Time to go again

After a crazy hectic and expensive month in Melbourne it's time to head off again. Our new baby girl arrived on the 7th December at 8.28am after a very brief labour. Jay finally got his mad dash to the hospital and it was a quiet morning so traffic wasn't a problem otherwise the baby would have arrived en route.



















After being so remote and travelling being back in the city feels new, not like anything we miss to be honest. The kids are cooped up most of the day in small spaces and don't have the freedom to run and play without worrying about other people, cars and various other dangers.
We bought some new storage boxes for the roof of the car and Jay fitted them so they cannot be removed easily. This means we can store the stuff we need but don't often use, like the chainsaw, Lils uni books and spare clothes for the kids.
We found a good website called campground.com which has various camp spots on private land. The owners offer up spaces on their property for small fees and allow you to get places you wouldn't normally see. We found a lovely spot called Wild valley in the heart of gippsland Victoria. Sits in the middle of the strezlecki ranges and on top of a hill overlooking the valley. We are there for over a week with the option to stop longer if we want.

Jay got himself a swag for when he heads of fishing on his own so he doesn't need to drag the trailer everywhere. He headed of camping for a couple of nights up near noojee and caught a massive freshwater crayfish from a secret location. He didn't like the idea of cooking up something that had survived for decades and put him back in his own spot. Getting soft in his old age.........maybe .



















We are leaving the city on the 26th December and hopefully won't be back for a long time.
We are all itching to go have another adventure already.......I don't know how we will cope with normal city life again.........

Location:Melbourne

Back in Melbourne

It's been a crazy year on the cattle station but it's been very rewarding. A lot of new things have happened so I will start with giving you some new additions to the family.
Lil found out she was pregnant after we fixed up our Jackaroo 4wd so we needed to buy a bigger car....the search was on!
After much deliberation and comparing, reading and researching I decided on a few models and then was over ruled on a Landcruiser 105 series petrol.
Lil took the kids to Melbourne in April to pick up the new car and visited her family at the same time whilst I worked up on Dunbar .







So now we have the new car it's time to get it setup for our travels.
We added an Ironman full steel cage roofrack which also solved the dilemma of where to remount the spare wheel to stop it getting flogged under the car. The new racks come with a spare wheel mount on the roof which is very handy and saves us spending money on a rear bar.
We then invested in a rear storage system by 4wd Outback Interiors in Cairns. We got the full Monty too, drawers, fridge slide and cargo barrier with a divider and top shelf and it's brilliant! Money well spent and a fantastic fit.












Suspension was the next thing so we had it kitted out with the same setup as the Jackaroo had...Ironman springs and foam cell shocks with a new steering damper. At first it seemed fine but that wasn't going to last.........typical with us there is always something that was likely to go pear shaped. More on that later.

The season came to an end for us in November so we packed up our gear and got ready to head off back to Melbourne so Lil can give birth with her family around. She has done another great job this year with food but it would likely be her last as the cook as she won't be cooking next year. I have been offered to return and go mustering in 2014 which will give me some more experience and another string to my bow so we leave knowing we can return in April 2014 if we want.
With some money saved we look forward to some well earned holidays and some more travelling.

We left the station and headed for Cairns which would be our first stop on the way down.
We pulled up at a nice spot so we could get a picture of the new setup overlooking the gulf and noticed we had a problem.








Seems like the new suspension is not coping with the trailer !
Driving the car was becoming hard and the steering wander was really bad but we thought it's the dirt road.......but it wasn't.
On pushing through to Charters Towers we looked around for a reason and thought maybe we had overloaded the front of the camper trailer. We shifted some gear around and used our 40ltrs fuel and emptied our front water tank but it made no difference.
The steering was wandering all over the road, like travelling on wet tram tracks, so something was not right.







