We had worked with Rural Aid
on a few Farm Rescues during 2018 and were blown away by the experiences we
had.
Farm Rescues aim to send a
team of volunteers onto a farm to help out with whatever the farmers need;
often it’s not farming-related jobs, but things that they just can’t get to
because they don’t have the time and/or money to get to themselves.It’s hopefully helping to improve their
quality of life and give them a foot up with things.Often it’s just letting them know that
somebody does give a damn.
But the Forbes Mega Farm
Rescue was a different animal.When
Charles Alder, the CEO of Rural Aid, mentioned the idea to us round a campfire
one night it seemed incredible.More so,
because he wanted this to happen in only a few short months time.The amount of work to pull it all together
was huge; and yet, on Thursday 11 October 2018, Doug and I pulled into the show
grounds in Forbes to set up our van for what was going to be an epic couple of
weeks.
The week itself kicked off
on Monday, with over 160 volunteers heading out onto 13 local farms to help
with fencing, building projects, machinery repairs, household maintenance - you
name it.But there was a tonne of work
before hand getting ready for the volunteers’ arrival.Over three days we cleaned up and set up a
mini “village” which the volunteers would call home while they were helping
out.And we welcomed them all as they
arrived and made sure they knew what was happening.By Sunday afternoon the place was buzzing
with excitement as we gathered for our first briefing.Teams were announced and packs of safety
equipment and work shirts were distributed and everyone was really keen to get
out there and get going.
Ground zero - the shed!
Load upon load of donated goods ready to be made up into food hampers
Hampers ready to be distributed
The “farmy army” comprised
of volunteers aged between 28 and 75 and came from around the country to
help.Their days began at 6:30am for
breakfast before they headed off to their assigned farms at 8am. From there,
they helped out with jobs on the farm until 4pm or 5pm.
Our team was made up of 13
wonderful people from all over the country and all walks of life.We were ably led by Lee and Rosey (whom we’d
worked with previously on 3 other rescues) and we were a tight-knit bunch.As well as working like a well-oiled machine,
we chose to spend most of our down-time together too, gathering for meals
together and relaxing round our little campfire in the evenings.We were christened “The A Team” (probably by
ourselves, but it stuck) and I’m sure we were the envy of all the other teams
(haha).
The A Team
The team that eats together.....
Team leader Brandy (and her owner Rosey)
We had been allocated to a
lovely farming family who made us very welcome and appreciated the help we gave
them.The farm was outside Forbes and
was owned by I, who farmed sheep and cattle but was struggling with the
terrible drought.The paddocks were
barren and the dams were drying up.I
had help on the farm from his sister H and her husband L.All of them were on the far side of middle
age (don’t tell H I said that!!) and although spritely, there were some jobs
that weren’t as easy any more.And older
sister S, who is 75, came down from Parkes to spend the week and prepare us the
most wonderful morning teas every day.So you see, we had it very good.
Doug loved the morning teas
The team had lots to keep us
busy over the week.We lifted the old
wool shed floor, which was very worn and dangerous, and laid a new one.We helped erect new walls in the wool shed.
We fixed the fences in the sheep yards outside the shed so they were safe and
stable.We painted the entire outside of
I’s house and we helped put up over a kilometre of new fencing.Oh, and Doug did a bit of tree work too.It was a busy week; but so rewarding.To see the change in our farmer over the time
we spent with him was heart warming; going from a quiet, reticent man to
someone keen to share his knowledge and love of his area and his farm.
Life in the “village” was
great too.There were about 90 or so set
ups in the campground; everything from modest two-man tents to a huge motorhome
built from a semi-trailer and everything in between.We got to know so many lovely people and
everyone was there with the same mindset.There was a huge shed which we used as a dining hall/meeting
hall/entertainment hall - everything took place there.There was a movie night, a Hawaiian-themed
dinner and a “Thank You” dinner for all the farmers and their families.On another evening, the teams were encouraged
to head out and sample the delights of the eating houses in Forbes; an
initiative to help inject some much-needed funds into the local community.Our team descended on the local Thai
restaurant and were treated to a wonderful banquet.
Dinner at the Thai restaurant
The Mega Rescue, due to its
size and the scope of what we were doing, created a lot of interest from the
local community and from further afield.We were featured in local papers and on news bulletins and one of the
major sponsors, Nova radio’s Fitzy and Wippa, came and did their morning
broadcast from the dining hall.There
was going to be a live cross to Sunrise one morning too, but we were bumped by
Harry and Meghan!
