We got dressed and cooked sausages, again, and headed over to the homestead, unsure if any of us would be able to join the muster today. After a bit of organising the Quartermaine’s found 5 spare horses and saddles etc for Danny and the oldest 4 kids to use. Adelaide, Paddy and I would follow on the bikes and in my car.
11 horses were loaded onto the horse truck, top and tailed with no dividers. Adelaide and Paddy jumped in the front of the truck and we all took off down the paddock. I’m not sure how long we drove for, but it was at least an hour.
We then unloaded the horses and dogs near the dam where the mob of cattle were and got organised. ( in the photos, all the ringers are wearing funny shirts, because today is “shit shirt Friday”… we missed the memo!)
A photo of Jess and Emmy getting their horses off the truck.
Tilly in the purple shirt at the back, Emmy in aqua with the white helmet, Jess in light blue shirt beside Emmy, Bill is in the middle in the green shirt and straw hat leading Danny’s horse ( Danny is still on the quad bike).
The cattle were waiting at the dam.
The muster started and there were 2 quad bikes in the lead (including Adelaide) to set the pace of the mob.
2 point riders (people on horses just behind the lead on the front point on each side). Their job was to keep the leaders going in the right direction.
There were 3 riders behind each point rider, (6 in total) keeping the mob together. (This was Danny, Tilly and Bill).
Then 3 riders and a quad bike at the back to push up the rear and deal with any stragglers (this was Emmy and Jess ).
Paddy and I followed the whole show in my car, and Luke, who owns the place was in the chopper. My job got much easier once this happened.
I thought things went pretty smoothly, but at times there was a fair bit of panic on the UHF, especially when Danny tried to chase a few out of the scrub, and disappeared with no radio for about 10 minutes.
There were plenty of rest stops along the way, to rest the cattle, and wait for other smaller mobs to join.
There was plenty of wildlife along the way. The kids on horses were constantly riding through cobwebs. At one stage Tilly felt something on her lip and wiped her face on her sleeve, only to find she had killed a spider, a caterpillar and a moth all in one swipe.
Bill had a spikey dragon caterpillar land on his chest and crawl down beneath his saddle that spat at him as her tried to get it out and also a “ leaf with legs” crawl under the brim of his hat. (He is getting used to this now, he had a big spider crawl out of his hat towards his face at the hut 2 days ago).
Jess lasted the whole day in the saddle, sometimes with only one stirrup because of her knee which is still giving her grief.
Emmy’s stirrups were a bit a bit short for her, but she battled through, only asking me once how much further.
Adelaide stayed on the quad bike the entire way, and was quite happy with the new friends she had made.
I had to take a different track home, because the tracks were too scrubby. After specific directions from Doreen ( the grandmother who makes a lot of the decisions ) I still got bamboozeled. I had to call Luke in the chopper for directions to the meeting point ( on the uhf, there is no phone service). It was a relief to finally see the truck, and eventually the cattle coming in.
The rest of the muster continued slowly, and by 2.30, we had drunk all of our water. It was a long final 2 1/2 hours.
The mob was yarded at around 5pm and everyone stayed at the yard for a bit to stretch their legs and catch their breath. 3 of the ringers then went back to pick up the horse truck, and the ute that had been loaded with some small calves. These calves that might not mother up again will be put in a yard with the milking cows in the house paddock, that raise 3 or 4 orphans each. The Quartermain’s said that if any of our kids would like to do a season up there, to let them know.
In the next photo, Luke Quartermaine is the one in the coloured shirt on the right, holding his son Ty in the green shirt. He is next to his mother Doreen in the pink. Allie (his wife) is in the blue shirt in the middle. The rest are ringers, and us on the left.
After showers and a clean up, we all had tea at the homestead. I worked out last night that you need to be quite early with your showers, as the power is turned off at about 9 pm ( mid shower for me last night, and there were 2 big green frogs in my cubicle….dressing and avoiding frogs gets a bit tricky when you are wet and it is dark.)
As I went to bed, I heard someone call Luke on the 2 way. I didn’t think much of it. The next morning we found out that Wallaby Joe ( one of the ringers on the quad bike) has badly broken his ankle, and the RFDS will be here in 2 1/2 hours. They need the airstrip clean to land, so all those cattle that have been mustered over the last couple of days need to be moved off the airstrip.
Steve ( who is a remote SES / paramedic / first responder) explained to us how the first aid works. Each station up here has a medical bag, given to them by the RFDS. The medication inside is not labelled, only numbered. A Doctor needs to allocate the medication. In Joe’s case, Steve and Allie had to give him 1 mg of vile 143 ( under phone instructions from the Dr). They don’t label anything, so you can’t self medicate.
Tomorrow the mob will be draughed, calves marked and branded, and the mothers and babies walked back to their paddocks.
The weaners will stay in the yards for about a month ( I think) and fed hay. Every morning they are walked out of the yards, and back in in the afternoon to quieten them down. They will then be trucked to a fattening paddock they have in the Atherton tablelands, before being sold.
After showers and a clean up, we all had tea at the homestead. I worked out last night that you need to be quite early with your showers, as the power is turned off at about 9 pm ( mid shower for me last night, and there were 2 big green frogs in my cubicle….dressing and avoiding frogs gets a bit tricky when you are wet and it is dark.)
Their house is a big shed with a partition dividing off the kitchen. Everything is effectively outside and in the open. There is a beautiful breeze that blows through the living area. Luke and Allie’s bedroom is a corner of the shed. Luke told us of the time he was asleep, and put his hands under his pillow, only to feel a bite on his lip. Once Allie found the torch, they found he had been bitten on the lip by a python, and had blood trickling down his face. It must have crawled in during the day, because at night time they pull down a mosquito net to keep things out!
Steve and Jackie arrived from Weipa, as Steve had to deliver some sort of fuel tank cover for the chopper. They also brought us some ice and a cooked chook for our esky ( which is theirs that we are using). They have been very kind to us while we have been in this area. From fixing broken swags, to loaning us clean towels, organising adventures for us, feeding and cleaning us and teaching us so many camping tips. They are very generous people.
A lot of other people also turned up….I’m not sure where they all came from, but Danny knew a lot of them from the bull ride that he sings at. Danny did some singing and we all stayed up too late. Paddy and Adelaide fell asleep at the table. They were all exhausted.
As I went to bed, I heard someone call Luke on the 2 way. I didn’t think much of it. The next morning we found out that Wallaby Joe ( one of the ringers on the quad bike) has badly broken his ankle, and the RFDS will be here in 2 1/2 hours. They need the airstrip clean to land, so all those cattle that have been mustered over the last couple of days need to be moved off the airstrip.
Congratulations on making it to the end of this post!!! Excuse the typos, the road is very bumpy.
Caro.
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