Radio Silence

Hello 👋

I’ll start by apologising for the radio silence over the last couple of months. Things have been a bit crazy!

I have a lot to catch you all up on so I’ll do my best to do just that.

We have moved! Yes, we resigned from our last job and have moved South West a few hours. Even though I was enjoying our time at the first station there were some underlying issues with management that we couldn’t resolve. Matt was not settling into the role and it was taking its mental toll so after some consideration we made the decision to resign. When we first started on this adventure we invested a lot in setting ourselves up as self sufficient which has turned out to be a wise decision. We were given 12 days to move off the station which meant we had to get our skates on! We immediately started seeking alternative work and packing up the house. Although it was somewhat stressful we knew we could park our van up anywhere really and at least have a bed! We tried to find work locally in order to keep the kids settled but that was to no avail so we then looked broader. We decided to cull quite a bit of our furniture and equipment and took a load back to Gympie to place in storage which allowed us to reduce the amount of loads we’d have to do when we did actually have somewhere to go. By about the third day I posted an ad on Facebook seeking work and the offers came thick and fast, although not all were suitable. As I’m determined to keep the kids enrolled in main stream schooling it does limit your options somewhat. Never the less it came down to two positions that sounded most suitable, one in Cowra NSW and the other in the Tambo Qld district. We weighed up both and decided to stick with Qld, mostly for the convenience of the logistics and that I feel we haven’t really experienced Qld enough.

Thankfully the job offered an immediate start so we moved over 2 days and had completely packed up a 4 bedroom home, 3 kids, 5 horses and a load 12 hours back to Gympie in between in 12 days! Phew. 😅

The job we accepted is not what we initially thought we would accept on the basis of my housing requirements, however the young couple that own the property felt genuine and kind and we happily accepted a slightly more interesting role than first anticipated.

We are currently contracting to the station on a trial basis and will sit down to discuss the terms and plans moving forward at the end of June. This gives both the owners and us a chance to ensure it suits both parties. As the saying goes…fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me!

The owners have only recently purchased the station which adjoins 2 of their others and the house is in need of a full renovation. It was originally just old shearing quarters that have been added roughly to over the years to make what resembles a house as it stands today. It is far from a typical pretty Queenslander, more of a corrugated mish mash. However, it is actually a great layout and the owners are investing well to make it a nice home. It will be lovely when it is finished. We are currently living in our caravan while a builder and Matt renovate the house. Living in the van has been surprisingly ok, I have a pretty smooth routine worked out and we are all enjoying our time camping. We are living very simply and will probably continue this way for the coming months. This morning I woke to a burning campfire and the prettiest orange sunrise, they are the moments that make our adventure even more memorable.

The station is 67 km from town, about 45 minutes, some of that is gravel but mostly bitumen. The kids are enrolled in the local school, and I only have to drive 16km to the bus. The community is so lovely and the town is very pretty. I have already met so many lovely people and there a lot of young families. It has a lovely feel to it.

Since leaving the last job we have realised just how tense the environment was there and was not what we had envisioned our station experience to be. This station has a much more laid back feel and we feel so much more at home and comfortable in the environment than we ever did previously.

Whilst Matt is busy renovating alongside the builder, which he is thoroughly enjoying he is also doing station duties. I am also employed to help with whatever is going on and needs doing. Already I’ve been able to drive the loader and truck, do the water run, get on a horse and walk cattle out and yesterday we were all able to move cattle together. I picked the girls up from the bus and we went straight to the other station to move the cattle, the girls drove the buggy on the tail, I took the lead with Ashton on the quad and Matt on the wing on the 2 wheeler. It was really special to be able to do a job as a family.

We were also able to attend the local campdraft last weekend. The girls took their horses for the mini draft and gymkhana and I even had a run in the ladies draft…the first run I’ve had since having children. Although tiring with kids and horses and Ashton in tow we all had a great day and even took some prizes home.

Although our future is still a little uncertain we are very happy with where we are and are sure it will all work out one way or another. After all, this was all a big adventure and it’s certainly playing out that way!

Thanks for dropping in to read and catch up on our life happenings. I love reading your messages and comments! Til next time. ✌️

P.S. My photos aren’t in order as I’m working against bad service..apologies.

Kids making their own campfire.