I spent the last few days travelling from Merriwa, NSW to Gracemere, QLD. I got a bus back to Newcastle on Wednesday and spent a night there in the hostel. Caught a flight to Rockhampton with a couple of hours layover in Brisbane. The bus driver on the bus to Newcastle airport was very sweet and a real gentleman. Instead of letting all other passengers in he got out of the bus and told them to wait and carried my luggage on board. I was very grateful for that! He also moved it off the bus when arriving at the airport and wished me a pleasant journey. There is something there to learn for all the Estonian bus drivers who would just stare at me with an evil look in their eyes when seeing someone with a suitcase. It is highly unlikely that anyone would help you. Not saying everyone is like that but the majority at least..
Before arriving in Rockhampton I sent my new host a text message to say that my flight was on time and that I would be arriving at 4.25pm. I did not get a reply and I was somewhat worried but I was sure she was going to be there since the farm is a genuine business. After I collected my luggage I texted her that I was waiting for her outside. She called me and apologised that she was late. No worries mate, I was not in a hurry anyway!
Queensland definitely looks different that New South Wales. I observed the change in landscape and plantation while I flew a short flight from Brisbane to Rocky. It was only 46 min flight. The climate is a bit more humid and temperatures do not drop that low over night.
Back to my host... she arrived 20 mins later and had a passenger with her - Tanya. A backpacker who takes care of my host's mother who lives in the outback. It is six hours drive inland from where I am staying. They were jusr visiting for a few days. Tanya is doing her 88 days as well. She is Dutch. She sounded Slavic to me but hey, I was wrong. My host does not resemble to the woman I saw on their website but I do spot some similarities. Must be an old photo. Their farm mainly focuses on Brahman cows. Not sure how else I could call them. I spotted a couple of donkeys and race horses on the property as well. Their house is full of awards that they have won from different competitions. BTW, they kill their own cows and eat the meat. Apparently, in a few weeks time they will kill another one. Ah, and I will most likely get to go to visit the granny in the outback some time too. I was told there is no phone reception. How COOL :) And there's a big party planned towards the end of October. I will get to go there too. Should be fun.
In general, they seem to be more relaxed and less mannered than the family in NSW. I have not done much on my first day here. We went to Woolies (supermarket) in the morning and I spent the rest of the morning blowing out the tree leaves from the verandah. I could barely get started when I was told to go for a smoko (smoke break, also a break for non smokers). My next task was to spray all the cobwebs on the verandah with some insect killing spray. I made sure I was well covered up since all the spiders started to swing down from the ceiling. Disgusting creatures. There were a few bigger ones, striped like wasps, only the stripes were black and white. Not liking it but in the end they all died.
Around 12.30pm I was told to have lunch and chill out for an hour or so. We had some fish and chips yesterday evening - home made by a friend of theirs! They showed their 100k AUD fishing boat that they take out to the reef. All I could imagine was myself on the boat in a bikini and a glass of sparkling haha.
Anyway, the fish that was served was called emperor, we had 4kg of it. It is quite expensive in the shops - 40 AUD per kg and it tastes amazing. It is like chicken fillet, no fishy flavour at all. Defo the best fish and chips I have ever had. Had the same for lunch today. I was told to eat what ever I could find in the fridge. They seem to operate on a principle called "keep looking".Sounds good to me.
I will take a few photos of the place in the next few days. There are plenty of birds and animals around here. I will try to capture them all over the next 7 weeks I'll be spending here.
Before arriving in Rockhampton I sent my new host a text message to say that my flight was on time and that I would be arriving at 4.25pm. I did not get a reply and I was somewhat worried but I was sure she was going to be there since the farm is a genuine business. After I collected my luggage I texted her that I was waiting for her outside. She called me and apologised that she was late. No worries mate, I was not in a hurry anyway!
Queensland definitely looks different that New South Wales. I observed the change in landscape and plantation while I flew a short flight from Brisbane to Rocky. It was only 46 min flight. The climate is a bit more humid and temperatures do not drop that low over night.
Back to my host... she arrived 20 mins later and had a passenger with her - Tanya. A backpacker who takes care of my host's mother who lives in the outback. It is six hours drive inland from where I am staying. They were jusr visiting for a few days. Tanya is doing her 88 days as well. She is Dutch. She sounded Slavic to me but hey, I was wrong. My host does not resemble to the woman I saw on their website but I do spot some similarities. Must be an old photo. Their farm mainly focuses on Brahman cows. Not sure how else I could call them. I spotted a couple of donkeys and race horses on the property as well. Their house is full of awards that they have won from different competitions. BTW, they kill their own cows and eat the meat. Apparently, in a few weeks time they will kill another one. Ah, and I will most likely get to go to visit the granny in the outback some time too. I was told there is no phone reception. How COOL :) And there's a big party planned towards the end of October. I will get to go there too. Should be fun.
In general, they seem to be more relaxed and less mannered than the family in NSW. I have not done much on my first day here. We went to Woolies (supermarket) in the morning and I spent the rest of the morning blowing out the tree leaves from the verandah. I could barely get started when I was told to go for a smoko (smoke break, also a break for non smokers). My next task was to spray all the cobwebs on the verandah with some insect killing spray. I made sure I was well covered up since all the spiders started to swing down from the ceiling. Disgusting creatures. There were a few bigger ones, striped like wasps, only the stripes were black and white. Not liking it but in the end they all died.
Around 12.30pm I was told to have lunch and chill out for an hour or so. We had some fish and chips yesterday evening - home made by a friend of theirs! They showed their 100k AUD fishing boat that they take out to the reef. All I could imagine was myself on the boat in a bikini and a glass of sparkling haha.
Anyway, the fish that was served was called emperor, we had 4kg of it. It is quite expensive in the shops - 40 AUD per kg and it tastes amazing. It is like chicken fillet, no fishy flavour at all. Defo the best fish and chips I have ever had. Had the same for lunch today. I was told to eat what ever I could find in the fridge. They seem to operate on a principle called "keep looking".Sounds good to me.
I will take a few photos of the place in the next few days. There are plenty of birds and animals around here. I will try to capture them all over the next 7 weeks I'll be spending here.
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