Hey everyone, long time no speak I know. So firstly apologies for not writing this sooner as I know some of you were after updates of how things have been.
So much has happened in the recent weeks since the last post. I last talked about how we were preparing to go on our Ranch Training Course so I will start there, but most recently I am well and have been staying in Brisbane the past few days in a hostel with a friend I met from me course. After completing the course Tom got offered a job in South Australia so we separated and he has been working there on a farm ever since. He is doing well and being paid quite a good wage but the work is tough and very mundane by the sounds of it. He has his ways of making it fun though I'm sure.
RANCH TRAINING COURSE
Tom and I arrived at the city meeting point on a warm Monday morning at 6am, met the other 10 members of our group and set off on the 7 hour journey north west of Sydney.
After stopping off at a few places on the way for food and to buy some work boots and a trusty akubra we arrived at our destination - a small house atop a hill surrounded by lush green valleys and trees - not the typical red dirt, barren land, wooden shacks and tumbleweed landscape some of us had been anticipating. There had been a fair bit of rain in the recent weeks which had seen grass grow all over the place where before not a single blade existed. A welcome change for the farmers as the Australian summer draws to a close.
Shortly after arriving we had a bit of food for lunch (meals included throughout the week but not much to go around!) then filled out all the 'sign your life away' paperwork before having a briefing about how the week will unfold. We were told that we would be 'assessed' on our performance and attitude towards work and that our personal profiles and previous experience would be taken into account when they try to find us a suitable job later in the week.
Later that afternoon we practiced some knot tying and had a go at whip cracking. Nothing too exciting but useful nonetheless.
Below is a breakdown of the things we did during the rest of the week.
All the things we did were on the land of a local farmer called Neil so it was good practice to be doing everything in situ. Neil acted as our mentor throughout the course and he was assisted by two guys who were sort of group leaders. We found out they'd not long completed the course themselves and had been employed by the course manager to help out.
Tuesday
- 'Learnt' how to ride a horse. Neil showed us the basics of how to saddle up and guide the horse while riding. It was actually a lot easier than I thought but that didn't stop me being petrified for the first 15 mins. Especially when my horse decided he fancied a bit of a canter and selfishly didn't give me any warning beforehand. He was called Kiwi, a grey horse who was generally one of the well behaved ones out of the rest but a bit slow at times.
We rode out through the paddocks and fields of Neil's land and saw wild kangaroos, navigated hills and rocks and mustered a few cows in to a different paddock. The landscape was beautiful, the scenery was like from a western, the sun was scorching and my arse was aching. That experience was pretty special for me though. Quite surreal and one of those 'wow this is unbelievable' moments.
- 'Learnt' how to ride quad and motorbikes
Quads were easy. I have a bit of a history with quad bikes and was quite nervous beforehand but when I got on them it was fine and they were obviously very easy to manoeuvre and verrrry fast. We all drove across the fields and onto some off road dirt tracks which were really cool. Poor Tom forgot to take goggles with him so he had to endure a constant blasting of dust in the face when he wasnt in front. his eyes were streaming when we finished.
Next...the motorbikes. I was nervous to say the least. Even more so as I knew the group leaders weren't going to give us the most comprehensive breakdown of how to drive a bike for the first time.
All that was said was "here's the clutch, there's the breaks, gears go up with your foot, you'll get the hang of it". Thank god the bikes were only 200cc. Even that felt strong but this was my first time afterall. There were a few others including me who'd never ridden before so after stalling a few times we got going and did a few laps of the paddock we were in to try and get the jist of it. Tom was zipping around in his element since he'd been waiting so long to get back on a bike.
We went out and rode the same dirt tracks we'd been on with the quads. I struggled a lot. Even Tom said it was hard. There were patches where the tracks turned mostly to sand and I lost my balance as the back of the bike started snaking in the sand. Then accelerated by accident (typical learner error) sending the bike out of control and I fell off sideways. The bike landed on my right leg and I sprained my ankle but I was ok. Just got even more nervous after that but made it back eventually without falling off again. Didn't ever want to ride a bike again after that experience.
