of-the-air), a toilet room and wash area. But in the centre of all these container-like living modules is where the living really happens. There is an outdoor kitchen, barbecues, little fire cook stove, smoker, a huge table made from the slab of a big tree.. fridges, television and stereo.. swimming pool.. Everything is under a big tin roof so while it feels like you are outside, you are protected from the elements.. there are fans to keep it cool and bug free..
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| The boys playing in the 'pool' |
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| The main living area.. pool on the left.. a smoker, barbecue, table, TV, fridge.. everything you need! |
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| Beki getting Maggie ready to go for a drive |
There are horses, dogs, a cat.. a pig, a few chickens.. They do have neighbors of sorts.. the fellows that help out on the station live in similar quarters.
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| The whole place is run by solar panels.. and a great bank of batteries |
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| Cam and Mako having a meeting of their own |
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| Dinner |
But it is the back yard that is the most amazing. They have dug out a number of waterholes, and this time of the year, these are surrounded by swamp.. which attracts birds of all sorts.. and more wallabies than you can imagine.. which come out in the evening and early morning..
The lilies are everywhere..
The property is all fenced, and one side of it is marked by the Ghan.. that train that runs from the very bottom to the top of the country. You can drive along the service road from the Station all the way to Katherine, and are very likely to see the long passenger train roll by.
This is a cattle station.. and it is hard work that makes them a living. They had very few cows when I was there.. had sold of a big mob and were expecting the helicopters to round up the cows today.. it is breeding time. They will get them pregnant at about the same time and so have them ready for market about the same time. Hard work.. but what a lovely life. And what beautiful country!
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