We arrived in Clermont at Theresa Creek Dam for a few nights and then it all went to hell. We set up and Lil headed into town to grab some groceries and she noticed the car was still handling badly and the rear was still sagging. On her return the fridge then died leaving us with a fridge full of food about to be wasted. We had dinner and went to bed and thought about what to do.
Next morning I headed into Emerald ( a larger town) and found a shop that serviced fridges. Unfortunately they didn't do our brand, Evakool, so I asked around. Finally I find a guy willing to help and after explaining the fridge does work but isn't cooling he reckons it's the compressor from all the bumping around on the dirt road.......bugger. Seems the Evakools don't have a swing-away compressor (effectively the compressor sits on suspension so it isn't constantly jarred) which would make them unsuitable for lots of time on the road. So after a chat it starts to become clear we need a new compressor which he can get but it will take up to a week and be almost half the price of the fridge and then he can fit it for a few hundred more....this is becoming a worthless exercise. I decide it's now time to upgrade the fridge as fixing the old one ( just out of warranty) is not worth it. I settle on a 60ltr Engel fridge from a local store and pay the money which makes me cringe, but feel pretty confident this will be a long-term purchase. So, new fridge and one problem is fixed! So far we have been really pleased with the Engel...keeps temperature beautifully and feels really well made with quality parts. Lil's not complaining about the extra space either!
Next was the suspension and after a call to the fitters in Cairns, I take it to the local Ironman dealer. After a chat to Kevin it turns out they fitted the wrong springs and that's why the arse is sagging, so new springs are ordered but it's going to take a few days.
That night we got rain........and let me tell you it was crazy rain...... 142mm in 4 hours and we saw it coming too......






We installed the fridge back at camp and it sucked some juice getting down to temp using the battery alone. Our solar panels recovered the loss the next day with the good sunshine and everything was starting to get back to normal.
We headed in to get the new springs fitted and they assured us it would solve all the issues but after a few hours on the road the steering was still a problem. After some research it seems a castor kit should have been fitted due to the new height in the car. This wasn't done or picked up by either of the Ironman dealers so we just had to put up with till we got to Melbourne where a visit to a proper suspension place would be on the cards.
We stopped for an overnighter at Injune caravan park and had an uneventful evening in what was effectively a mining camp. On packing up the next morning, the zipper on the camper trailer PVC cover decided to break.......so now it seems we have had our three bits of bad luck and surely nothing else can go wrong. We had to tie the cover down as best we could and hope it would hold till we got to Melbourne and it did. A quick stopover in Moree at the Gwydir caravan park and had a great evening swimming in the artesian pools there!
We knew that once we hit NSW the lure of Victoria would be hard to miss as we know it's only a (long) day's drive. We decided as we were driving through Parkes that we would just push on. We felt we'd had a pretty rough run and just wanted to be able to sort out the issues quickly. We arrived in a very cold and drizzly Melbourne about 130am.
Jay took the car to Ironman HQ the next day and they soon fixed the issue but at more expense, which I was unhappy about but what can you do?

A pretty eventful trip but a costly one. It's just the way it goes sometimes!
Now we are waiting on baby #3 and once arrived we will be off somewhere camping, hopefully without problems.

Season completed

Well the work on the station has been completed and maintenance is all that's left to do. Jay has spent time working on the trucks fixing pump problems, serviced all the water pumps and the firefighters for the utes. A few weeks have been spent yard building and putting up some new fence and that's hard work in over 40 degree heat. There are lots of yards all over the station as its so big which means you don't have to drove the cattle for too far to the house yards.
Jay has learned a lot about the yard building process and the welding side of things even getting the opportunity to drive the bobcat and the big heavy rigid trucks.
Most people learn at a training facility but out here you learn as you go. Driving the crash box through sandy creeks and dirt was certainly a task.
We have both been able to get a bit of time up in the helicopter and its just amazing to see the land from the air. Everything is so flat but the landscape is beautiful. Wild brumbies, pigs, dingo's and crocs can all be seen more easily from the air.


Flying over the Mitchell river was amazing and you can see how big this majestic river must swell to in the wet season. The view is stunning and not many people will get to see it from this angle, another perk of station life.



At the end of the season there is now nobody to cook for and it's time to go for a holiday, we have decided to head to Melbourne without the camper trailer and visit family and friends. We will take the big Suzuki bike with us and leave it in Melbourne as we have not really used it like we thought we might. Rather than carry the weight it's best to take this opportunity to redefine the load we are towing and give the old Jackaroo a break.

