88 days diaries: When the end is near
The end of my 88 days was quickly approaching. I didn’t want to stay much longer, but how do you talk about this with a stubborn, unpredictable farmer? When the others said they wanted to leave in a week, they were sent away straight away. I wanted to do the…
The magical forest called coral
I’m only a beginner scuba diver, but when I heard about the Ningaloo reef, I just had to experience it myself. I’d done some snorkelling and was overwhelmed with what I could see close to the surface. I really wondered how much more diving deeper could give me. I decided to…
Too close for comfort
Oh, the excitement. After a night of bushcamping, there was a toilet on the picnic site where we had breakfast. I was one of the first to check it out. It just turned out that I wasn’t the only one in there. As I lowered to sit down on the…
88 days diaries: Loooong days
I made 14,5 work hours in one day. Everyone had the morning off, but not me. My day started at 8AM, which is late compared to my recent 5.30AM starts. However, at 7.30AM the farmer was already knocking on my door. There were some second grade cherries that needed grading.…
88 days diaries: Totally unrelated random bits of farm life
Radio: “We’re talking about psychopaths in the workplace.”Farm hand: “O, they’re talking about the boss.” When the crows are coming in, the cherries are ripe. Someone came in to ask for second hand cherries instead of second grade. The first time a customer asked for ‘a couple of kilos’, I…
Lakeside out of nowhere
Lake Argyle is the biggest artificial lake in the Southern hemisphere. It’s formed by a dam in the Ord river and makes a great place for a rest on a road trip to the Gibb River Road. I went to lake Argyle as part of tour from Darwin to Broome.…
Wildlife of Kangaroo Island
There are many reasons to visit Kangaroo Island, one of them being the big variety of wildlife you can see on a relatively small piece of land. Kangaroo Island is a perfect place for a long weekend away from Adelaide. Whether you take a tour or drive around in your…
88 days diaries: From bad to worse to worth it
The atmosphere is grim. It feels like I work at a cattle station, only the people are the cattle. After working on the farm for 8 weeks the farmer ‘likes’ me a bit more than the others, so I have some privileges. I am ashamed to see how the other…