Craig & Sam Down Under

Hi Peeps!

Not a vast amount to report this week but I’ll do my best…!

You’ll all be pleased to know that I’ve managed to get over my farm wrecking spree and am now back on top form and haven’t broken anything for a whole week! This week it was Craig’s turn to cock up! Bless him, as he zips around the farm like Colin McRae on his gator if there’s a puddle to be explored you can guarantee he’s in it and this week he drove himself full speed into a nice green bog and got himself stuck! Back wheels were spinning but the boy was going no-where, they had to fetch a tractor to come and scoop him out – oh how I giggled as I went AROUND the puddle! Then on Friday we had a great time when they sent us out to spray a new area of the plantation where they’ve only just finished planting the trees. The ground is still really soft cuz the tractors haven’t been driving up and down there packing it in yet, so we had a right laugh getting stuck over and over again, I always managed to get myself out by myself but Craig had to be rescued by the tractor again! Haha!

On Wednesday night we went down to the pub to watch Australia play Uraguay in the World Cup Qualifiers and the Aussies won in a penalty shoot out, it was quite exciting at the end, not that the Aussie locals cared much. In fact, by the time the game finished there was only one local left in the pub and the only people cheering were 2 Brits, 2 Kiwis and a Canadian (some friends Craig made out on the plantation)!! It was an interesting evening all round really, some guys from the mango plantation came and had a few drinks and a chat with us which was fun, along with the other members of our little international group. A local farmer brought in a carrier bag full of mangoes from his plantation and showed us how to peel and eat them, explaining how you can tell when they’re ripe and stuff so we all went round to the tap at the outside of the pub and scoffed mangoes til there was juice every where and we had to get rinsed off! That was a bizarre experience but fun!

Then when we went back to the caravan park Craig went over to his mates’ tent and played ‘Slapping the Goon bag’. This is a game where you take a box of wine, remove the foil bag containing the wine (the ‘goon bag’ if you will) from inside and tear off one of the sides of the box to make it into a helmet. One person starts off by wearing the helmet and they slap the goon bag for as many times as they intend to drink from it. If you slap the bag twice, you drink twice etc. If you slap the bag twice but forget through the course of the conversation or whatever and then take 3 drinks, you have to wear the box on your head. If you slap the bag twice and drink twice you then have to throw the bag at another person in the game (and hopefully hit them in the face with it) and then it’s their turn. Weird I know, but it was created by a Canadian so …. y’know. Craig went to play, I went to bed. Craig returned an hour later with a belly full of wine on top of a belly full of beer. Needless to say he puked. A lot. In fact the whole of the next day he spent driving around the plantation leaving behind little piles of sick. A breakfast pile, a dinner pile, a few piles of juice and water… It went on. Eventually it took a steak dinner with mash, veg and gravy to set him right (Sam saves the day! no mean feat with only a 2 ring stove and a gas bottle – and note the mention of ‘veg’ of which he ate every scrap!). Teehee. Serves him right. Still, we live and learn and we live to play.

We went to Cairns yesterday and did some shopping, I got some new shorts and a vest top so I can get a whole load of new shaped tan lines all over me to add to that patchwork effect I’ve got. We also bought a little book of card games since there’s bugger all to do out here except drink and Craig’s off that at the moment and we’re fed up of bloody Rummy.

That’s about all that’s happened. We reckon we can carry on working out here for at least another 2 weeks so we’ve arranged to get our post sent on to us which will be very exciting. After that we’re just gonna try to string this job out for as long as possible cuz the money is good, tax is low and it’s cheap to live. The cash is slowly stacking itself up in the bank and we’re planning our next bout of travelling and looking forward to it lots.

Missing everyone at home, although not missing the weather – good luck in the frost! Ha! Average here is about 34-37 degrees still. We had 20 minutes of rain the other day. Suffer.

Love to y’all, keep the comments coming

Sam & Craig

Hello folks!