The Jackaroo has had new suspension fitted all round from ironman in cairns, new BF Goodrich A/T tyres too. The car feels like its floating on air and a lot better than we had expected !
Jay serviced the car before leaving and using the stations multi purpose 15w40 oil soon discovered its not working too well in the Jackaroo !
We will have to look into the best oil for the car as its a bit hit and miss with what you can get your hands on being so remote......but fresh oil is better than none I guess.



We a due back at Dunbar early in January to look after the place whilst the mangers go for a holiday. Jay will maintain the generators and keep the water pumps running
Whilst they are gone. It will be an amazing sight to see the new green growth and all that water. The wildlife will get a bit more in your face too we are told as they scramble for somewhere dry to stay. I guess jay will have to share the workshop with some roo's !

The weather in Melbourne is as you would expect and cold one minute, raining then sunny.....but we packed our clothes for this kind of change so its good to be wrapped up and feel cold again........lol

Location:Dunbar station

Our First Cattle Station Job

Dunbar Cattle station

The Jackaroo is fixed and running as well as it was and we where getting itchy for another location now we are mobile again.  Stookie has spent some time working for HONDA in Cairns but we where more looking for cattle station jobs to get the outback experience.

Stookie put an add on www.gumtree.com.au with a brief description of our abilities and enthusiasm for cattle station work. We also mentioned we are travelling as a family and where available to travel anywhere. We waited with anticipation on somebody contacting us. The website was full of backpackers looking to extend their work visa doing 3 month rural work to achieve it. We felt a bit disheartened that being a family would not work in our favour. Australian news was full of outback businesses complaining they could not find workers, yet here we are prepared to travel and even bring our own accommodation and still nothing after numerous applications. I thought that maybe the Rural Outback preferred immigrant workers due to the level of pay and the subsidising they got from the government.......how is an Aussie family meant to get on battling that ?

Within a week we did get a call from one of the largest family owned beef companies in Australia. Unfortunately for Stookie it was a cook they where after so Lil stepped up and within 4 days we had left Cairns and where on our way to Dunbar Station, 310 km North of Chillagoe.

We where invited as a family with all accommodation (3 bedroom house) food, electricity part of the salary package and a weekly wage would also be paid. 

We where ecstatic at the offer and keen to get out there and give it a shot.

We headed to Chillagoe and spent  2 nights in the caravan park in a cabin, I know a bit of spoiling was going on......no unpacking the CT again.

We spent a day exploring around the area looking at "the arches" and some ancient aboriginal wall paintings. We also took a look at the old smelting plant but due to uman existence being wrapped up in cotton wool now you couldn't get within 1/2 km of it.

The arches

Cave Paintings

The road from Chillagoe to Dunbar is all dirt with some decent washouts and rutted areas, not to mention the bulldust holes. Since we had the Mighty DR650 bike Stookie rode ahead and let us know of Road trains and Bulldust holes before we hit them. We often saw a massive puff of dust as stookie ploughed through a bull dust hole and then waited for the call on the radio to let us know which way to go, left or right of the track. Some of the scenery is spectacular as you get to a raised hill and look out over the savannah, its very beautiful.
The beauty is then disturbed by Stookie screaming on the radio......."GET OFF THE ROAD NOW.................ROAD TRAIN "
Travelling at 80kmph with 1500kg of trailer is not the easiest thing to slow down so getting a headsup of the road train was very helpful........the dust storm left behind is out of control, its post apocalyptic and creepy as the sun gets dull   and your breathing in the outback. These trucks are 3 carriages long and would need a LONG TIME to slow down so you need to get off the road and wait as you cant drive through the dust storm that follows as visibility is NIL.
We felt happy we where in the car as Stookie up front on the Motorbike copped it big time.........
After the first one passed we had just started to move then we get another call to get off the road as there was another one coming........3 in totals which gave us the chance to get a pee break for the kids.

Road Train

Tha Jackaroo train........no comparison !!!

 We soon came across our first causway crossing over the Walsh river. There was a little water on the causeway but nothing to be concerned about. the water is a welcome sight in the dry outback.
No stopping for a dip or a break as we have quite a distance to go.

