Bulls, geese and a daft donkey……

A few hours travel brought us to Indie station- a working cattle farm about 10k from the main road. We almost turned round when we got there- scrap cars and farm implements, empty oil drums surrounded us- it looked like Steptoe’s yard! However we looked again at the homestead and saw a welcome we had not imagined- we were shown round to the toilets and the camp kitchen, absolutely immaculate, and invited in to meet everyone. We decided to stay. Geese and ducks roam the large yard, and we are told to beware of the snakes which are about night and day, always carry a torch at night and wear big boots!

The donkey is mad- braying and charging about all day, in this heat!!!

There are a lot of miners on the homestead, they enjoy rudimentary accommodation here, and are provided with three meals. Almost every farm and roadhouse has this type of accommodation, but this one is better than most. They are out all day looking for gold and other minerals, there is quite a bit here we understand.

5-30 is happy hour- everyone comes into the great room to enjoy nibbles (bring your own drink) and enjoy the company of the owners and other travelers.

Colin, in his 70s, has over 3000 head of cattle roaming free over half a million acres, and it is muster time. Using a helicopter and motorbikes, the cattle are brought into the paddocks and the young bulls are singled out for sale. It takes weeks.

One of the volunteer staff here took us out on the range and up to Redrock, which is exactly that, a large red rock in the middle of a great flat flood plain. Covered with ancient aboriginal art, and a pool containing a turtle, it stands around a 100ft high, made of granite, quartz and iron ore, which gives it its red colour.

An aircraft crashed close by in 1968, killing 36 people, and a memorial stands at the spot, with a poignant poem on a bronze plate.

Our second day here was a housekeeping day- washing and generally sorting out, and wandered round the farm. For the first time we saw the notice on the gate- “welcome to the old farts”. I don’t think they put it there for us, but…..

After a walk to the top of the hill this morning, we watched the helicopter and the boys on motor bikes and beach buggies bringing in the cattle- hundreds of them. Quite like the wild west. As we returned there was a great deal of excitement in the camp- a very large and very poisonous snake, a King Brown, had just come out from under our car and sauntered across the yard. One of the staff was having hysterics!

Happy hour this evening was spent in the homestead garden with the boys, not many guests tonight, in the corner was a pair of gents urinals as a garden feature, they have a wicked sense of humour round here!

Before we left the following morning we went over to the corrals to watch the boys sorting the cattle. The larger young bulls were sorted out for shipment, the cows were vaccinated against botulism and their tails trimmed for identification. Some of the smaller bulls were dehorned and castrated so that inbreeding could not occur. We saw maybe 500 go through- they will be sent out again tonight and tomorrow a new lot will be brought in off the Range. Anne was delighted- this was one of the things we wanted to see here.

We had intended to have just one night here- we ended up staying three, what a great place, and a superb ending to our first week on the road.

Anyway-time to move on tomorrow, up to Port Hedland and a new adventure.