Grabbing the goat by the horns

---

Before i start telling you what i've been up to just wanna apologise for the lack of piccies again. I'm in Hervey Bay in the only internet lounge i could find and yet again i'm typing on an ancient machine so i will just have to keep you all in suspense till i get home and get round to printing them all!!
Anyhoo back to the good stuff. So i left Airlie on Tuesday and hopped aboard a very full bus. The driver warned us that it was gonna be a long day so we all just got settled and prepared ourselves. We started off by introducing ourselves to everyone on the bus as we would be together as a group for a couple of days. The information the driver asked for was name, where we were from. our shoe size, favouite colour and first and last kiss. Needless to say it broke the ice nicely.
We drove for a good few hours to our first stop for some adrenelin pumping action. Backpackers are famous for being thrill seekers and we certainly did nothing to dispell the stereotype - we played barefoot lawn bowls! It was actually more fun than i expected. Plus it was a good chance for us to just stop and stretch our legs for a bit.
Yet more driving and a stop for lunch at the supposedly world famous Hamburger Hut for the biggest hamburgers you are ever likely to see in your life (well fish burger for me but the size was still the same). Most of us had to spilt ours with another person they were that big, and we still struggled to eat our halves!! I think there was enough fish in my burger to sink the Titanic!
Back on the bus again and we pretty much just drove straight through to our destination for the night, Kroombit. We stayed on the Lochenbar Cattle Station and enjoyed some traditional Aussie farm life. When we arrrived we were served a gorgeous dinner cooked on the camp fire followed by a quick lesson in how to crack the whip (you have to get your whip to change direction so fast that it literally breaks the sound barrier - not easy!!) and a ride on the good old mechanical bull. Those things usually start you off nice and easy and then attempt to throw you off after a while. This one just bucked you straight off headfirst in the cushions surrounding it!! Hilarious!
Next morning and yet more farm life. Started with us taking part in a goat muster on horseback. First time i have ever ridden a horse and i really enjoyed it (although my butt would have disagreed last night! saddle sore!). We all had to ride around rounding up the goats, including a load of seriously cute ickle new borns that i was afraid my horse, Rusty, was gonna tread on. It was a love-hate relationship between me and Rusty and we had a few words but i think i showed him whose boss - he was. Whats that saying about not being able to make a horse drink. Well getting Rusty to move was difficult enough some times. He just couldn't get enough of that grass!!
After that it was time for the mini rodeo. We got into the pen in groups of three and had to catch the goat, grab its horns, flip it on to its side and brand it (well pretend to brand it, it wasn't actually hot). I believe the goat we had was the devil incarnate. I'm serious. Red eyes, steam from the nostrils, the whole shebang - but i used old Crocodile Dundees trick and we managed to get him. We were the third fastest group so i was pretty happy with that.
Just enough time for a shower to get the goat smell off me before we hopped back on the bus and headed to my current destination, Hervey Bay.
Hervey Bay is a really beachy kind of town if you get my meaning. Very quiet and not very touristy which makes a bit of a change but i'm only here to go to Fraser Island which i am doing tomorrow so for today i guess i'll just sunbathe for a bit - ho hum! :-)

---

Comments

[amy]

mechanical killing bull
yay. .someone agrees with me.. that thing was lethal from the first 'buck'!!!! i gotta admit i signed up, saw the first person get thrown a mile when the thing started, and hastily crossed my name out. practically the only thing i bottled out on for the whole damn trip! ps.. did ye find lots of killer frogs roaming the ranch?? yuck. xx