The final Bundaberg Chapter......

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So its been a while……

Reasons for my lack of updates are long and boring so we wont dwell on it too much. In short there is only so many day of melons a man can take before he gets a little fatigued; ‘survival’ mode takes over and food, water and sleep become the priorities of the time away from work.

However the story so far……

Seven weeks in Bundaberg has been an experience to say the least. The Fruit Picking has been long and hot, but again, an experience. The Town, as already stated is what I imagined it would be like; Practical with its simple pleasures. I leave with no regrets of any sort.

So the last few weeks have been quite eventful. Lets see there was the Kangaroo and the car incident, The Melon picking incident (we’ll get there) and last but not least general debauchery involving public places and beverages of the alcoholic variety. Such antics might not normally be included, but I feel that the ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality really exists amongst the backpacking community of Bundaberg. As such I will shed a little light on such antics, however slight.

So first off the Kangaroo!

Well a couple of friends and I decided one Sunday, after a mornings work, to take an afternoon excursion to the beach at Bargara. Now here in Australia they have public BBQ’s. Consisting of a Hot Plate is you like, that anyone can use at the simple push of a button. A great idea, but something that Health and Safety goons would never allow in England, or the weather! (its weird how much you miss rain when you don’t have it)

So although the Beach in Bargara is nothing to write home about, it has sand and clear, stinger free water which is truly bliss after a week of nothing but red dust and watermelons. The BBQ and the Beach left everyone quite relaxed and ready to head home about seven o’clock, just as it was getting dark.

Now I am trying to keep this as drama free as possible but I tell no lie when I say; just as I felt myself nodding off in the car on the way back home. There was a massive jolt, the sort of whack that you only experience when you hit something. Obviously my eyes opened instantly, but weirdly all I could see was the blackness of the sky above. I remember it very vividly as there was no moon and the stars were incredibly clear. It only occurred to me as we came crashing back down, that we were in fact, mid jump if you like. Whatever we had hit (at the time I had no idea) had sent the car rocketing upwards. It’s the first time I have ever caught ‘air’ in a car and I truly hope it will be the last. This whole scenario was over in less than a second but it felt like ten. Luckily, either by skill or shear chance my friend who was driving had hit the object dead on, but at about 80kph. When we stopped to examine the damage, the licence plate and bumper were dented and the skid plate was buckled to an alarming angle. It was only after a few minutes of searching that we discovered the body of a very large Kangaroo that had been in the middle of the road but was now lying in the ditch, thrown there by the impact. I’m pretty sure it was dead before we hit it, as it had no head and although there was a few fragments of bone imbedded in the car, there was no head to speak of. My guess is a lorry had knocked it down a few moments before, only to push it onto our side of the road for it to be hit a second time. Speaking with a few locals has only re-enforced this theory as most have stories of hitting ‘Roo’s’ on the back roads around town at night.

Now for the Melon Incident….no kangaroos this time just a little work related accident!

Ok so normally when your picking melons there is a tractor with a trailer. Now attached to this trailer out to one side is an elevator/boom whatever you want to call it. Its there so you simply place the melons on it whilst the tractor crawls along at a slow walking pace, therefore eliminating the need to throw the melons up to the trailer.

Now this ‘boom’ is moved from one trailer to another so that the bins you are filling can be unloaded onto big semi-trucks whilst you fill another trailer. In between trailers you detach the boom from one trailer, the tractor behind pulls his trailer up into position, you re-attach (often re-adjusting the height) and back to work you go! Its sounds simple, and I guess in theory it is. But this is farm equipment that is heavy-duty gear and is designed to last. Again, in theory!!!

On the day in question, we had just change over between two trailers and were beginning to load the boom full of melons. Now the noise from the tractor is pretty loud so if I said that I heard the cable snap it would be lie. It was my eyes that saw the movement first; and I’m sure more than anything, it was luck that saved me from serious injury. I jumped backwards a few feet, no easy task with mud-laden boots and an arm full of melon! Only to see my friend next to me be flung backwards as the boom struck him hard and fast in the chest, the same level at which my head had been only a second before. As it was, the blow form the boom hit me just above the kneecaps and then landed on top of my shins. You see a melon field is not like walking on a lawn; it’s quite hard to walk through let alone dodge a 200kg chunk of machinery. So where I had jumped to was where I was going to stay. Luckily one cable stayed attached and the booms full weight was not on top of me. My colleagues lifted the boom off me within a few moments and I was left with the worst dead leg I’ve ever experienced and a small cut to my left shin. Nothing serious, as it could have been a lot worse. But not something I would recommend!

Overall it’s not a particularly dangerous occupation, and one incident in seven weeks should do nothing more than highlight this fact. But if you do find yourself pacing up and down a melon paddock, listen to the supervisors and keep your wits about you and I’m sure you will have the same great experience that I have had. If nothing more, you will learn that expletives are second nature, be able to spot a perfect melon from 30 paces, be able to dodge 200kg chunks of metal (almost!) and if nothing else, leave with great friends and memories for life.

Now in regards to working hard and playing hard, I feel I must write a little something on this!

Ok as you should know by now, fruit picking is no ‘easy’ task. Time off is few and far between, so when it does come around its safe to say the candle is burnt at both ends. Some burn faster than others mind!

In Bundaberg, every Thursday most people with go into town for a few hours as its special deal day and 5aus$ will get you a jug, about 4 schooners worth, or for the uninformed, about 3 and 1/.2 pints give or take.

Saturday night would see pretty much every backpacker in town descend on the only ‘club’. This of course in complete disregard as to whether or not you are needed for work the next day! Safe to say some Sundays are more about survival than worrying about how many trailers are left etc. Professional attitude, perhaps not, but work hard for the other six days and most of the time the Boss’s will ‘understand’.

My personal favourite is my own Boss having to get a lift to work as he might have been over the limit still. Now I’m not saying we worked drunk, but Australia is very strict on the drink driving offence and I think it was more of a ‘better safe than sorry’ measure.
This was of course on a Sunday. It had to be!!!!

Having been up since 4:30am myself, had breakfast, caught the bus at 5:30am, to be told at 6:15am by my own Boss, that I “might have to carry” him today as “he might have had a little to much”. Coupled with my confession that I too had been letting off some steam the night before, with further confessions from three others. Meant that our day was a very long slog to say the least. Seeing my own boss stare in horror at the melon paddock and the amount of bins we had to do, was truly priceless.

Now if all of this gets a little old, and it can do, pretty quick. A little excursion to one of the many drive in bottle shops (a phenomenon that I have only seen in Australia), will get you going on the good old’ goon. Through previous posts you will know all about this horrific drink, and its genuinely brilliant ‘bang for your buck’ qualities. Find yourself a quiet little place (Bundaberg Park for example), a group of friends, introduce some games and hay presto…. may the mayhem ensue. The legalities of such a venture remain vague at best; so don’t blame me if you get ‘caught’.

I don’t want this Blog to become a detailed account of alcohol prices around Australia, but I do think something needs to be said about fruit picking and the other side of the coin.

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So that’s Bundaberg over for me, I’m now In Brisbane on my Way to Sydney for Christmas and New Years before heading out into New South Wales for some Citrus fruit picking on contract. I will miss Bundy and all that it has to offer, when you first arrive you will probably hate it, when you leave I very much doubt you will feel the same.

Hostel review will be up soon.

Merry Christmas to you all.

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Comments

[N & G]

Hi Melonman
Fascinating reading - we'll look at melons in a totally different light! Keep the news coming.