So it was Thursday late afternoon and the Aboriginal singer and guitarist were rehearsing and I thought that they were the entertainment on the Friday night. I was wrong. They had been here for a week rehearsing for a gig they were going to in Daly River. The singer was very good. One of the songs she sang was Waltzing Matilda but in her aboriginal dialect. It's like Pigeon English. It was very interesting.
Friday I went over to the pool with the intention of reading and getting my singlet marks tanned. I had on a pair of bathers that I don't really like but are good for sunbaking. I wasn't at the pool very long when the others came over. As the pool area is very close to the front paddock I noticed Nigel the Brahman Bull close by. He is the one that was hand reared so is very tame. I asked Arnold to go back to the van and get some scraps of cabbage I had that were left over from last night's dinner. Would you believe it - Nigel doesn't like cabbage lol.
Nigel loves a good head scratch and was really enjoying it. I thought he was going to sleep.
Such a beautiful boy.
Nigel the Brahman Bull
So Arnold trudged back to the van and got some bread. He liked that (Nigel not Arnold lol).
A little ways along the fenceline was Mervin. He has also been hand reared and he hasn't been in the paddock very long. He used to sleep with (not literally) and follow one of the guys here. Now he has to be a bull and be with the other animals. He will grow into a mighty fine very large animal.
Mervin the Baby Brahman
Apparently the horses aren't allowed to have bread because they can't digest it properly. One of the horses didn't like the fact that Nigel got something to eat and he/she didn't. Horses can be very nasty and poor Nigel wasn't getting in the way of those hoofs. Poor Mervin got one in the side. The noise was quite loud but Mervin didn't even have a mark. He just backed away after that.
That afternoon I walked up the roadway.
On the other side of the road to where Nigel is is another paddock with horses, water buffalo and birds, mostly Ibis and Egret.
You wouldn't believe it but on this occasion there were 2 Jabiru there. Apparently they don't come every day so I was so lucky to be able to take some photos of them. They are a much larger bird than I thought they were.
About 5.00pm we took our chairs and drink and went over to the campfire area. There were quite a few people already there although you can't see them in the shot below. Our singer for the night was Tracey Haskel from Darwin. You can see her to the left of the pic standing on a wagon.
One of the work dogs was walking around waiting for someone to give it a pat. This one is Rosie. Pat and Maureen loved giving her some lovin'.
The tall guy to the left of the shot below is the owner of Mt Bundy. His name is Scott. He was overseeing the acoustics and everything else that needed looking into. His wife Sue and 2 daughters had to go to a Campdraft so they weren't there that night. There is a very sad story connected to this family which I will tell in another update as it is very long and involved and I couldn't do it justice here.
Arnold was in his element chitchatting to all and sundry so the only photo I have of myself that night is the one below lol
One of the guys that help around the place, Ben, is also quite a good performer. He was sitting next to me and I had quite a good conversation with him. He sang some Johnny Cash songs.
We had our hamburgers, listened to the music, drank our bourbon, talked to the people around us and then it was time to go back to the van, have a cup of tea and go to bed. It was a good night. The following day the people beside us left. When we looked over we could see this tree with boots nailed to it. Doesn't it look good.
The toilets are very basic and at night the cane toads of all sizes come out and spend some time in there. They are horrible. If you want to use the toilet take a stick to shoo them out.... ugh. Thank goodness for the toilet in the van.
The showers are ok. They are the best that you can expect in a place like this.
I walked around and just took some random shots.
The back of the vans. Ours on the right.
The Banyan Tree behind our vans
After the bbq there was some coleslaw left so we were asked if we wanted any. As Arnold doesn't eat it, I kept a little for myself and gave the rest to the horses. I really wanted to give it to Nigel but he was way back in the paddock and by the time he got to me it was all gone. Anyway he doesn't like cabbage lol
Poor Mervin wasn't coming anywhere near the horses. He wasn't taking the chance of getting kicked again.
Well it's Sunday 1 June today. We will leave here tomorrow. I have booked us in to the Tumbling Waters Caravan Park in Berry Springs for a week. From there we will be able to do some decent grocery shopping as everything is so expensive here in Adelaide River. An ordinary loaf of bread is $6.40 and 2 litres of Milk if $5.95. We will also be able to drive into Darwin as it's only about 15 minutes away. So until my next entry. Bye Bye x
(PS At the top of the blog there is a box where you can type your email address and when I next update you will receive an email (for those of you who don't already get an email that is). Give it a go and let me know if it works)
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