This is Craig’s second go at writing a blog (and Sam is watching me like a hawk!). What’s been happening? Urm! Well we left Townsville and headed north to Cairns to start looking for some work, cause we’re all out of spendies. We were in Cains for Sunday and we had a job by Wednesday. We phoned a hotline for travellers and backpacking folk wanting to work in agriculture and stuff and they were useless. However they did give us a labour service address. They were called GRUNT! what a nice name don’t you think? Anyway we went down to their office and spoke with a lady who is Shirl’s (sams mum) twin sister. Very scary to think there are two around! I can get away with that being on the other side of the planet. You can’t threaten me with mushrooms now! We signed on with them and the next day phoned us and offered us a job on a Mango Plantation. We agreed and drove an hour to an office in Mareeba for directions to the farm and then another hour to the farm which is in a quaint little (I emphasise the little) place called Dimbulah!

We went up to meet our new boss and find out what we will actually be doing because they were abit vague when it came to that part. We met the plantation manager whose name is Mark. Mark is a really nice bloke who comes from Zimbabwe, where the government kicked him off his farm, which is why he came to Australia. We started work on the Thursday and were greeted by Jeff. Jeff drives the tractor, Jeff has never shaved in his life, Jeff is missing his two front teeth and Jeff laughs like a hyena. Jeff is ace! He is the funniest guy ever. He is our mentor. He showed us what we were going to be doing.

We were given a 4×4 golf cart each which has a mechanical arm on the front to spray the weeds with. They are great. They are called Gators and have a 20hp engine so they are pretty quick. I have already been asked to stop driving it like its an F1 car but I can’t help it. Boys and their toys eh! However Sam on the other hand is not so good with machinery. In one week she has manged to 1 lose the filter on her Gator that filters the crap out of the chemical we are using 2 rip the hose that supplies the arm with water clean off the Gator and then run over it, and 3 when she took it to the shed where they repair stuff on the Gators she crashed her Gator in the shed door. IN ONE WEEK! Other than that we just drive up and down the rows all day spraying the weeds, so we get to enjoy the sun and listen to our Ipods but get paid for it.

Talking of getting paid, we got paid for two days work from last week and so when we went shopping we splashed out. We bought pillows, a bed sheet and a fan. Living it up in luxury. Penny has been pimped!

Dimbulah………Dimbulah, Dimbulah, Dimbulah!!! The place of ones. One caravan park, one pub, one phone box, one post office, one food shop, one butcher, one baker, one candlestick maker! Geeze, no wonder everyone is always in the pub there is nothing else to do. Unless you like looking at rock. There’s plenty of rock about oh and termite mounds plenty of them too. Even though there ain’t much going on the people here are great. They are dead friendly and it really has an ozzy feel about it. Our first night at the pub. We walked in and all six heads in the bar turned, a tumbleweed drifted by outside. I approached the bar and took a seat. The barmaid asked what we wanted “A VB please” the three men at the end of the bar, who couldn’t have made a full set of teeth between them began to snarl and growl at the words VB! One man pipes up “You do know where you are don’t you?” my reply “The pub?”. No laughter. “You’re in Queensland and here we drink xxxx” whoops my mistake. I had even been prepped on this before we left. “I will make that my next drink” says I. The bloke sitting next to us says ” You drink what you want, mate”. We got chatting to this bloke and it turns out that he is the owner of the bar! He asks our story and then tells us his and then introduces us to all the cleatuses at the bar. They decide to educate me in my naivety and dont let me pay for another drink all night. We spent six dollars (about three quid) and drank all night. Next time you are in a bar in the Australian outback try it you will either get your teeth kicked in or a free night’s drinking.

Sorry there has been a shortage of blogs we haven’t had much to write home about plus we didn’t think that there was any internet access in Dimbulah. The woman who owns the campsite has kindly let us use her pc! The campsite we are staying on is nice and really cheap due to its location. The first night we were here we saw wild roo’s bouncing through the woods at the edge of the site. The second night I went for a pee in the middle of the night and noticed the sky and how there were loads of stars out, so many it looked like there was a light nearby cause it was so bright. The residents on the caravan park are great. Watched Great Britain vs New Zealand in rugby leauge this morning. We trounced them 36-8. So me and an Oz resident are giving John the Kiwi loads of grief. Still upsets a few characters when the England cricket jersey comes out, which is always fun!

Well thats about it. If you like my blogs I want loads of support in the comments, that way I might be able to write more!!!!!!

Hello to everyone missing you loads.

Lots of love

Craig and The Wrecking Ball