Camels, wild horses, crystals, fires, cattle and ranch life in Australia

G`day All,

I am currently on a beautiful cattle ranch where the owner practices holistic management. Random impact grazing would be another term for it. It is quite the science. One more people would be wise to look into and follow.

A rainbow showed up on the morning of our departure.

A good omen.

Herding the cattle.

This not a "running of the bulls" scene. It is an "I am feeling very lazy today. It is too hot for us to move ALL the way over there to graze. (Really not that far!) I think I will stay in the shade."

Oh no you won't. lol. The grass truly IS greener in the other paddock. You'll see.
And they did. lol.

There are large geodes and crystals all over, including LARGE statues of Goddesses (mostly Tara), and are very in tune with nature (of course! They farm... lol). There is a wonderful spiritual energy that runs deeply here.

The owner is a wonderful man with genuine kindness. He strives to make your experience here beautiful and goes out of his way to help you appreciate the land, understand it better and make your stay a delight. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to be welcomed into his home and learn about this place. It's just incredible.

He even gave me my first motorcycle lesson the other day. Yeah... I'm going to have to practice. A lot. lol.

3 horses greeting each other. Aren't these creatures just wonderful? Horses are lovely. Lovely, lovely.

It took a little bit of goading as Attila was worried the horses would kick or bite him.  Well... he IS the tastier of the two of us.... (for those of you who know the "cannibal/deserted Island quip"... yeah... Why is it always ME who gets thrown to the lions first to protect the tribe?)

You should see the cows... they are so happy and healthy. You can tell they are well fed, nourished, loved and taken care of. They roam freely over the hills and meadows and frolic with the wild/free horses that are also roaming around freely here. There is even a one humped camel if you can believe it.

This is the one humped camel waiting to get brushed down.

The local beekeeper brought over a pale (no joke - a pale!) of the most delicious honey! Yum! There is also a lady who gets the locals pure, natural milk. (For those who enjoy dairy) No hormones, no antibiotics... nothing. 



There is Jeanette who lives and works at the ranch and has many talents, and Ted who is a neighbour that often came to keep me company while I worked away in the sheds. Kevin's children are very polite and conscientious as well.



There were two Italian girls staying there at one point. They were hilarious. The day they left they packed (stuffed to the rims!) a large van with what seemed like "everything but the kitchen sink." And the piece de resistance? A bona fide scale. I couldn't believe they were carrying around a scale! Talk about watching your weight! Ha!




We even had a lovely English couple staying for a few days. They did all sorts of things... so much so that I felt lazy in comparison! lol. Many excellent books were recommended and discussed, as were various topics.  They brought great industrious and intellectual energy with them.  I hope to see them again in the future.

Last night was clear and I could see so many beautiful stars. I was sleeping in a cabin, (which should really be called a chalet as it is absolutely stunning and not rustic at all) on the top of the highest hill in the area.

This is Barney, the family's pet wallaby. He comes and goes as he pleases, he even has his favourite spot on the couch. Instead of a dog, there is wallaby. He's great.

I spent many hours outside looking at the stars, in total awe and wonderment of mother nature. The moon was bright and full of love, frogs were singing their happy songs and the wildlife was hopping and flying by all around me. (Wallabies, eagles, goannas, water dragon lizards, hundreds of beautiful butterflies, tropical coloured parrots, owls and more).

We take the motorbikes down every few days to the "garden/orchard" where there are the most delicious peach and avocado trees. Do you know how expensive avocados and fresh peaches are? Yes, I know you do... even here they are at least a dollar a piece. But we just pick them right off the branch... it's fabulous. I loved that about Europe and Asia too.. how you can fruit ripened ON the tree and the flavour is just out of this world. It is incomparable to anything else.

I am here for two weeks doing a work exchange. I work on the ranch doing whatever they need, as well as pitch in for cooking and cleaning, afternoons I spend working on a website for them. That was what they requested from my particular set of skills. The owner wanted to be able to make his own changes in the future so I opted for a template design, rather than one from scratch.  It's still a work in progress but you can check it out here: http://www.koolombakh.com/.

In exchange I am here for free to enjoy the natural surroundings, learning whatever I can/am interested in and spend time with the locals. Though mostly I spend my down time alone walking the hills and hanging out with the cows and horses.