Fitzy and Wippa's broadcast
Lunches made for us by the local high school students
All too quickly, the week
flew by and Saturday saw most of the volunteers pack up and start travelling
home.After a big tidy-up and helping
pack all the gear back in the truck, there was only Rosey and Lee and us left
by the end of the day.The four of us
had offered to stay on for a few days as there were a couple of things still to
finish off at the farm.It was a very
different place when the “circus” had moved on.We had a quiet day on Saturday and on Sunday afternoon, we packed up the
vans and moved out to the farm, where we spent some peaceful time with the
family, finishing off the painting and the wool shed.
Nice and straight now
A load of donated orange pulp for cattle feed
As I said earlier, this
rescue had been very different from those we had been part of earlier in the
year.The earlier ones were just one
team and one farm and we stayed on the farm, worked on the farm and prepared
our meals and ate on the farm.The
experience in those cases was more intimate and personal.But the mega rescue was big and bold and fun,
and the end result was the same - we were able to form bonds with amazing
people, to help someone out and give something back.
It seems an eternity and another lifetime since we left Lawn Hill Station, but in reality, it’s only been six weeks.It’s been a busy time - different busy; and time has passed quickly.I haven’t had much opportunity to sit and write, but today is 39 degrees and we’re parked up in a little caravan park, so I’ve retreated indoors with the air conditioner.Gotta love Darth!!!
Queensland is a big place.We’d given ourselves a month to travel from the Gulf down to Forbes and although we weren’t in a hurry, we didn’t have much spare time for dawdling either.
We cruised back down through Julia Creek, where we’d spent three weeks previously.It was great to catch up with a few familiar faces and here all the news, but the town was quiet now.The flocks of tourists had gone and the main street was nearly empty.We chose to stay in the caravan park this time.We wanted to try the new artesian bath houses that everyone had been raving about during our time there.These beautiful bath houses had an opening to the south, so you take in the views while relaxing in the warm waters with a glass of wine and a cheese platter.Bliss.
There was new territory to explore as we moved through dinosaur country.We hadn’t been to Richmond and Hughenden before in our travels so made a point of heading that way.We’d heard the dinosaur exhibit, Kronosauras Korner in Richmond was well worth a visit, and we can confirm that it is.It houses a large collection of marine fossils and we spent a couple of hours in this fascinating place.
Kronosaurus Korner - Richmond
Hughenden also has a dinosaur exhibit (they were really active in the ancient inland Eromanga Sea, leading to the now famous Dinosaur Trail) however we chose to pass on that one and made our way about 70km north-east of Hughenden to the Porcupine Gorge National Park.We had a couple of lovely, quiet days there, exploring down in the gorge, paddling in the waterholes and generally relaxing.It was a pleasant change to be able to sit and read a book for a while.
Pyramid Rock - Porcupine Gorge NP
We scooted down through Winton, only stopping for the night as we’d spent a fair bit of time here previously, and moved on to Longreach.We decided to stop a few days here.It had been hot and dry four years ago when we came through Longreach and we had decided to keep going.This time we took in the Australian Stockmans’ Hall of Fame and had a good look through town.
Australian Stockmans' Hall of Fame
There’s lots to see and do in Longreach; as well as the Hall of Fame, there’s the Qantas Founders Museum and the Kinnon & Co. pioneer experiences. But what we really came for was the pork chops!
In 2014, on our way through, we’d stopped to pick up some supplies.We’d called in to the local, family-owned butcher shop and purchased two beautiful looking frenched pork cutlets.Four years on, we still rave about those chops.They were the best we’ve ever had.Could they be replicated?We called in to the same shop and had a laugh with the young guy behind the counter when we told him our story.We wanted those wonderful pork chops again.Could he provide? Yes, he could!!!!
Sometimes when you re-visit old memories you’re disappointed, but not this time.
Leaving Longreach with a full freezer, we made our way through Barcaldine and headed south to our next stop at Lara Wetlands.Lara is a working cattle station which has diversified into offering camping around the beautiful natural wetlands on the property.They also offer tours of the historic old Queenslander homestead.We knew of Lara because our Farm Rescue mates had visited here for a week in July and helped out with some work on the homestead.
We pulled up and stretched out and enjoyed an afternoon of watching the prolific bird life and taking in the restorative waters of the natural artesian hot spa.Very relaxing.
