So, following the slightly disappointing trip to the Whitsundays I am very pleased to report that we have now just had a few of the most AMAZING days we have had since we've been away!! Grant has just banned me from using the word 'amazing' as I have probably said it about 500+ times in the past 3 days and has told me I now have to use the word 'glorious' instead so we'll see how that goes.

Rockhampton was our next destination and is famous for being the beef capital of Australia. Wandering around the town is like stepping into a wild west movie as it is proper cowboy territory, so flip flops and shorts were slightly out of place. On Easter Sunday we heard there was a bull-riding rodeo on at the Great Western pub (the only pub in Oz with a full on rodeo stadium out back!) so we decided to go along. Now obv I was a bit sceptical as was concerned it was cruel and the animals would be badly treated, but decided to give it a go to see for ourselves why this rodeo malarky is such big business round these parts... I was so glad we did, it was a wicked experience! The build up is pretty special, where the stadium goes dark and they have flashing lights and dramatic music to introduce all the cowboys. The cowboys are all pretty young (below 21 I'd say) and they're all proper suited up in chaps and cowboys hats and stuff and most of them just ride like this, with no helmets or protection or anything. They are thrown all over the place as these huge bulls burst from the pens and buck every which way, often flinging them off and trampling on them. One guy was even wrenched up by the bull's horns and flicked accross the pen like a dummy - awesome! (he was ok by the way, am not a complete sicko). The bulls all seemed to be treated well which was a relief. It was a bit like racehorsing in a way as some of the bulls are worth around $100,000 - big business - so the animals have to be treated well. All in all a fantastic thing to experience, check out the videos on the site!

Anyway, the main reason for coming to Rockhampton was to get picked up to go and stay on a farm for a couple of days (I am totally grinning just thinking about this place!) and do lots of activities and jobs on a working farm. It is called Myella and is right out in the bush, pretty much cut off from everything. It is run by Peter and Olive whoe are 75 and 65 years old respectively, and are helped by a few other staff members and their daughter Lyn. We were made to feel welcome from the moment we arrived and were told the full history of their family, the farm and all the activities we could get involved in. At this moment I noticed a baby kangaroo and baby wallaby hopping freely around the garden and developed a grin that would stay on my face until the moment we left.

First on the agenda, after cooking some toast on a campfire for brekkie, was horseriding. Now neither me or Grant have ever ridden a horse so we were both pretty nervous. Grant was given a massive beast of a horse called Barnaby who had a bit of a temper, and I was given Bundy who was also huge, but looked pretty demure. After saddling up and attractively heaving ourselves onto our horses we had a little trot around the paddock.... well I say we, that pretty much means all the other 7 riders except me. My horse basically didn't have a 'go' switch. However many times I nudged him to move he just wouldn't budge and just stood watching everyone else, with me squirming around trying to get him off the mark. Lyn, who was instructing us, compared the situation to me being a supply teacher at a school who was so unsure of myself that the kids just wouldn't take anything I did seriously (not sure if that includes the fact that I kept softly whispering to Bundy "it's ok babes don't worry, I'm really sorry if I'm too heavy, you just go when you want to", much to Grant's amusement). I realised quite soon after this that I had to be a bit firmer for him to actually move! So, after a bit of walking around the paddock we set off into the fields surrounding the farm for a cross country jaunt, with the sun blazing and the 'glorious' scenery scattered with wild roos. Grant seemed to master riding quite quickly although he had to keep a safe distance from all the other horses as Barnaby had a tendancy to kick and was known as the delinquent child in the group. We both felt quite at home on horseback after a while, although I still found it quite hard to get Bundy to move at any kind of pace. He preferred to hang at the back of the group, often stopping to eat or just resting - perfectly matched to his rider I felt.

