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| Day 8: November 7 -
Myella to Rockhampton |
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The farm wakes up at dawn and starts working immediately. We were up and about by about 6. First
chore was to help Lyn milk the cows. While Carrie, Maureen and Howard watched Lyn, Grant, Amanda, and Jeff took off on motorbikes to round up the horses
from the outer pastures.
Milking a cow is clearly harder than it looks. It takes a lot of pressure to get a full stream. We milked the two dairy cows and then Lyn filtered it
and offered it up for anyone to try. We passed.
After a quick breakfast, we headed up to the stables
where Lyn showed us how to harness and ride a horse.
Howard was given a horse named Speckles who was
a tall horse that was mostly white with brown and
black spots. Howard got the tack and then Ray, one
of the farmhands, saddled the horse. Howard got
up as Lyn showed everyone and walked Speckles around
the paddock getting used to the feel of being on
a horse.
When everyone was on their horses, Ray led the way out of the paddock and onto the farm. Ray is the Aussie version of the Marlboro Man - this and wiry with a
leather face to match his hat. In each of his shirt pockets, he has a 40 pack of cigarettes that he chain smokes, lighting one off the butt of the last.
The ride went for two hours all over the property. We saw the feral pig traps and some brilliant parrots. After about an hour, Ray had us stop in a clearing and
dismount. He took out apples for everyone to eat and when we were done we fed the cores back to the horses. They seemed to enjoy that.
Howard and the rest returned to the paddock where
we unsaddled the horses and washed them down. Once
the horses were washed, we did the same for ourselves.
Following a huge lunch that included fresh made
corned beef, we piled into the van, waved goodbye
to Lyn, Bob, Tina and the rest of the gang and headed
for Rockhampton.
Rockhampton seems to be a very industrial town. Since it's Sunday, there is very little open. We hit the motel and scrambled for the washing machines. |
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Lyn milking the cows |
Howard on Speckles |
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Carrie, Grant and Ray, The Marlboro Man |
The Horsebacking gang |
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