Mornings I get up early to walk amongst the hils and watch the sun rise. The air is fresh and clean, the skies are always doing something interesting with dancing clouds and it's just very peaceful... the vibe here is calm and relaxed. Often times I can`t help but feel like breaking out in song; "the hills are aliiiivvvvveeee... with the sounds of muuuuussiiiccc... la..la la la.... " Yes, I realize that sounds cheesy, but there it is. I love my morning walks in the hills. It's spectacular!

Though you DO have to stop on the ground while walking to scare the snakes away. There are many spiders about the size of my palm but not very venomous, just unpleasant to be bitten... though there are some creatures that will kill you if you're not careful.

No shorts or open toed shoes here... no matter how hot it gets. Even a trip to the bathroom at night requires you to make noise. Most of us are trained to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb any other sleeping folks... not here.. you HAVE to create vibrations so you don't get bitten by a surprised snake as you move about outside.

Well, I had better put my long pants back on and hard shoes and socks... and get that walking stick out as I have to go out to the bathroom now to brush my teeth.... ahh... the production...... lol.

A few days ago we did a bush burning to get rid of the old, stale grass, naturally fertilize the ground and allow for fresh new grass to grow. The cows will enjoy it, but that was some intense heat generated.... I've never before seen hills alight with fire like that. It was... strange to think this was a deliberately man made fire.

"Baby won't you light my fire..."
Remember that song? We were singing it. lol

Kevin and I watching the fire burn over the hills.

When I saw this "ring of fire" I instantly thought of "Mordor" from Lord of the Rings.

The evening entertainment; Kevin and the Italian girls sat with their beers watching the fire run it's course while the sun went down. I took photos intermittently.

There is a lot of "common sense/old world wisdom" that locals are in tune with which most city folk (including me) would not think to do. Simple solutions to all sorts of isses that are free or inexpensive and work. Many variations on fencing and ways to lock gates for example. It took a few tries before I finally got the ones we frequent the most down. No need for fancy schmancy machinery and logistics. Just common sense in most cases.

And as many of the fences have a current running through them, I was careful not to touch the ones I wasn't completely certain weren't live. It would not do to get electrocuted. My parents would not be pleased.

I got a wonderful tour and lesson on crystals by Kevin, the owner of the ranch. He has quite a large collection. It was really lovely. One was even from Budapest.

Sunrise from the chalet at the top of the hill.

Sundown from the same spot. Notice the clouds above and the mist below.

The colours are gorgeous.

It`s been raining torrents for two days straight. We kept waiting for a wee break in the rain so we could go out and move the cattle to graze on a different paddock, but it never really happened. Finally we had to do it as it had been put off long enough. So we put on some leather jackets and went out to move the mob (cattle) in pouring rain on the motorbike. Wow we were soaked... but it was pretty fantastic. All the rain had increased the water level in the creeks as well as the tide and riding through them was definitely not the as same during a dry day! lol.


The next day we hit a large rock in the river and the bike turned over throwing us both off.  So much for keeping the last of my dry clothes from getting soaked. lol. Luckily neither one of us was hurt. Wet we can deal with, damaged bodies are a different story, however.

Every time I see the cattle start moving in their herd and pick up their pace I instantly think; "running of the bulls." ... and you would too if you saw them. Today they were really running and nearly jumping to get across the rushing waters of the heightened creeks.

I just couldn't stop breaking out in smiles thinking how I never could have imagined the day I'd be riding around country hills on a motorcycle goading hundreds of cattle through the paddocks. Me. The city girl. Yeah. I loved every minute of it. Ha! 


A few days later Kevin drove me out to the coast to show me some of the land in the nearby areas. What a difference... beautiful beaches and coastline. There are even dolphin in the waters.

Today was my last morning at the Ranch. Kevin took out his hot red BMW and we sped around the coast with the top down. It was a fabulous way to get to the station and very nice of him as it was definitely out of his way to go to the rail station one town over.
I'm going to have to learn to drive standard. That's next on my "skills to learn" list.

Two weeks ago I was deep in the forest of a national park/nature reserve. Wallabies were eating their breakfast just a few feet away from me eating mine. lol. The wildlife is different, beautiful, interesting and often dangerous. There truly is a "wild feel" to this place and it forces you to respect it in ways most people are not accustomed to. It is not the same kind of "wilderness wild" you would find in Canada... but almost a Jurassic Park type of 'wild' with things "lurking" all about you. lol.

Lots of happy "moos" from the countryside.

Yvette