Police raids, volcanos and more

Well for those of you wondering how we have been funding our adventures.......... Yep our crop been hauled in the police raid at Taylors Arm that resulted in our questioning.



Never a dull moment camping. The truth is we arrived at Taylors Arm (remote place only known for the 'Pub with no Beer') and what do you know but police dogs and a chopper arrived at the free camp and set up a base to do raids on the Marijuana crops in the hill country. The police were very friendly and we scored a tour of the chopper and a run down on what the crop looks like, how it grows and it's street value- this raid turned in $400,000 worth of crop and was a overt operation meaning we could know about it. They were just focussed on ripping out the crops before they came to harvest and made it to the street. The covert team runs the on famr under cover survielance to catch the crooks at other times. The whole affair made for a very entertaining day as the chopper came in and out with the haul and men were lowered into crops to rip them out.
Oh and did I mention we were actually quitely camping with Neil's folks despite it feeling like we were witnessing a Hollywood film set. So we enjoyed a drink at the 'Pub with no Beer' a name that suits a pub for Neil and I, two no drinkers to party at :).

A couple of days earlier we all got our birthday presents which was a days kyacking on the Bellinger river. Fun times and when things got tough a good gentlemany tow was a bonus :)



We had a few days with family kicking up our heels at the Tamworth country music festival. We saw Becky Cole (for free) and Kasey Chambers also for free- we are true cheap scapes :)Oh and the chook man who is still alive (I remember him been old 10yrs ago at the festival but he kicks on).


From Tamworth we headed in land to Orange and Bathurst (where we did a lap of Mount Panorama with our caravan in tow quite a sight).
Crossing the Hay Plains we saw numerous bush fires and then headed into a massive wall or smoke- thankfully the wind got going and before too long we realised we were in fact in a huge dust storm not a smoke cloud- dust storms are a regular out there. We camped along the Murray in the vineyards of Renmark and were offered grape picking/packing jobs which we declined.

We meandered across the SA border and down south to Mt Gambier's volcanic country. We stayed with Kate Rhook an old friend who made a great host and tour guide. The Blue Lake is stunning as are the caves, sinkholes and volcano's.


Feeding possums with Kate at the Umpherston sinkhole.

Well thats not where were up to but thats way too much reading for you for one sitting so next time we'll up date you on Mt Gambier to Adelaide where we currently are.

Christmas break adventures

Well my once a month blog post has had a gliche of a few months but here we go again this time for 2013 and guess what God willing were going to be on the road again- this time hoping to cover some more ground. South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland are in our sights in that order.

So where did we leave off- Harvest. We moved North from our Moree harvest job to Mungindi continuing the harvest on the land of the largest individual land owner in the southern hemispere. 250 thousand acres or more in total. We joined a team who made up the 17 headers and many more chaser bins and trucks to bring in 40 thousands acres of wheat.

We lived with 4 other harvest teams in the helicopter shed of the boss and were actually on the team of the wealthy bosses daughter who also drives headers and feed the team with 3 meals a day. A lovely girl who you wouldnt know had immense wealth.

With Christmas on the way we decided to stay in Northern NSW and do some rounds visiting friends and family. Fishing with Neil's Aunt and Uncle was fun- particularly as I caught the bigger yellow belly :)

We saw my grandparents in my old home town of Bingara and then spent a lovely 10 days in Armidale catching up with old friends.

Urunga was next stop with Neil's fam- time for the massive cull. We took everything out of the caravan and car and sorted it ruthlessly placing back only the vitals. After Africa and Europe I had hoped I learn't to be a minimalist when it came to packing BUT alas a few items got in the road and frustrated us in the vechiles- music items to find the bed, floor or table was wearing thin. Neil was fantastic organising all the caravan and car servicing etc and then he built a great set of draws for the back of our car.

We spent an early Christmas with Naomi's family in Casino and had fun hanging out with our Neice and Nephew. Some fishing success was had again-this time it was bass. A motorbike ride with my midlife crisis newly become bikie dad - argh I ticked the box on dads wish list, risked my like and survived- Neil refused to humor my dad (who did I mention doesnt have very good eyesight hence Neil's reluctance).

We had Christmas with Neil's family in Urunga. Poor Neil was sick in bed all day except for present opening time which he enjoyed in his PJ's (yep he even missed all the good tucker :().

I signed up as a volunteer for Beach Mission at Urunga. Beach Mission is a Christian event which runs for 10days or so in caravan parks and on beaches around the country. We run activities everyday for free for the campers and locals. The list included- bible based skits and teaching, fun days with soccer stadiums, waterslides, face painting, circus tricks, beach sports, bushdances, movie nights, afternoon age specific activities with the gospel of Jesus been shared (a bit like a Sunday school lesson). I helped with the primary school age group which had about 25-30 kids. Parents and the park owners loved the Urunga event so much that they want the teams to extend the number of days they run the event every year.Exhausting but rewarding to lead on.

