This trip away was no longer than any of the other hundreds I've done but it just seemed longer. Maybe the almost no Internet and absolutely no mobile phone cover added to the feeling, I dunno. I did manage to hyper flex a kneecap in a crab hole and am currently sitting here with 50% hearing. Iron Ore dust tends to clog my ears from time to time and even though I don't work anywhere near the mines themselves, I still manage to score my fair share of dust. Doctor tomorrow morn for an ear syringe...fun times.
Sad images this trip though, cows dying of starvation, calves sitting next to dead mothers and bulls standing up only to sit back down again and die by the time we return the next day. The Pilbara can be a harsh place and the summer rains which are usually pouring down on us by now just haven't appeared. This means there's simply no summer grass for the cows, or the roos, or the emus or anything really and animals are simply falling down dead where they stand. I'm pretty sure the cattle station that owns these cows has a duty of care but maybe this is what they do in droughts, I'm not a farmer (Reb help me out here) but I figured bales of hay couldn't hurt....
The Dingoes are thriving though, a fresh cow a day, at least. Although I'm not sure every dog up there is an actual dingo, one of these looks like a German Shepherd to me....
Sad images this trip though, cows dying of starvation, calves sitting next to dead mothers and bulls standing up only to sit back down again and die by the time we return the next day. The Pilbara can be a harsh place and the summer rains which are usually pouring down on us by now just haven't appeared. This means there's simply no summer grass for the cows, or the roos, or the emus or anything really and animals are simply falling down dead where they stand. I'm pretty sure the cattle station that owns these cows has a duty of care but maybe this is what they do in droughts, I'm not a farmer (Reb help me out here) but I figured bales of hay couldn't hurt....
The Dingoes are thriving though, a fresh cow a day, at least. Although I'm not sure every dog up there is an actual dingo, one of these looks like a German Shepherd to me....
But it's not all gloom and doom up there, plenty of other critters carrying on as normal. This Bungarra was lucky it's too small to eat or the guys would have cooked it up for a bush tucker lunch....tasty (tastes like chicken eh?)
Even some renewal, Matty with a discarded snake skin
Even some renewal, Matty with a discarded snake skin
Comments
- how big is this cattle station ?
- should i carry a few hay bails on my roof rack ?
- are the camels/horses/donkeys eating all the fodder ?
- Are the dead cattle just mongrel scrub cattle that didn't want to be rounded up and end up on your plate as your beef tatar ?
-Reb.
- how big is this cattle station ? yeah it's pretty bloody big
- should i carry a few hay bails on my roof rack ? no, but they do check the windmills regularly in tray backs, could they not bring hay?
- are the camels/horses/donkeys eating all the fodder ? nah, area fairly void now, there juast hasn't been any rain and this place is harsh even when it does rain
- Are the dead cattle just mongrel scrub cattle that didn't want to be rounded up and end up on your plate as your beef tatar ? I suspected this and some yes, but shitloads have ear tags.
So many newborns too, seems just a waste of money IMO, but like I said maybe there's other factors