Wednesday
- Fence building and repair
There are hundreds of fences on farms and cattle properties so this skill was as useful as they get. We began taking own an old fence that was broken and made a new one that stretched the entire width of a field. Then we learnt how to repair broken wires and make the type of joins which tie them together.
Thursday
- Vehicle Maintenance and 4x4
We changed tyres on vehicles and practiced reversing with a trailer on the back. Also took turns driving Neils ute up a steep hill and going down again to practice the 4x4 off-roading.
- Lamb Slaughtering and Cattle Branding
In the afternoon Neil told us he was going to show us how to slaughter a couple of lambs as one of his butcher friends had bought them off him. He took us into the pen and one at a time shot them, cut their throats, cut and diced them up, then hung them from a hook to drain as he tore of the skin and gutted them. It was probably the most graphic thing I've witnessed first hand and with the sun beating down on us and the fact I hadn't drank that much water I was almost passing out. Which I've never experienced before either. It was lucky that one of the people in the group had some water that I could drink as I was whiting out and feeling sick.
We then got some calves into the yard and assembled them ready for branding (where the farmer burns his brand or logo into the skin of the animal with a hot iron rod for identification and ownership purposes). Then the steers (male calves) had to be castrated, which was also pretty graphic as I'm sure you can imagine.
Friday
- Horse riding
We were supposed to be mustering a herd of cattle today. They said we could choose if we wanted to ride a quad bike, motorbike or a horse to herd all of these cattle. I chose horse. My thinking was how often do you get a chance to do this. Tom chose the motorbike, no surprises there.
But by the time me and the other horse riders had saddled up and rode there with Neil it had all been done so we were left to just ride back. It was still good and enjoyable but would have been nice to actually muster something that day. I was on a different horse this time. A bigger, ex race horse in fact! He was called Red and his racing instinct meant that he always had to be at the front of the group so if another horse walked past he would trot up ahead until he was in the lead again. Not very forgiving on the old bum cheeks.
On the way there we entered a paddock with a bit of an ascent to the next gate and for some reason one horse decided he wanted to stretch his legs and cantered off and then the others bolted too. We had no control over these horse at that point and they were almost galloping up this field. I was holding on for dear life and can't believe I didn't fall off. I somehow managed to hold on to the saddle and gained control of the horse eventually by pulling the reigns as hard as I could. It really shook everyone up and the girls (who ride horses back home) even said they didn't want to carry on but after a while calmed down and started again after swapping horses.
In the final field on the way back to the farm though my horse started to canter again but this time I felt confident and just let him go (still steering him though) and he pretty much got into a fast gallop. Scary but quite fun once you get the technique right. Neil had previously asked me if I'd ridden before because he said I had a really good technique and was doing everything natural. Get in! He said "we could make a good rider out of you yet mate" in the most stereotypical Aussie dialect.
Big anticlimax in the afternoon as we were told we needed to wash the bikes and the van. We were all annoyed and didn't understand why we were ultimately paying to wash bikes instead of actually learning something. This is when most of us had the same epiphany that the whole course had not been value for money at all. We'd been given little proper training and support in everyone we did. The people teaching us weren't qualified in training, or the nature of the work we were doing, everything lacked order and consistency, there was no real structure to the activities and the food had been barely enough for the group and was really basic. So we were all pretty fed up that day. While the experiences had been fun and really enjoyable, the course in general had been a let down.
Things were going to turn even worse when we arrived back at the house that afternoon.
We were being called in to the office to discuss the jobs we had been offered and how to arrange transport to get there. We had said to the manager at the start of the week that Tom and I would prefer a job together if lossible as we had heard this is dowble if there is a job with two positions. It wasnt to be unfortunately and she (the manager) was very rude and blunt every time we spoke to her.
