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Driver: Toppie
23/07/10
The fourth sector of the Oz Experience was a trip to the Cattle Ranch. I really didn't know what to expect from this trip, all I knew was that we were about to head back in time, dress like cowboys/girls, learn to muster goats, crack a whip and ride a Bucking Bronco. All a little crazy but I was so excited to experience a night in the outback and live like a cowgirl. Our driver for the day was Toppie, full of life and she made what was the longest bus journey into the best one yet. The crowd on the bus were also fabulous; Heidi, Dawn, Simon, Francis (and not forgetting Matt and Chris). We were given pens to doodle on the windows, Dawn your fat koala and un-proportional kangaroo was the best.. Hehe. We later played a quiz, where (regrettably) our answers were displayed on the windows - My score was a dismal, sport and guess the song/artist unfortunately are not my forte. However, something that was my forte and I was about to find out (sorry Simon) was lawn bowls. Yes, that's right, we broke up our thirteen hour journey with a trip to a bowling green. We were (unsurprisingly) the youngest people there. It really is an old persons game, but I really shouldn't knock it too much (it could be me in forty years) and they appeared to be enjoying themselves. The funniest was watching the lawn being flattened, the job was taken very seriously, a large what looked like a sit on mower was ridden sideways at a fast speed, I'm chuckling now thinking about it, but you had to be there to see how hilarious it was. There are strict regulations to bowling, no dropping the ball and creating crater dents in the lawn, and shoes must not be worn, again for any indentations which could be made. We were put in teams, where we played against the other teams and then had a final play off - Heidi had a certain technique where the ball was flung to the ground, thankfully we didn't get a rollicking off the oldies. Our team won (Matt, Chris and myself) and then…. Somehow I managed to win the final play off. (complete and utter fluke I have to admit). Simon had bowled his ball, where it perfectly sat next to the jack, and then when it came to my turn I was aiming for the jack and somehow managed to roll it at a fast pace and I smashed Simon's ball out of the way. It was such a fun way to break up the journey and tire us out (hmm about the latter) and back on the bus I think I slept for a good few hours as the view out of the window was pretty barren.
When we arrived at the Cattle Station we were explained how our evening would unfold, and that if we purchased a cowboy hat and a neck chief we would get our drinks at a discounted price (awesome). Everyone looked the part and fitted into the theme of things brilliantly. We were fed well and after we were taught how to crack the whip - it looked so much easier than it was (but then again so did the Bucking Bronco and the goat herding). I really don't think I'd make a very good cowgirl! Lol. When it was time to go on the mechanical bull, I mistakenly went after Dawn, who I think managed to stay on for about seventeen bucks… but not me. It was a struggle to even get on it and then when I was on and thought I was in the right position I think it bucked twice and threw me off. I was offered another go, but once was embarrassing enough.. Hehe.
The evening was completed with a few drinking games, the main being flip cup.. Oh dear! I had never played before (and I don't think Heidi had either), our one task was to drink the alcohol from the cup without using our hands and picking it up with our mouth, Heidi didn't manage to swallow any of hers, but her jumper certainly did, she was soaked, it was just hilarious. Lets just say our side of the table lost and our forfeit, yes, was to drink more alcohol. It was a pretty fun night, before we resided in our tiny cabin, slept for the night and were woken for our next cattle station mission… goat herding.
I really hadn't had any luck so far with the tasks which had been set, so hopefully goat herding would stand more in my favour. I don't know where my goat had come from but he was a fruit loop, I couldn't catch him with the lasso so I had to chase after him and he didn't half run. It took me a while and the stopwatch was ticking, but eventually I managed to catch him after doing a few laps of the ring trudging though goat doop. Lol. Our day was completed with a quad biking trip around the grounds of the cattle station. We were riding for about two hours and other than the skydive it has been the best thing I have done so far. So exhilarating, and the surroundings were incredible. I think I will leave this blog here, but even though it was clear I didn't fit the part of a cowgirl, what an amazing experience the Cattle Ranch was.
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