In Oz: February 2012

Work had been slowing down for our company and I was getting a bit frustrated with the communication. Hearing that I had no work for the week at 5:30 am on a Monday morning isn't the best way to start a week...and Adam (who had been staying with us) left for New Zealand. So there wasn't much happening for me. I have been pondering with the idea of getting a 2nd year visa so we can stay a bit longer to see some of the things we haven't seen yet. Working for 3 months in a rural post code doing agricultural work can qualify a person for a 2nd working holiday visa. I figured I would put up an ad on gumtree and take it from there. I had a lot of responses the first day; one from a woman who has a large historical horse trekking operation (Reynella) in the Snowy Mountains. They have 7,000 sheep, 60 horses, and 1,000's of farming acres. They were looking for someone to help out around the homestead with the guests, guide rides, and farm. She wanted a several month commitment, and after hemming and hawing, she invited me down for the weekend to check it out.

Cooma, the nearest town, is about 5.5-6 hours away from Sydney. I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and got right into it. Roslyn, (owner and operator with her husband John for 40 years) has had the property in her family for several generations. Ros showed me to my room in one of the many accommodation buildings. It was set up a bit like a dormitory - communal toilets and shower, pool tables, and bunk beds in the rooms. I was the only one in my room so I didn't have to fight for the top bunk.

It was a bit awkward not knowing anybody and not really knowing what to do. Ros took me in the troopie to show me around the place. We went to the horse pasture where they had a bus load of Chinese high schoolers learning to ride. These kids had never seen a horse, but I think they were enjoying it. By the end of their lesson, all of them got on a horse in the pen. Ros then took me to another nearby town to get a part for the troopie and then we returned home for dinner. I got put to work in the kitchen doing dishes, clearing tables, and the random bits that needed doing. They have 2 full time staff doing housekeeping, a full time cook, and a head wrangler (he's not called a wrangler, but leads all the horse treks). After dinner we had a cuppa and chatted with the two high school teachers - one of which has been coming to Reynella for 30 years! He shared stories about previous visits to Reynella and catching rabbits at night with his hands and decapitating them...interesting, but hmmm.

Reynella tack/shearing shed

View from "The Homestead" at Reynella

Living quarters

Random Reynella

Tom's nice ute

Didn't have to fight for the top bunk!

Anyway, the following morning started about 7:30. We went to work in the kitchen making sure the guests would enjoy a very nice brekky prepared by Tom. I was then sent to the horse pasture to bring in the herd and saddle the horses for the kids. They school boys were going to put their first lesson to practice by taking a ride through the hills. The horses were gathered by troopie (4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser) lol. Then, we bridled and saddled a heap of them for the ride. They don't use halters or lead ropes - nope, just chuck a bridle on them and leave the reins to dangle in the mud and get stepped on. The horses are only brushed if they are really dirty. A 3/4 inch piece of foam stuffed in a pillow case serves as a saddle pad...really? The saddles are very simple. Most have a single girth, no horn, and the stirrups are not covered by fenders. All the riders were wearing 'chaps' consisting of knee-high leather and velcro that looked like gators. John (owner) lead the ride out of the pen and I went off to help Chunga (slang for vomit) do a bit of farming. I gave him a hand loading wheat and fertilizer and then shuffling equipment around. We then took the truck with seed and fertilizer to the son's farm about 2 hours south. The fertilizer and seed was not covered and halfway through our journey, rain started pissing down. This turned out to be a bloody disaster the next day, when the fertilizer turned to rock inside the hopper - glad I wasn't responsible because it was not a pleasant subject! That night a new set of guests arrived for a 3 day trek through the Snowies and I continued to earn my keep in the kitchen.

The following morning Chun and I caught and hauled horses to the trail head in the Kosciusko National Park. We took 2 loads in the sweet truck. A semi type truck (no trailer) with a stock box that sits about 5 feet off the ground! We loaded and unloaded the horses by backing up to a loading dock type ramp. I stayed with the second load and helped saddle the horses for the rest of the group. I had no idea where we were going or how long we would be out, but I was looked at by the guests as an experienced employee. We rode for about 4 hours and covered 15 km or so and pulled up for a break. We unburdened the pack horse, Pete, and laid out all the fixins for lunch. Sandwiches and wraps, with a pineapple, cake, and veggies. The guests were all told to go to the creek with their camp cups if they were thirsty - I was surprised how well they took to slugging down the creek water. I filled 2 old coffee cans (converted to billies) for heating water on the fire. One of the billies was used for tea and the other for coffee and cocoa. We ate, packed everything up and continued on the trail for a few more hours. About 20 minutes before we reached camp, we ran into a small mob of brombies. There was a big white mare in the lead followed by a young foal, an older foal, and a stallion. It was really neat to see and we were within a couple hundred yards of the mob. Brandon, the leader, has caught many a brum throughout his days, broke them in, and has sold some. The brums make a good hardy horse, tough as nails, but if you are caught with one, it is a serious fine. They don't need to be shod and are always in good shape.

So we arrived at camp where Tom (the cook) had hauled up the trailer with food, tents, blankets, and all the hardships of a luxury campground. The guests were pretty knackered, and with our help, set up tents in the pasture. We sat around the campfire, swapped stories, and had a great time getting to know one another.

The next morning we fed the horses their lupin and oats as the guests were starting to stir. Tom had brekky going on the camp fire - heaps of sausage, bacon, and some really good scrambled eggs. Coffee and tea were served billy style. We caught and saddled all the horses with some help from the guests and headed out on the trail. We rode through some amazing country...the snowgums are complemented by thick lush grasses and forbs. There are abundant small creeks that carry cool clear mountain water. This is ideal grazing land, but the government pulled all the fences and all grazing permits in 1969. Now all that utilizes the land is the occasional wallabie and several thousand wild horses. We ran into a couple more mobs of brums before lunch, but failed to get close enough for a picture.

We made our way back to camp in the early evening and most of the guests went into Cooma because Brandon was riding in the rodeo. Gemma and I stayed at camp with the horses and a few guests that just wanted to relax. Brandon does multiple events, but that Saturday night he was riding saddle broncs the Aussie way: a rider must crack his stock whip 2 times during his 8 seconds to get a score!

Those of us that stayed at camp turned in early and were fast asleep by the time the others returned from town. I found out in the morning that Brandon had been thrown and dislocated his shoulder! He went to the hospital instead of returning to camp. Gemma, Jez (Brandon's friend visiting for the weekend), and I took over and handled the trek. We rode until about 2pm back toward our starting point and had lunch overlooking some really nice trout waters. We then crossed the river that was high enough to get our boots wet and met Chun with the truck. One load of horses went home that night and the others were picked up in the morning. I helped with dunner that night and brekky the next day, then headed back to Sydney.

It was a wonderful trip and a much needed break from Sydney. The whole group was fantastic and I met some really neat people - a great authentic Australian experience!