I have taken up bread making--mmm so yummy that it doesn't last long in the Woods house. The weight loss resolutions may be hampered though.
The first loaf- a perfect loaf :)

My brother Matt came down with his family one weekend and we showed them the sights of Urunga and Bellingen which was fun.

We can't believe it but we just ticked over 2 yrs since we got married. It seems like yesterday that we enjoyed such a great day. Neil surprise me with a 2 night getaway at a resort in Coffs Harbour. We enjoyed dinner out our favourite thai place. If your ever in Coffs- 'The Crying Tiger' is the place to go!! We are so thankful to God for bringing our lives together and have had a fantastic first two years of marriage!!

Well now your up to date :) Later this week we head off on the road again starting with a few days free camping at the 'Pub with No Beer' at Taylors Arm with Neil's folks before we wind through NSW (again) this time via Orange and Bathurst on route to South Australia. We are seriosuly hoping the 50 degrees plus experienced in SA and the bushfires get under control before our arrival.

Harvest in full swing

Well we have had a few career changes since I last wrote. This job definately affords us the opportunity to try many new things. After learning tractor driving last month I asked the question not too long ago on facebook 'What other new skills could I learn before 30 rolls around?' One friend suggested flying (which he reckons is not too far different from tractor driving) - Apologies Brendan but I still havent added flying to my portfolio but both Neil and I have added numerous other fun skills. We completed rock raking (Aka raking rocks into rows so they could be piled up and removed from the paddock). Neil became the front end loaded driver and I the dump truck driver as we used our rock collection to build up some roads that had washed out.

We work pretty long hours and have seen some amazing sunrises and sunsets.

Harvest is now in full swing. We work 7pm til 7am. Neil is out in the paddock as a chaser bin driver-following the headers around collecting their harvested grain and dumping it in a larger bin- the motherbin.

Neil unloading a header into his chaser bin.

The new header- one of 5 on the paddock at once.

Neil unloading from a chaser bin into the mother bin

Neil driving a Case Mtx 600 with chaser bin in tow.


Trucks then bring the mother bin grain down to the silos. The trucks first pass my domain- the sample stand. Here the grain is sampled with a large vacumn (Yep Neil reckons everytime it breaksdown that I should be able to fix it- good practice he teases). We take 4 samples in the first trailer and 1 from every 10 tonne in the second trailer. This involves driving a pole to through the grain to the bottom to get a good respresentative sample of the whole load.

The samples are then taken into our sample testing caravan- kinda a mini lab. The 1/2 bucket sample is mixed and then a smaller sample is run through a machine which tests for moisture and protein (and oil content in the case of canola). A test weight is taken which gives an indication of the density of the grain. The test weight sample is then thrown into an agitator which contains a number of different sized seives. The grain that remains at the top of the seive is the retention % and the grain that falls all the way to the bottom is the screenings. The screenings usually contains small grains, any defective grains and any husks or foreign contaminants. All these numbers go together to give a grade for the grain. The grade determines what the grain is used for- human consumption or animal feed. The higher the grade the higher the $$$ monetary return for it. The moisture result is also a good indicator of if the grain is ripe to harvest so usually small test samples are taken of each paddock before harvest commences.

From the sample stand the trucks head to the silos to unload. Part of my job at night is to unload the trucks. I back them up to a hopper attached to an auger which is lined up with the opening at the top of the silo (for all our none farming friends). The auger is driven by a tractor.

It is a fine art to get the auger running at the right rate that keeps up with the truck emptying. Any miss alignment can cause a mess- and no I was not responsible for this one- even the most experienced men can have an oops- particularly when the lights are out at night for electrical work.

Oh so your looking for the loader- mmm just let me dig it out :)


The people we work for own about 10-15 properties dotted around Moree, Pallamallawa and Croppa Creek so we move from property to property a bit. We have both been escorts and have both been escorted which driving machinery down the road.

The picture should have given everyone the escort idea- but I did have a funny experience. I rang one of the header drivers- but had the wrong number and got a guy by the same name and I asked him if he wanted an escort- well you can imagine the idea he got and he arkwardly explained that he didnt need or ask for a female escorts services- hilarious story.