Walsh River Crossing

 We got a call on the radio that Stookie had stopped on the bike as a Father and son out camping on the river had a flat battery. They had been playing the radio for days on end and running some 12v accessories and had no idea how they had flattened the battery. They didn't have jumper leads and had spent the morning walking to the main road in the hope a car would go past.
We unhitched the trailer and sat and had a picnic in the shade as Stookie took the Jack to help them get going again. The track to the river was rough, and there wasnt really a track for most of it.
The car got a good and proper workout and lots of new pinstripes. The Pajero was a diesel and the battery was buggered. It took Stookie 30 min to get enough charge into it to get the thing to crank. The father kept turning it over and draining what was being put in until Stookie ripped him a new one and told him to leave it alone until he fixed it. This father and son combo knew NOTHING about cars, batteries and would have been really in trouble had we not came along. A Scotsman helping 2 useless Aussies stuck in the bush out of sheer stupidity, generally its the other way around....... They got going again and where told to leave the car running and pack up and go home as they had been very lucky.

We hitched up the trailer and made tracks again arriving at Dunbar station in the later part of the afternoon. We where greeted by Peter and Debra Hagan and shown to our home for a few months.
We where happy to be here and with our own little part of paradise in the middle of the savannah country. We are the luckiest family to experience this station till the end of the season and we are sure to make many great memories here.

This is what its all about...........

Our new Home for a while

If you are looking for station work you can check out our facebook page for a comrehensive list of rural employment options.
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Cape tribulation

We managed to get out in the car on the weekend as it was finally fixed.
3 weeks of not knowing what's going on and what it's going to cost. Our dream trip may have been ending early but the Jackaroo lives again.
The guys at Repco service in cairns done a great job and I was very happy to dish out more money as I knew the lengths these guys went to to get it perfect unlike HOLDEN.
I've discussed with Holden in Warragul about there monumental failure but they don't take customer service seriously and are offering a tiny amount in comparison as to what we have now shelled out.
Anyway...........

We headed of up to cape tribulation to a little beach I found when out riding the dirt bike a few years back after the CREB track. It's on the Bloomfield and I'm guessing it's not widely know about ( unless your a local)

The beach is just past Donovan's range after about three creek crossings.
It's stunning and has the finest golden sands. The water pools up in shallow areas so it's perfect to let the kids go wild in as there is no danger of rocks or critters. Further out you can see coral reef and some bigger fish and even stingrays which I encountered when walking through some pools with the camera.

The water is warm and the kids all had a ball running around soaking each other and digging holes. There are smaller fish in the pools and if you sat still they would come nibble your fingers and toes. Matilda wasn't quite sure what to make of them nibbling her toes but lil looked at it as a free pedicure.

It was great to be out and about again as we had all really missed the old Jackaroo. The kids had a great day out and slept most of the way home as they where buggered from all the action on the beach.


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Location:Cape tribulation

Car troubles

Car troubles are something we had not anticipated after getting a complete overhaul from our local Holden dealer in Warragul. The old Jackaroo had been running great and our fuel economy was better then ever after I gave it the NULON E30 treatment. This bottle of magic reduces friction and frees up the engine and any sticky valves.
We had the Holden dealer replace the timing belts and the water pump. The other belts were also replaced along with new coolant and brake fluid.
The car was towing well except when there was poor fuel in the small petrol stations which we tried to avoid after getting really bad economy.
After leaving Yeppoon we headed for Cairns not expecting to arrive the next morning. We stopped at St Lawrence 226km from Yeppoon to find there was a rather large RV club meeting and the place was jammed and had big RV's taking up every available spot.
We gave the kids a break and decided we would just pull and overnight drive and get to Cairns. We got all the kids gear organised and headed away from the giant motorhomes.
I fell asleep through Townsville and Lil carried on along the Bruce Hwy expecting to fuel up in Ingham. On arriving in Ingham the 24hr servo was closed leaving us with a reserve light on the dash.
We jumped online and sure enough the Caltex in Ingham was advertised as 24hr but it wasn't
. We could head on and take our chance or head back to Townsville where we had passed a fair few.
We had just enough to get to Townsville and headed back for fuel.
After our detour we managed to get to the start of the Banana plantations and then the rain started. I remember it happened at the same place last time we drove to Cairns a few years back.
We arrived at a friends place at 6am and it was great to be able to let the kids out to meet their new friends and let Boo stretch her legs.
We parked the trailer up in the garden and got everything set up.
The following day I decided to take Hamish and Boo to the beach and off we went in the car.
It was really noisy, there was a metallic tapping noise that I didnt like the noise of. After some poking around and research I came to the conclusion that the timing belt tensioner had given up.
The guys at Holden said ours was in good condition and didn't need replaced. They informed us the part was no longer made and we where lucky ours was intact. Now I know a bit about engines and was a bit perplexed that a tensioner was not available !!!!
I called Holden in Warragul and let them know what had happened. The Service manager explained it was going to be pot luck if the tensioner held out anyway.
I was well beyond furious and hung up on them wondering what are we going to do now.
I noticed the belts had DAYCO written on them so I called them and spoke with Dave who informed me the tensioner is available and he had it in stock.
Dave told me that a timing belt should NEVER be replaced without a tensioner as the extra pressure of new belts would destroy an old tensioner.
Dave said he would give us a new kit and tensioner for free as he was very disappointed the HOLDEN had buggered up the job.
We where sent to a reputable mechanic in Cairns called Keith Wone.
Keith had a look and told us the noise was the valves and that the damage had probably been done and we now had scrap.
He said he would have a more in depth look and inform us the following day.
Let me tell you that it was the longest 24 hrs ever !!!!!!

