Jan and the Dune Buggy!!

Look out, Jans on a mission! Coral Bay 65 kms from Bullara station. Tiny little sea side town, that is packed to the rafters during the tourist season (dry season). Two caravan parks, hotel, backpackers & few shops, & very touristy with all the cruises, snorkelling, swimming with whale sharks etc
Glorious beaches, crystal clear water & NINGALOO REEF just off the shore of the bay.

Snapshot 4 of Bullara

 

Jeff delivering the hay to cattle in homestead yards.

 

Droughtmaster cattle

 

Kat German WWOOFER

 

Bob at end of hard days work !!! Down & dirty !!!

Snapshot 3 of Bullara

 

Sheep on the move

 

Bob way out in paddocks waiting for cattle to arrive!!!!

 

Tim (owner) mustering cattle

 

Edwina (bosses wife) Richard (station hand) & Jacinta (school teacher & girl Friday!!)

Snapshot 5 of Bullara

 

Jan, Tildy & the gorgeous cute Mimi (not quite 1 year old)

 

Bob & the mobile generator, way out in the paddocks at submersible pump

 

Orielly French WWOOFER (Willing worker on organic farms)

 

Orielly, Olivia & Lucy watching the action at homestead cattle yard after muster

Cape Range, WA

Check out the view!

A quick side trip into Cape Range National park on the way into Exmouth. This was view from the top overlooking Exmouth gulf.


Welcome to Exmouth

Snapshot 6 of Bullara

 

Kat, Lucy, friend, Olivia, Tim rounding up baby lambs for inocculations

 

Lucy sitting amongst hay stacks

 

Olivia & friend

 

Girls playing with the lambs

The Cattle Muster Adventure - Part Two

After some scant directions on how to get out to the water tank, we waited and waited and finally, slowly the cattle were coming into the water.

Could hear the motorbikes and 'copter rounding up the cattle and after several hours had quite a herd to be mustered back to the yards in a paddock...

Tim the boss decided that they had got most of the cattle, then it was time to “Head 'em out, move 'em out”!!!

There were 5 motorbikes and us in bull basher at the rear of the mob. , With the bikes whizzing past and 400 head of cattle, talk about eat my dust!

Bob and I were keeping up the rear, driving through dry stoney creek beds, across virgin land dodging snake wood spikes we made our own tracks and all the while keeping our eyes on the cattle in case they tried to make a run for it!!!. Took about an hour and a half to get them to the yards.

Then the fun started sorting them out, stock from neighbours station, breeding bulls, cows, steers, heifers, weaners, new calves etc. Dust, dust and more dust.

My job was to open and close the gate in the race, so Tim could do the sorting. Next job was ear tagging all the calves & putting rings on all the baby bulls boy bits and doing a head count. I was the TALLY GAL.

It was a long hot, dusty, very noisy day and we forgot to make ourselves lunch, so we were just a touch hungry by time dinner was served at 7.30pm. Luckily we had taken some water.

Does wonder for the figure not eating all day!!!!

This is a very dirty and dusty me at the end of a very long day:

The Cattle Muster Adventure - Part One!

We arrived back at Bullara on Monday 7th September ready to get down & dirty.

They had already done some mustering & cattle was ready for the road train, so that all took a few days to get organised & Bob helped out.

I was still on tourist duties, as we had a few people in shearer’s quarters, but the wind was up & no sooner had I cleaned everything & there was red dust on the dunnies & bathrooms. BUGGER!!!

The helicopter arrived the following Monday & it was action stations from 6.30am. Bob & my job was to take the AV gas out to the paddock where the water tank was.

The bull basher that Bob was driving had NO brakes, NO side windows, NO door locks - just a piece of wire to hold it closed, NO roof - just piece of ply wood to give us some shade. We did have a windscreen, a rusted out floor & great big piece of concrete in back tray to keep the back weighed down!!!!