Tanamera - Week Four

With the muddy ground and the lessons learned the previous week, Monday and Tuesday (29th & 30th) became gardening days, though we did get to Longreach first thing on Tuesday to pickup dog and chook food.

Wednesday feeling brave, we headed out. We did a bore run to to see what still needed to be done. We fuelled the bikes with the intension of going out cattle mustering, but the rains threatened, and then arrived so that idea was put on hold.

However Friday saw Wally raring to go, so by the end of smoko Sandy and I were saddled up (Sandy in the Ute and me on the bike) and off cattle mustering with Casey and Wally in Black Cow paddock. This was Sandy and my first proper cattle muster with Sandy pushing the cattle with the Ute, Casey and I out on the wing and Wally leading. We drafted the cattle in Black cow paddock separating out the weaners from the bulls and cows. The bulls and cows were staying and I was tasked with taking them back up the paddock to the bore, whilst Sandy stayed behind to fix fences, and Wally and Casey took the weaners over towards Carols. After lunch we pushed the weaners down to the holding paddock next to the stock yard at Carols. Thinking we were done for the day a call came over the two way from Wally, not quite knocking off time, our next task was to remove all the wire mesh and secondary gatesfrom the stockyard at Carols and transport them over to Twin Dams where we were to assemble a stockyard for goats, for tomorrow we were goat

mustering.

Wally gave us the good news, a 5am start on Saturday, as goats are best mustered first thing in the morning apparently! So Saturday 4th Dec saw Sandy and I up before the sun, trying to distinguish the track in the poor headlights and misted windscreen of our works ute. Wally followed us down with Casey and Matt, our first task was to finish assembling the stockyard and making it goat proof (is there such a thing?), whilst the helicopter flown by Glen started to round up the goats.

By about 7am the yard was completed, the goats were closer and it was time for us to each mount our ride, once again I was on the motorbike and Sandy was in the Ute. Wally, Casey and Matt were off to help Glen in the helicopter herd the goats, whilst Sandy and I stayed back at the yard blocking of the goats escape. Soon the goats were heading towards the yards, the first mob were in the enclosure, then disaster! The ground was still soft from the rains and the weight of the goats up against the yard fence pushed it over and there was a mass escape, about 2/3rd of the goats got out of the enclosure!! At this point it was all hands on deck to keep what goats were left in the enclosure, whilst a repair was quickly organised with much bracing taking place. Glen in the helicopter managed to round up the escapees and keep then in one area whilst this was all happening. With Wally happy at the repair, a second attempt was made to get the rest of the goats into the enclosure without losing the first lot! Success!!! We had done it!!!

With the goats in the yard, Glen (the pilot) joined us and Sally and Judy brought out smoko, pikelets and cake, a feast for hungrey ringers!

 After smoko Barry (the goat man) arrive in his truck to take the goats away, what a palaver, however with much blood sweat and tears the goats were eventually loaded. It was decided that a run and longer ramp was needed, Barry promised to bring another ramp with him when he came back for his second load of goats.

Casey, Matt and Wally were off to Carols to draft out those weaners which were 'strangers' (stray cattle from other stations), or needed to be branded etc.

Sandy and I pulled goat sitting duty, so for two hours we sat and watched the goats. Would it be like the great escape? Wally had warned us that they will try and test the fencing? We were rescued by Wally at lunch time, the goats had settled down, well were focused on sex rather than escape, so we could safely leave them to go for lunch and a camp.

In the avo, when we got back to the goats Barry was already there with his ramp as promised and his wife, Tanya, we set to on building a run with the remaining gates and mesh. Soon we were ready to load the second lot of goats, what a breeze, so different than the first time, amazing the difference when you have the right kit. So with the goats loaded Barry headed off followed by his wife in their Ute. After much discussion on the state of the tracks they decided they were going to head pass Frasers on their way up to the Silsoe road, which was also the route for the rest of us who were heading of back to Carols and the weaners, so the convoy headed off, disaster!!! The wet area, the one Sandy had been measuring with a stick in week two, was still there. Barry had been passing the water on the right hand side, but this time got stuck! Never mind, the cavalry was just behind, three utes, and me on the motor bike, what more would we need?

As it turned out we needed a bull-dozer and a new road! Whilst the rescue was taking place, there was not much need for me and my motorbike, so I joined Matt and Casey who were now down with the weaners. I spent the rest of the afternoon helping them brand, castrate, dehorn and clip ears.  Well I warmed the branding irons anyway.

We had been finished a while when Wally and Sandy arrived having completed the rescue of the truck and a couple of hundred goats, however our day was not yet complete, Wally needed us to move the pump from Frasers back to Carols to pump water so that the troughs could fill, we eventually finished at 18.45 hrs.

Sunday we got a lie in and started work at 06.45hrs, Barry was back for the rest of the goats and his ramp, brave man to give the Fraser track another go! We had to be quick about it as the cattle train was going to be at Carols at 8am to pick up the cattle and they were still in the holding paddock and needed to be pushed through into the stockyard!

When we arrived at Carols at 07.45 hrs the road train was already there, so it was quickly through into the holding paddock and pushing the cows to the stockyard, Sandy in the Ute, Wally and I on the bikes. Once the cattle were in the yard, it was a quick lesson from Wally on how to move, count and load cattle onto a road train. By the back of 9am they were all loaded, great. The road train headed off, three trailers of cattle, nearly two hundred head. Wally followed the truck in his ute just to make sure he got too the Silsoe road whilst Sandy and I headed back to the homestead dreaming about maybe putting our feet up and enjoying what was left of our weekend when disaster! We have a lot of those don’t we. The call came through from Wally that the Road Train was bogged!!!! Now Wally had had to use a bull-dozer to pull out a truck with a couple of hundred goats on it, what on earth were we going to use to pull out a road train with three trailers and nearly two hundred head of cattle???!!! Yes you got it, a bigger bulldozer!!! Whilst Sandy and I had a quick smoko, Wally came back to the homestead and picked up the big dozer. We followed him back to the cattle train in our work Ute with the big chains and rescued the truck and cattle. What a weekend!!!! Sandy and I were invited to a celebratory lunch with Sally, Judy and Wally.