The beautiful Lara Wetlands
Thermal pool at Lara
The next few days were spent slowly moving south, then east, through the towns of Blackhall, Mitchell, Roma and Miles; farming communities who were all struggling with the drought.We stopped off and spent a bit of money in town - coffees, fuel or some groceries - and made use of the excellent free camps that were usually available.We made a note to return to explore further another time.
As we got closer to the coast the weather turned a little.The temperature was lower and there were ominous black clouds on the horizon.What was this???
After passing through Dalby, we took the road up and over the ranges, through Gympie and down towards the Sunshine Coast.We had a few busy days planned in the area as well as some lovely catch up time.
Thursday was our first appointment.We had booked the van in to get a satellite TV system installed on the roof.When we first travelled our thoughts were “Meh - if we get TV reception, we get it.If not, it’s not an issue”.Then after months of not getting it, and facing even more time next year in areas without signal, we decided to bite the bullet.Now we've really joined the nomads and we’ve got this enormous dish on the roof and are sorted.
On Friday we had the van booked in to get all the fly screens replaced with midge-proof mesh.Another upgrade that we had decided was necessary.
We had a fantastic weekend catching up with our friend Wendy (unfortunately David was off on a fishing trip) and seeing their beautiful home in Doonan, just outside Noosa.It was a long weekend in Queensland, and school holidays so Noosa itself was busy, but we enjoyed the peace of the rainforest and were able to take in an excellent dinner at a local eatery and a visit to the famous Edmundi Markets.A bucket-list item ticked off for me (not sure about Doug, but I think he enjoyed it).
We also experienced a huge thunderstorm and rain event which gave the van a good rinse off.Poor girl hasn’t had a wash since I can’t remember when.The rain took to worst of the red tinge off her.
After leaving Doonan, we moved a whole 80km down the Sunshine Coast to Caboolture for another couple of appointments.The van was in to Sunland for a couple of touch-ups and upgrades on Tuesday and then on Wednesday, the car had a well-earned service.
Time was catching up with us and we had to keep moving.We were due in Forbes in just over a week. We headed down through Brisbane (not a bad effort and thanks to our GPS)- and we had a lunch date in Warwick.My old friend from teenage years, Helen, lives on a property outside Warwick with her husband Evan and her two wonderful dogs, Max and Clemmie.We met for lunch which turned into us staying the night out at their place.It was good to catch up after such a long time and it felt like we’d just picked up where we’d left off.
It was Friday now, and here’s where our weekend took a different turn.We left Helen and Evan’s and headed west, stopping off in the little town of Inglewood for a coffee.The main street was bustling and we asked the lady in the bakery what was going on.Just 70km up the road, in Milmerran, the biennial Australian Camp Oven Festival was about to get underway and it was going to be a fantastic weekend.
The website said all camping was sold out, but just on the off-chance, I gave them a call and we were lucky to get a cancellation spot (the only one they’d had!!).So we turned around and headed to Milmerran and weren’t we glad we did.
We had a wonderful weekend of music, food and displays and demonstrations and of course, the fiercely contested camp oven cooking competition.
Serious camp oven cook-off
We’d arrived just after torrential rain and the showgrounds were churned up and muddy, but the weather improved and the ground dried up and all was well.
Mud in the showgrounds
We spent Saturday and Sunday wandering around, taking in things that interested us, and then heading back to sit under the awning and listen to the music until something else took our fancy.It was busy, with over 1200 vans, motorhomes, campers and tents but it was well organised and we loved it.
Wonderful offerings being prepared
Huge damper - I think Tassie is on steroids
Having spent a great weekend in Milmerran, we now had to high-tail it south.We had heard great things about the little town of Bingara and stopped off there for a couple of nights.It was supposed to be only one, but it was so nice, we decided to stay on.We were camped on the Gwydir River and shared our campsite with local horses, lizards and a platypus that came to visit us every afternoon to play in the rapids.It is a really lovely town (I know I say that a lot, but it is).We have compiled a list of towns that we like enough to think about settling in, and Bingara made the list.There’s not many others on there as yet.
Bingara residents enjoying the sun
We had successfully skirted around storms that were dumping lots of rain in parts of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland and made our way down through Narrabri to another little place called Tooraweenah (or Tuggaweenah if you listen to my husband!!!) for our last night before arriving in Forbes.Our month had gone quickly.As I said at the start, it’s a big place, and you need more time than you think to see it.
It was Thursday now, and we made the short trip through Dubbo and arrived at the Forbes Showground just after lunch to set up and get ready for what was going to be a huge week.We were here for another Farm Rescue, but this one was going to be a little different.
