Back to my roots

I love my wife... she is what I'm not... Well that's everything... I was on the job today and came in for a drink as the temperature was about 35 degrees and feeling like 50, only to find my everything getting ready to make new curtains for the bedrooms, and that was after she had found a fault with the toilet flushing system. So it was off the building job for me and onto the sh*t flushing fixing job... Two hours later and it's still not fixed, so I will be removing the toilet, tank, sh*t and all in the morning. Can't wait - not - and hope its only the seal (that I can see and think is the problem) or else its back to my roots: the old, find a tree to hide behind trick till I sort something out and quick. We have the standard vacuum flush toilet which I modified so we could use while parked up. It has been working well until now and if it's the seal I think it is I'll fix it straight away, and that's after I pull the whole system out: 4 bolts, two hose clamps, a bit of smell and lots of Fs and Bs and the rest of it. So for now I had better start psyching myself up for tomorrow with a nice cold, well I guess you know, XXXX gold. Ok guys, psyching time, bye.

Thunderbox overhaul

Man on the job

Young prospectors

Woman's business

All work, no play

I got the iron for the roof today, and will be laying it tomorrow. What a mission, had to pick it up 22 kms away on the coast, using a bush track as it was the shortest and quickest way, or so I thought. I only got bogged two times and broke the side mirror on the canter truck... bugger... Luckily on my way out this morning, my subconscious mind - my wife - told me to take the block and tackle: best idea we thought of all day, used it both times. I got there in 3 hours, picked up some materials and well I had to, seeing it was on the coast, do some fishing only for an hour.
What an hour, it seems like the fish knew I was coming so they were lining up for me, well something like that, never seen anything like it. On the way back I saw a herd of brumbies and one lonely water buffalo which I was not willing to have anything to say or do with, I minded my own business and stayed on the track... Jiniba was going off until I told him to... well you know what. So today I took a short cut which turned out to be a wrong cut, took no bait but caught good enough feed, saw wild animals and the best thing, stayed off the tools for the day, yea... had a ball bogged and all... love it...

Home schooling fish science, fish cleaning education

Home schooling fish science, guttology

Horsing about

Overtaking me

Wild horses will not keep me away

Out to stay

What a game, good on you boys, we have the team! The world cup winning team, up the Wallabys. It was so good to kick back and watch your team win, even 110 kms in the bush somewhere on the gulf of Carpentaria. And what's made it even better, after one month stuck in the sand I was forced to get us out by the boss. After trying different winches, a truck and 4x4 both pulling at once, and even a John deer tractor, the Phantom was not moving anywhere... So I did what I wanted to do in the beginning, and that was to dig in under the bus, block it up, put a 50 ton jack under the drive wheel jacking point, which was touching the ground, jacked it up, blocked under the tyres with bricks, made a timber track, hooked the tractor up and drove out, with the tractor pulling as help - ha I drove it out as the tractor didn't pull me at all! As I was driving the chain was never stretched...

With the boss happy, kids cheering and dad cruising across the park like nothing was wrong and there was nothing to worry about. After all dad is here... Well with the help of mum of course, but somehow dad always claims the glory when its really mum that deserves it. Ha, I could not have done it with the 2-year-old trying to crawl under the bus and help by getting in where I had dug out for the jack... We are out of the sand, but not out of the bush for another month or so, and when we leave its only to go prepare to come back for a longer stint, as I've have gone into a deal with the corporation to start and run a commercial net fishing venture on the gulf and barra farm further inland... So its back to Brisbane to prepare our return very soon.... Well after I put the roof and floor on the building. I must say I cant wait, as I came here to fish and fishing I will do... What a life, love it.

