Continental Drifting: Australia Part II

Australia Part II - enter the ponies

Part of the plan for this adventure was to include some experiences off the beaten track. In what shape or form did not matter too much and I was open to pretty much anything. By chance one of the guys in my dorm in Cairns mentioned he’d got a job through an online ‘help exchange’ programme and was leaving later that day to work on a farm nearby. Naturally I signed up and the first advertisement I came across was a “horse and cattle station” a couple of hours’ drive west of Townsville. I didn’t know too much about horses or cattle, but that didn’t seem to be a problem, and in exchange for caring for a couple of calves and some young horses and general pitching in, I would get food and lodging. Seemed like a reasonable deal to me.

Amelia Downs, which would become home for the three short weeks I spent there, is a 50,000 acre cattle station and has been run by John and Prue Weir and their family since 2000. Jane, their daughter, keeps a number of horses which she trains and prepares for competition, although a recent injury has limited her ability to pursue this dream currently. Some horses are kept for work purposes such as mustering cattle which I soon learned is a pretty fun means for directing the flow of bovine migration. I was also lucky enough to ride an off road bike, a quad bike, shoot a 223 rifle, try my hand at welding and get a great insight into what it takes to run a farm and experience the day to day lifestyle. I loved the early mornings and getting to know the warm blooded beasts that are horses and all their different personalities and quirks. The Weir family is particularly warm and they were very kind to me during my stay exuding patience with the visiting city boy and making a great effort to ensure I enjoyed the experience.

It then became apparent that I’d have the opportunity to move down the coast to assist at a race horse stable - Affinity Park - which is Joe and Amy Weir’s plot in Oakey, near Toowoomba. Joe was off to attend a vet conference in New Zealand and he would be joined by John and Prue as well as Amy, so I arrived with the intention to assist Mikayla with the horses while everyone was away. I was warned that race horses can be pushy and stubborn, but I got on well, or they behaved particularly well, and enjoyed my stay in the small, quiet town. The sunrises and sunsets were spectacular and it was impressive to see the transformation of what was once a vacant plot into the current horse yards and stables in a few short years. On returning from New Zealand, Joe was keen to continue with his stables building project and so I was shifted from stable hand to technical assistant. I learned a great deal over the past month and it was a great way to really interact with some genuine locals and get an insight into ways of life of which I am not accustomed.