Tis crazy to think but the boss lets me drive most of the expensive equipment (harvester excluded at this stage :(). When moving properties the boss asked us to help- I jumped in a car to escort and Neil in a chaser bin- next minute the boss asks what I am doing in the car- no I'm driving another chaser bin- of course. I mention I have never (well rarely) towed a thing in my life and he says she'll be right. So off I go 70kms down the road in my little/ not so litte green machine. Neil was at the front in a similar set up.

The harvest started on some chick peas and then progressed to canola and then acres and acres of barley. The operation is big- 5 headers and 4 chaser bins pulled off 1500 tonne or more in barley in one night (bare in mind this is all carted in 30-60 tonne lots so thats a lot of loads for the chaser bins and trucks and then a lot of loads for me in the sample stand to test- arm muscles here we come and legs too with all the stairs). A breather is a rare event so when it's home time we have no dramas sleeping in the day. They can do 1000 acres in a night when the going is good and the straw not too moist. The 26000 acres of crop to harvest doesn't sound so big when 2000 acres can be taken off in a full 24hrs.

Canola is again been harvested before we move onto wheat today. The canola and barley are nearly finished and so it is just masses of wheat and chickpeas to go. We are having a ball and working with the most lovely team of 30 ppl- myself and one other make up the estrogen component. Everyone is so helpful and goes out of their way for each other- it is amazing to see when everyone is sleep deprived and working flat out- a rare occurance and perhaps a reflection of the boss- in fact on the night of the large grain spillage he was the one to discover it- he went around to the auger guy and asked him how his night was going (just as he would any other night). They guy answered 'well' to which the boss replied "just come for a walk with me for a second"- around the corner he pointed out the grain pile and half buried loader and said " a little work to do in the morning". He'd make a good dad if you accidently did something wrong.

Well it is back to work we go on wheat tonight. Nightie night.

Silverton, Menindee and East to join the harvest

Well we've covered plenty of territory lately. When we last left off we were in Broken Hill heading for a day at Silverton.

Silverton is a funny little spot- once a thriving mining community of 3000 people or so today supposedly 60 live there- although we struggled to count more than 10 locals- the 10 running the pub and tourist museums and galleries. Most of the houses were transported to Broken Hill when mining died in Silverton and resources were thin in the outback for building.

Today using your imagination you can trace out a few streets that were- a dot the dot between the courthouse, school, 3 or so churches and the pub and a few old homes converted into galleries. Dispersed around at old signs of life- railway scooters, concrete sinks etc. Everything charges you to enter (excluding the pub)- with no dollar coins and no atm's we didn't do much to support the economy but don't think we missed much either.

I love exploring old places and old buildings and where better to start than the Cemetary. Neil I discovered found this weird- and was not impressed that I dragged him wearing thongs through the desert (snakes and Neil are worst enermies) to view the tales of life and death on the oldest looking headstones (by passed the newbies cause it was evident Neil's interest was floundering from the outset).

The pub you have probably seen on TV. I knew of Madmax but it has been in heaps of other movies over the years- all before our time. Ironically MadMax came on TV the night before we went out. Neither of us knowing anything about it sat down to watch- totally weird- didnt get far through thats for sure so the interest in the car and other memorabilia wasnt really as enthusiastic as some of the other 60 plus year old tourists.

Just of out Silverton was a look out- a mound above the expanse of flat. There we got an appreciation for what lay beyond- no signs of civilisation just and endless panorama of desert scrub. This is one big country for sure.

The next day we meandered through Broken Hill. It really is a town in the middle of the mines. Mounds of dirt surround the town on all sides and mining equipment stands tall on the hills. Despite it's isolation the town itself is much the same as any of it's size- Centro and the usual stores. The town centre shows the hey day buildings and architecture- stunning old buildings still used today with all the character and wealth of old times. The houses are interesting though- mostly corragated iron clad- I imagine they must be well insulated to keep the cold out.
Some amazing local painters have captured the landscape amzingly and we enjoyed a gallery or two.
One artist gave us many a laugh with his depictions of bush life and the flying doctor's service- heres a few for your laugh- Howard William Steer:
"Sturt desert pea"

artchat.com.au

Next was off to Menindee Lakes for some R and R- i'll let pictures tell the story:

We free camped in the middle of nowhere for a few days on route from Broken Hill to Coonabarbran. We had heard mixed experiences about peoples trips through Wilcania and a few little towns on route but praise God our's was uneventful. We agreed to free camp if others were- and we weren't disappointed- 15 or 20 campers rocked up most nights. It was amazing how many buddies we had in no mans land. Alas we discovered cat head burrs and just about every other variety which to this day still turn up in the caravan, car and washing. Nynghan and Cobar do well to promote anything and everything they can find as tourist sites- old shut down mines and current ones viewed from the mounds and old water towers around. Most of the expereince is the country as your drive along though. I finally mastered caravan towing and more importantly the 'outback wave' on the open road. Town towing is yet to be perfected :).

