Looks like rain...Yeah, could use some rain...

Boab tree at sunset in Derby

"They love having visitors" said Bunty. "They're so isolated, buy a bottle and give them a call!" So Sara called Jane Sale, a fellow ex-Ruytonian albeit several years younger she'd never met, and we were invited to spend a couple of nights on a cattle station in the Tanami Desert. What we found out when we got to this isolated house on a hill, was that they enjoy visitors so much, we had timed it for a dinner party of 14!

Yougawalla Station Homestead

Jane and Hayden Sale are the managing partners of a couple of cattle stations in the East Kimberley. Yougawalla and Bulka stations are at least 750,000 acres, and they are about to take over the leases on a couple of others pushing the amount of land they look after to over 3 million acres. A bit bigger than my grandfather's / uncle's farm at Pine Ridge I loved, and much bigger than Sara's place at Foster!

Yougawalla Swamp; we picknicked there.

Before we left, I spoke briefly to Hayden who had concerns about the van. "The roads not great", he said. "Is it washed out" I asked. "No, but there's a few patches of bulldust". At that point I could have said something smart, chose not to, and asked what bulldust was. We know now that it is incredibly fine sand, churned up by roadtrains as they chew the roads out with their loads of cattle. The kitchen cupboards know, the bathroom knows, the sheets all know. It is everywhere. Thankfully, the Disco had no dramas dragging Kimmy in. We left her at Bulka Station which is 90k's up the road from Fitzroy Crossing, and then 50k's in, then drove another 130k's into the desert to reach Yougawalla.

The homestead at Yougawalla sits on top if the highest hill in the immediate area with 360 degree views of the surrounding plains. It has been constructed from prefabricated units designed and shipped from Melbourne. I'm not sure why it has never featured in any magazine apart from Broome Weekly, because it is absolutely spectatcular. Amazing enough to almost convince Sara and myself that we could live there. Then Hayden left in his chopper to start work mustering at 5:30am, and Jane starting detailing some of the injuries that have occurred recently including scalpings, crushings, knees wrenched, backs busted, falls from horses, not to mention deaths by helicopter. We decided we weren't cut out for it.

Brahmin x Droughtmaster cattle

The dinner party ended for some at 4:30 am. It's been a long time for Hayden in between drinks. I quit at 12ish, Sara a bit earlier. Also at the party was a local contractor Lachie, and his German partner Tina. Lachie looked like Mollie Meldrum, Tina looked like Nina of 99 Luftballoons fame. How they met 5 years ago is one of the greatest stories I've ever heard. Suffice to say, that Tina was a young backpacker then, and Lachie was and probably is at 47, the greatest story teller I have ever met. He has his own jewellery line, Beef n' Reef, which combines polished cow horn, wait for it... with pearl. Sara is going to make her own, without the pearl.

Rusty, the dumbest cattledog in the world. Loved him

Whilst here, I expected to get a different perspective on the problems with the indigenous population and the environment. I didn't get that at all. I heard the same arguments I have heard myself make, but without any pretence towards political correctness and with no deference to the Greens. It also appears that the mess Julia's mob has made of the live cattle export to Indonesia is the worst case of Australian imperialism in South East Asia seen since we left New Guinea. And no one in Australia cares because everyone is so focussed on mining. We all agreed that farmers have a serious image problem; I called them rednecks, and they concurred. Being seen as rednecks isn't going to help them win over the city people, and they concurred. Spending time on a farm would solve the problem, well that should be obvious. Stop counting votes in marginal electorates Julia, and do your job to look after all of Australia. Must say though, not sure Tony would do things differently.

 

Kids on the farm, doin' farm kid stuff

The kids saw brandin', dehornin', musterin', spayin', clippin', taggin', feedin', and dopin'. In fact they saw so many 'ins Ned reckons he knows how to work on a farm. He'd be good at it too. They played with Gus and Tilly, Jane and Hayden's kids, and saw Gus hard at work on School of the Air. This was particularly interesting, as we'd visited it in Derby before we left, and we scored a special mention at Monday morning assembly!

We left Yougawalla after that, and drove back to Bulka. The very sensible 20 litre drum of diesel I'd purchased before we left Broome gave us the extra range to get into Fitzroy Crossing with the computer giving us 15 kilometres to go before the car exploded for lack of fuel. Sorry Tua. We had planned to leave the next day for our Kimberley Kamping Kapers, but were too stuffed so stayed here two nights. Kids made an abysmal attempt to catch up on journals except for Ivy, so what should have been a half day job will stretch into tomorrow morning. No matter, we'll be away from everything very soon as we head out to the Gibb River road and beyond to Mitchell Falls, and possibly beyond that, to Honeymoon Beach. Will let you know how we went in a fortnight!

H