Tom got called in and he was offered the job that he is working now as I mentioned earlier. But when I went in she told me that she'd just had a phone call from the employer of the job she was going to offer me telling her that the position had already been filled. Fantastic. And there were no more jobs available "that would suit my abilities". She was very short with me and said ere's nothing she could do but try and find me another one next week. "But it could be a wait of upto two weeks" she said, which I didn't understand. Meaning that I would ave to go back to sydney and wait for her to find something. I said "what if I can't afford to go back to sydney and fork out for expensive accommodation and food costs" (I could, bit I wasn't letting her know that). She just said I'm sorry that ps the way it is. I was so annoyed. The whole week had been a major disappointment and I felt like I hadn't accomplished anything or made any progress, like it was all for nothing. I wasn't sure when I'd be offered a job or if the employer would give it to me when I did. The course promised a job offer, but what they forgot to say "it might be a very long, costly and inconvenient wait".
Managed to calm myself down in the evening and was speaking to everyone about their job offers. Turns out the same scenario had happened to a lad from Birmingham called Michael, who I'd been getting on pretty well with.
When the day came to leaving the house and heading back to sydney (Saturday) they had the cheek the to charge us $50 each for the privilege of taking us back to the city, despite the fact the bus was going back there anyway to pick up the next group. Tom was flying to his job from sydney airport so he came back in the bus too. But he wasn't flying until Monday.
So we had to stay in a hostel not knowing if or when we'd be offered a job. I went to the library most days and searched/applied for jobs I'd found myself. Said goodbye to Tom on Sunday night and he took a bus to the airport. At least I wasn't on my own in this annoying position I'd found myself in. Me and Michael were getting pretty well and he's a really decent and funny guy.
We were in the hostel until Saturday when I got a call in the morning from a farmer respond to an application I'd sent off online. He offered both me and Michael some work on his farm up in Queensland, telling us to book a flight to Rockhampton and he'd come and pick us up. Meals and accommodation were included and the pay was $600 a week which was basic but pretty good when compared to rates of most other jobs I'd seen.
In hindsight we were a bit to keen to start working and earning and we booked flights as soon as we could. We arrived in Rockhampton on Tuesday evening after telling him what time we were going to be there. He never came to pick us up. We did manage to get in touch with him finally and he said "I'm not coming to pick you up tonight, I'm two hours drive away. Book into a hostel in Rocky (Rockhampton) and I'll pick you up in the morning". So that was more money we had to fork out.
The following morning he did actually pick us up but he was late and we thought the whole thing was a sham at numerous points. He pulled up and we put our stuff on the back of his ute. On first impressions he came across as a well-to-do, nicely dressed, straight talking business man. How wrong we were.
Little did we know, accepting that job offer from that man was one of the worst things we'd do.
Without going into detail (I might save the documented details for another post) it was the worst working experience of my life. The following text is taken from an email I sent to various Queensland magazines asking them to raise awareness of the farmer in question and get his farm blacklisted so to prevent other backpackers from going there and having to deal with what we did.
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...The first few days started out ok. We were carrying out general farm duties and gardening. We eventually started to muster cattle on motorbikes in to the yard and draught them day by day. It was during this time where the man turned in to something of a monster.
I have never felt so much anger and hatred towards someone who I was working for.
We were sworn at, insulted, threatened, humiliated, ridiculed because we are British and even hit with cattle sticks.
He did not give us any help or support on how to carry out the jobs and duties that we hadn't done before. We came here to build our existing skills and were motivated to learn new ones but his temper was short and his voice so loud. He never properly showed us how to do things - just told us - and then snapped and went crazy when we didn't do it to his 'standards'.
During one morning he purposefully drove in to me at about 40km/hr while I was mustering on motorbike because I had got stuck in the mud. I was flung from my bike but luckily didn't hurt myself. He was in an all terrain buggy and told me "get back on your f*cking bike you pommie c*nt". I was in complete shock that he didn't care or realise what he had just done. This was the final straw and needless to say my friend and I told him we were resigning the next day. He told us to go and sit in our house and wait until he was ready to take us back to town and that he would be charging us $80 for every night we stayed. We had no power or influence to get him to take us back to town and had to wait 3 days until he did, and that was only because he needed supplies from the cattle feed shop. We felt captive on his land and there was nothing we could do.
