To my own surprise I found myself back on the cattle station in the Northern Territory – for a 3rd time. This place certainly attracts me. I think it is because everything is a bit out of the ordinary out here.
I thought I would bring my camera along for a day of work and take a few shots and videos as it went along.
Here we go, a day in life at the cattle station.
05:50 – Up with the sun
Days at the cattle station usually start at sunrise. Time for a quick breakfast, and off we go.
06:20 – Fueling Up
Not two days are the same out here, but if there is something they have in common it is a lot of driving. First job in the morning is to fuel up the car.
06:50 – Moving Hay
After a quick chat with the boss I’m ready for the first job of the day. Feeding hay to cattle in a yard next to the house.
07:30 – Driving
Driving towards another yard located 55 km from the homestead. We left some cattle here yesterday so they need to be dealt with today.
08:20 – Branding and tagging
In the yard there is a number of calves left from yesterday that still need to be branded and tagged.
09:10 – Loading Up the Cattle Truck
After the branding is done we are loading up the cattle truck. The other guys will move a big mob of cattle towards a water bore with motorbikes and quads. I will drive the cattle truck to another paddock and unload the cattle there.
10:40 – Cleaning troughs
No ones favourite job, but it has to be done…
12:10 – Starting Water Bores
The other guys are still moving the mob of cattle. I have time to check some water tanks and start the engines that are pumping water into the tanks if they are low.
13:45 – Arriving at the Homestead
Arriving back at the homestead for lunch. By the way, the dust cloud in the beginning of the video is from the mail plane that just took off after delivering mail to the station.
13:45 – 127.8 km before lunch
127.8 km of driving before lunch. Before the end of the day I would have driven about 250 km, all within the property.
14:30 – Aboriginals arrive
The aboriginals from a nearby community usually show up once a day to buy things from the station store.
14:40 – Opening the store
I’m opening the store and selling the aboriginals the things they need.
15:45 – More Driving
The other guys are out pulling up a bore that is giving problems. They call on the radio and ask if I can bring some tools to them. Back on the road…
17:15 – Feeding Hay Again
Back in the same yard I went to in the morning to feed that cattle more hay.
18:20 – Sunset, and a last job
Back home it is nearly sunset. There is one more load of cattle to be moved from a yard to a paddock. I’m driving the truck there for the last job of the day
19:10 – Job Done
Days in the outback are long, but in a different way than if you were sitting in an office for 12 hours. You are out in nature all day, and there is a lot of driving that really doesn’t feel like work. Another good thing about working on a cattle station is that you can’t spend any money. Good if you are saving up for a bicycling trip 🙂
Best Wishes Thomas 73
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