Canola at "Collie Station":

So where are we now- Well it was always a dream of Neil's to join the harvest and give it a go. After much prayer and patient job application submissions a friend of a friend offered us work. We are based in Northern NSW about 70 km from Moree and 65Km from Warialda. We visited some family in Moree and then some old friends at Crooble- were nearly back in old home territory(Naomi's schooling country of Warialda- and close to where Neil's family had a property toward Mungindi).We will move around a bit from property to property within about a 70 km radius back towards Moree. Until harvest we are both tractor driving- yep the 17 yr old girl who was quote "never going to live in the bush and never going to marry a farmer...." is getting her hands dirty and enjoying the change. At harvest I will be a grain sampler and Neil will be chaser bin driving (and if he's lucky he'll hopefully get to try the headers out too). We will work shifts around the clock so that could get interesting- Hopefully we are on the same shift sometimes so it's not a hi, bye and who are you at change of shift.

Our new occupations:

Hard Worker :

Foreman:

A nice surprise and then on the road again

Well we have had fun and been a long way since our last post.

First we pulled off a beauty of a surprise with the help of a few friends.
Neil finished up work on the dairy and we deserted the cold weather and our little caravan home and headed off on a jet plane.
Neil's first flight (other than joy riding in my parents plane a few years ago) was accomplished and we flew into Coffs airport to surprise our families with a visit.
First we sprung Neil's parents and grandparents in Urunga before a flying visit to Ag Quip at Gunnedah (an Ag field day for those not in the know).

Later we headed to Casino to suprise my family -at which point my father expected the announcement of a new grandchild on the way-squashing that rumour we were later joined by my brother, sister inlaw and Nephew and later by my little brother and his girlfriend - a very neat birthday present for my mum.

Out to lunch with Neil's folks in Coffs- after our flight got randomly cancelled (due to engineering issues) and we were awaiting our new flights.

Naomis Family out for dinner at the local steak house.

Our little Nephew Lucas wasnt missing out on the steakhouse special.

We made a speedy trip to the Dale- aka Armidale. Apologies to all we didnt get to see on our dash through -a quick stop to get our tax done on route. We arrived one arvo, spent the night with my old housemate Em (thanks Em) and saw a very few old friends.

After some flight cancellations and an unexpected night in Melbourne we made it back to check our caravan still had the annexe attached. Some ghastly winds and rain greeted us back in Colac. A day later Neil's patience with his favourite thing WIND had run out and we hit the road for a little trek north for a good nights sleep.
For those who are campers you will know wind = zero sleep as the annexe flaps and every noise is amplified. We free camped a few nights in random little places in the middle or beautiful canola and wheat fields in western VIC.Then headed to Horsham and onto Mildura through the beautiful Grampians where we stopped for the odd bushwalk.

The Grampians behind our rig.

What timing- we arrived in Mildura for the 100th celebration on the paddlesteamer PS Melbourne and scored a great day of markets and a river cruise up the Murray. The river was packed with paddle steamers from all up and down the murray that converged on Mildura for the weekend.

Mildura is a weird place- not the picture of lush green we imagined for a fruit growing capital- rather it was dry and desolate. Cleary the only reason fruit grows there is due to extensive irrigation from the Murray. Stranger still you never feel like you are in the city centre- house, vineyard, house, orange plantation house more fruit is pretty much the pattern throughout the whole town.

We enjoyed a great free camp along the murray- a little eventful to find with a road open that cleary should have been shut resulting in Neil working some magic (and me sending up a lot of prayers) to get us out of a sticky jam.Praise God for miracles! to say the least- mobile reception wasnt on hand and people were few and far between so it could have been dramatic.

Sunset at our Kings Billabong free camp near Mildura

From Mildura it was onward and upward to along the Silver City HWY towards Broken Hill. My first attempt at towing anything commenced on the widest and straightest stretch in coee. We survived as did our rig and arrived at another free camp- this time along a branch of the Darling river part way between Wentworth and Broken Hill.
We met some lovely people there and enjoyed swapping adventures like true Grey Nomads- I think were getting the touch to enter the in group even though were don't meet the age requirements.

Now we are really feeling outback. The roads are long and straight. The temperature is amazing and the scenery is flat- dotted with wild goats in there hundreds, emus left right and centre and the odd domesticated animal- sheep or cattle. The wild flowers are coming out across the sandy desert - the vegetation is low and every second tree is dead timber having surcombed to a drought over the years.

And so we have arrived in Broken Hill. Today we explored Silverton- but more on that next time.