Dusty Soles: It's cattle, but not as we know it

Its been almost two and a half months since I arrived at the cattle station and life has been a lot more comfortable than expected. First off there's wireless Internet access, which came as a relief. Second, the station cook is amazing and even though beef is the dominate staple (obviously!), we do have breaks now and again. His prawn pizza is a personal favourite. Thirdly, the people out here have so far, been of a good sort. And finally, after five months in a dorm room I have my own room with a/c!!!

When I first arrived the wet season was still looming. It was hot, humid and rained every day. Now I'm experiencing the dry season; cold nights and early mornings, with it heating up during the day to around 30 degrees. The skies are nearly always clear.

I still cannot get my head around the size of the station. At some parts the terrain is so harsh it can only be access via aircraft. Which brings me to my favourite things about station life: that helicopter. As most of my work is on the homestead premises, I don't get to do too much of the cool stuff. However a couple of times I've gone up and it's been breath taking. You get to see so much and really see how big the bush is. From up high you can also spot the wild horses and donkeys, which there are tonnes of! Farming is just completely different to how it's done in England and it's all the more interesting for it. At home cattle are like pets compared to the feral ones living on this land.

Favourite experiences so far have included;
• watching the cattle do their thing in the yards. Note to self, a White t- shirt in such a dusty place is not the smartest idea...
• Throwing fire bombs for annual bush burning from a helicopter
• Getting behind the wheel of a vehicle again, even if it is about 10 times the size Of any other vehicle I've ever driven. God love land cruisers.
• A goose getting killed by a python. Don't feel sorry for it. He was a dickhead.

And the not so great...
• I have a lot of time on my hands. I'm out of books and ideas. I've also taken the opportunity to stop drinking for three months, which has been good for my liver, but would make the hours go quicker. Still only 13 days to go!!!
• Trip to the doctor due to infected wounds and tonsillitis.

So here's a few pictures of the station...