Every time we approached him to try and get him to sign paperwork, take our bank details or ask when he was able to drop us off we were met with a barrage of swearing and insults and told to get away from his house.
When he finally did (unwillingly) take us to town he stopped at the main road outside the boundary of his land and told us to get out and make our own way back to Rockhampton. We were disgusted and horrified but at the same time so glad to be away from him and the farm. He wouldn't sign any paperwork or take our bank details, only saying just "email me" so we have no guarantee of being paid or a record of days we have worked to count towards our second year visas. We had to hitchhike back to Rockhampton and then flew to Brisbane. So now we are roughly about $400 out of pocket each and have considered not even bothering to find more farm work as we are so alarmed and disappointed by the fact these sorry excuses for human beings exist out there in the outback.
It was without doubt the single most demeaning working experience I have ever encountered and we will never forget what happened and how we were treated. The man has no concept of fairness, modern day human rights or welfare and resorts to treating workers like cattle.
The whole time we were working there was limited food, damp living conditions, no health and safety measures and no protective equipment (except motorbike helmets), and there were times when we felt in real danger but were being pressured and almost forced in to continuing. Quite often we were met with remarks such as "This is my f*ucking land and when you're on my land you will do whatever I tell you to do and I will do whatever I want" and "there is a class system here in Australia you pommie c*nts and you backpackers are the lowest of the low"...
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Shocking, I know. As the days go on and the more we think about what happened we realise even more how well we did to deal with all that happened. All I can say now is we're just so happy to be away from there and being back in Brisbane is nice. We've just been relaxing in the museums and the libraries, using the free wifi and searching for more work.
I'm pleased to say that as of today 3rd April both me and Michael have new jobs, which we start on friday. Luckily I had two different people respond to an advertsiment I made, of which one of the, Ipassed on michaels details. The first person rang me on Saturday night. He was another farmer! But wait, this farmer is different. His farm is small and family run and owned. He has a wife and three kids. He is a polite, friendly and respectful bloke who I had a long conversation with and he is 100% legitimate as he gave me the by her of the last backpacker he employed. I rang them and they confirmed he was a great person to work for. The polar opposite of my last experience by the sounds of it.
The only bad thing is the work he has is only for 2-3 weeks during his cattle branding season. So I will be mustering cattle and helping in the yard again. It will be me and his family doing a team effort and my duties will be to "quietly assist" them and help everything run smoothly. Again, such a contrast from the intensity of work from the last job. Food and accommodation included again and a better salary of $120-$150 per day. So it's worth doing just for a few weeks even though I wish it was for a few months.
I'm leaving Brisbane to travel there tomorrow afternoon. It's a 14 hour coach journey into central Queensland to a town called Blackall (red pin).
The purple pin is where is was in the previous job, 2 hours north of Rockhampton. The farm was called Glenprairie Station, nearest town was Marlborough. I have included some really cool images of the landscape and surrounds that we were living in at the end of this post.
Meanwhile Michael has been speaking to the other guy that called me and it turns out his job could be a lot better than mine! Typical! If I hadn't committed to my job and bought my $150 coach ticket I would have taken this job! Although I'm not sure if it counts as regional. Would have to check.
The job is helping a guy who owns a computer company move his business from Bundaberg in Queensland to Melbourne. He is moving house as well so all his possessions and his computers need checking, cleaning, packing and transporting. He has two cars so at some point Michael will be doing his own (very brief) east coast road trip down to Melbourne!
The guy is moving over a period of 8 weeks (aprox how long he thinks it willmtake to pack everything up I guess). Pay and accom is included and the wage is extremely good at $1400 per week!!! That's almost equivalent to earning £14 per hour back home! Just for dismantling computers and moving and packing things into boxes!
I'm keeping in touch with the guy and he said there may be an opportunity for me to come and help after I've finished my 3 or so weeks at this farm so fingers crossed!
We'll see how things go. *Touch wood* we have some good karma come our way after all that has happened! Will try to write again when I can. Bye for now.
Glenprairie Station Landsacpe and Scenery
Hey howdy hey