After all the excitement of learning to ride we went back to the farm for a 'glorious' lunch and a little cuddle with the baby kangaroo... eeeeeee (this was pretty much the case for any moment over the 2 days that I didn't have something else in my hand!) The next thing on the agenda was then motorbike riding - eeekkk. All activities are optional and if you don't want to participate you are completely welcome just to sloth on the grass with the furry babies (very tempting option) but we were keen to give the bikes a go. After 5 minutes of instructions my head was boggled however and I kept looking for the reins and wanting to shout 'whoa' to stop the thing. Confidence lacking I decided I was quite likely to do myself a serious injury so clambered off the bike as Grant sped off round the dirt track like a Hells Angel. After a while though Shane (love a good Aussie with a proper Aussie name) talked me into having a go and man, I'm so glad I did! After a few trips round the track we sped off into the fields with the wind in our hair, dodging the horses and cows that look completely bumused as you fly by.

After all this high speed fun we decided we deserved a rest at the farm, but Lyn had other ideas, giving us the task of herding some cattle with her new puppy, who apparently would know what to do. Hmmm, Toby the puppy proved he is not quite ready for Crufts yet and kind of just wandered off leaving us to lead these 3 enormous cows 2km from a field into a pen. Now when I say we, I kind of just mean Grant, Sam and Rob, who me and Adele let take charge as we basically just hung back and took pictures... it seemed more like mens work to me. After so too-ing and fro-ing the mission was successful however and Grant was now a proper farmer. We headed off on the bikes again after that to watch the 'glorious' sunset on the top of a hill and posed for pictures which I believe may be used in the new Levi ad.

A well deserved dinner followed these exertions and I can honestly say that I think it is the nicest meal we have eaten since we have been away. We had minced beef pie, mash and veg with gravy and although it may not be the most exotic thig we have eaten it was just heavenly. After the pie was gone we were then served beef rissoles, roast beef and then cottage pie (you may be sensing a theme here), and Grant felt it rude not to try a bit of everything, even if that meant he couldn't move for about 3 hours afterwards. After we had eaten it was time for all the animals to have a feed and I was literally giddy with excitement to bottle feed the joey. As he is orphaned he pretty much spends all his time in a home-made pouch and when you hold it next to him he jumps in head first and just stays like that, feet and tail all sticking out. When he realises milk is about however his little head shoots straight out and he grabs at the bottle with his little kangaroo hands and just suckles away while laying like a baby in your arms.... amazing amazing amazing!! We next got to feed an injured baby owl who Lyn found recently in a field. He has a bad eye is was unable to hunt for food himself so we had to gently open his beak and put food in his mouth, then water with a syringe to help him swallow. He was so timid throughout and just sat wrapped in a shirt but Lyn said he looked a lot better than previous days so it was great to feel like we were helping him in his recovery. It was pretty much bedtime by that point and we hit the hay with massive grins on our faces and felt like we had learned so much in just a day.

The next morning we came face to face (or face to udder) with our herded cows again when we were given the task of milking them. I found this pretty hard as you feel like you are going to hurt the cows but you have to be pretty firm when squeezing, and Grant for some reason had the skills in this department and managed to get probably enough milk for a whole cup of tea! I, on the other hand, could maybe have filled half a thimble - hurrah. We then had to feed the chickens and collect the eggs - total eggs collected = 1.... eggs on toast and a pint of milk was definately not on the breakfast menu then.

Next up was a big old horseride (now that we were proper pros), with some herding of cows while on horseback thrown in - pretty scary I can tell ya! After lunch was some more motorbiking action (maybe semi pro in that field) before heading off on the back of a ute to feed the horses in the fields. After this we had some time to chill with Toby the puppy, Harry the injured cockatoo, one eyed owl the errr.... owl and baby wallaby and roo. Before we knew if however the day was over, and after much thought that we could actually just spend the rest of our trip at Myella, we unfortunately had to leave. I can't even describe how amazing the whole farm experience was and how much we learned in the time we were there. Being able to get so close to and care for so many different animals was like a dream for me and something I will never forget (...and I know Grant feels the same, although I must confirm that he is not a gay).

Well, until next time folks.....

Linz x