26 Jun Just Like City Slickers (only not)
What were four city blokes doing on a farm for a week?
Well, one of our mates, Norm, has a cousin (by marriage) who owns a farm, who …….
Joe (the farmer on his tractor) and Norm (our mate), discussing our next chore
Joe thought he might be able to get a couple of days work out of four old city slickers, while we thought we’d get a few days holiday living on his farm.
The road to the farm
So Norm, John, Mike and I drove a couple hundred K’s out of Sydney in NSW, Australia, to see if we could combine Joe’s chores with our holiday, sprinkled with a few drinks and some favourite recipes. BUT, “remember Alistair, what happens on the farm stays on the farm”. I can still hear those wise words banging around in my head.
Arriving at the farm
We ate, slept and drank in the farm’s bunk house, and because Joe’s was “bach’ing it” that week, we shared our masterful, culinary creations with him.
How many city slickers does it take to open a farm gate?
Mike (left) & Norm (right) opening the gate, while John (red shirt) woos the cows. Joe is driving the tractor to feed the cows, with a bucket full of stale bread.
Joe backing the tractor, to lay down a trail of bread for his eager cows
John with bread in his hand, attempting to hand feed the cows – not many takers
As can be seen, this is hilly country. And there’s plenty of grass here, at a time when most of the east coast farmers of Australia are dealing with drought and buying feed for their animals.
Joe explained he needs to “slash” the grass, because if it gets too long it becomes sour and the cattle won’t eat it. Plus, slashing provides a mulch bed that promotes further growth and helps to prevent erosion. Of course it’s a balance – having the right amount of stock that the land can support.
Apart from helping to feed the cows, we fed the horses each day.
John, The Horse (dog, cow, bull) Whisperer
Cutting termite eaten wood for the night time fires
In addition, we burnt off some overgrowth, fed the bulls and tried to put nets over large fruit trees (succeeded with one out of three).
What a bunch of heroes. Well, Norm, Mike and John are. I was on crutches, so I did very little farm work. I did take photos, some cooking and some cleaning.
To get around the property we used these All Terrain Vehicles (ATV’s). A lot of fun can be had in theses, without being TOO silly.
Norm and I travelled in “Big Blue”
John and Mike, wearing seat belts in “Revhead Red” (as we did in “Big Blue”).
While we live in a rather picturesque part of Sydney, it’s refreshing to spend time in a place like this doing unfamiliar things.
Thanks Joe ….. Thanks Norm ….. We must do it again, sometime???
If you’d like to do a farm stay in Australia, a quick Google search will reveal many possible locations.
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