We got a call and Keith said that the it was in fact the tensioner and that the car was repairable. The Jackaroo has a free spinning engine and the timing belt jumping a tooth was not enough to damage the valves.
This was great news for us and we where so relieved the Jackaroo was going to make it.
Dayco sent up the kit and keith had a chat to the mechanics at Holden and he lost his temper a bit i think as he was very animated in telling me about the conversation they had.
Keith also confirmed you would NEVER replace a timing belt without a tensioner and its best to not replace it at all.

So the car was fixed when Keith noticed a hairline crack on the timing belt pulley and gave it a wiggle to see if it was cracked, sure enough it snapped in his hand. Now Murphy's law enters the equation and sure enough this part cannot be purchased anymore and we would have to locate one from a wreckers.
3 weeks have gone and Keith located one. These pulleys are hard to find as the wreckers wont take it off a working engine otherwise they are left with a useless engine. We where lucky to get one and waited on its arrival.
Keith gave us a call to let us know the part had arrived and I told him we where so grateful for his amazing service........he interrupted me to let me know that the freight company had damaged it in transit and it wasn't going to work. After some more calls he has managed to locate another one thats made of metal and he is sure it will fit.
This is where we are at so far and now just waiting o the arrival of the new pulley so we can get our car back.

Once the car is working starts my battle with the Holden Dealer to have them pay for the repair that need not have happened had they done their job properly. They knew we where traveling in the car but where still content to do half a job and almost wreck a dream of a lifetime.

Fingers crossed the part arrives intact and fits...........




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Location:Cairns

Camping with a crawler!

Kids are grubby enough at the best of times and the amount of washing they generate in an environment with easy access to a washing machine is bad enough, let alone when on the road and your washing machine is a bucket on the roof of the car! A crawler just adds a whole new dimension to washing when living on the road. I never want to hurry the kids through developmental milestones, however I'll be one happy mumma when Matilda starts walking! I've always prided myself on whites being white and clothes stain free, but I'm finding that a massive undertaking these days. I've pretty well resigned myself to the fact that Matilda's pants will all be dark at the knees and her tops slightly stained around the neckline. Fortunately I've made some headway getting some nasty stains out of the sleeves of some of her tops. I have to fold the sleeves in on themselves a little before giving a really good rub and they come up pretty well. I'm using a home made washing powder, mostly for environmental reasons. I do much of the washing close to waterways and don't want to contaminate them with anything nasty.

My recipe is: 1 bar of Velvet Pure soap or Sard soap, finely grated 2 cups/500g of Borax (can have environmental impact, but in these levels is considered minimal) 2 cups/500g of Lectric Soda Powder (not the crystals!) Mix together well. Use 2 tbsp per normal sized load. Add a couple of drops of Eucalyptus Oil as a softener. White vinegar also acts as a softener as well as an antibacterial. For tough stains, I use a bar of soap rubbed into the stain and worked in a little to help with removal, though this takes a little more work to rinse out. This is Matilda helping me on washing day (which is most days, really!).