Tractoring out

Truck towing marks and tractor towing marks 

Getting under the drive wheel

9 tonne winch on bush skids

Bush modification for stabilization   

Old school block and tackle

Before getting her out

Necessities

Hello! Do you guys still remember me? It's been a while, or so I think. I've been on the job, in every way. As a mechanic: got the air bags and fitted them on, no problem, with the help of my mechanically minded wife. A plumber: got 20,000 litres of bore water in three tanks with make shift bungs and other fittings. Clean clothes and clean me, after a nice long shower. And a hunter, yes hunter. Got a clean skin young bull, rolled and butchered in 45 minutes, now freezer full of meat. Jiniba full of smiles with all the bones. And of course the reason I'm here, fishing - oh no sorry, building! And that's going better than expected, considering the remoteness, equipment and man power... Well the latter is not too much of a problem as I am, and fitting in dad, husband, community leader... man, I have no time for myself... I love this life, and there's more exciting things coming up very soon for us. Sorry, I need some time for myself now, bye.

Happy times for both man and dog

One off the road

Meat. A necessity to a staple diet. 

Gone in 45, and will get quicker

Another necessity: clean times

What a job...

All fitted, but still bogged in the sand

Full toad

The omega male in the family has been very busy in the last couple of days. (Or was it alpha? How do I always manage to get this one wrong...) Anyway, I'm referring to the one that I once kissed and who turned out to be my prince... He has replaced the busted air spring on our bus (with some help from his mechanically minded wife - what would he ever do without me, keeping a rig THIS size maintained on his own?) It took a couple of weeks to get the part shipped up here from Sydney, and even then we had to drive a hundred or so kilometres to pick it up from the nearest depot. So, with all this waiting, we've been trying to keep our calm in the meantime, practising our zen, learning to be patient. As a free spirit, I don't like the idea of being bogged, stuck in the sand, so it has been particularly hard for me to stay cool about it, but I've somehow managed. And now that the air bag is fixed we can move on to the next operation: drive the Phantom out of the sandpit onto some higher (and harder) ground!

My prince has also been working on the construction project in the camp, and chasing cows that have so far - luckily - managed to escape. I must admit that getting a clean skin killer would be a welcome addition to our almost bare meat freezer, but the thought of having to sacrifice one of those beautiful creatures that keep mooing near our camp at night, is nearly too much for me to bear. I think I will leave that to the hunter...

But although he has been busy with work and other projects, dad has also had time to take his cherubs on bush walks and for some fishing; spare time activities they all love. And there's definitely enough bushland to walk around here! I stayed in the camp with baby, getting some long awaited quiet time, but asked the girls to document anything interesting on my phone. And so they did! They discovered a beautiful billabong (or barrabong as it turned out to be, with an abundance of fish), and I got my phone back with some interesting photos. Apparently tadpoles were fascinating too, but only until the girls realised they were in fact baby cane toads, and the princesses soon lost interest. After all, who would like to kiss a toad...

- M -

Pandanus Ridge is so beautiful, it deserves a mirror image.

He might not catch a barra with this, but a fish is a fish to me.

Here they come, in great numbers...

...beware of toad invasion!

They only found tracks here, it won't give us a feed yet...

...so the great hunter will have to do with what this billabong has to offer.

When you give a child a camera, you will be rewarded with beautiful photos...

...surprising shots...

...a whole new perspective to things...

...and photos you would not have thought of taking yourself.

They arrived back home with inspiring stories and great photos...

...and some unidentified fish.

Diamonds in the rough

An 11,000 litre septic tank is now in the pit thanks to the three of us, me, myself and I. Another 11,000 litre tank was delivered today and water will be delivered on Wednesday, which will give us a total of 16,000 litres of water. It should last us a good 6 weeks or so, which in my calculations is time enough to get the job done unless I start doing more fishing, hunting, or prospecting. Now the latter is something I don't want to start because I will find it hard to stop, after all I'm a prospector from way back! This is supposedly diamond country, and I have been given the green light to help myself, what an honour, and thanks to the traditional owners.
I went on my road patrol this morning, and saw dingoes, got to Bing Bong Creek and saw the creek master, the crocodile, trying to hide, so I thought I give him the name Stoner as he was trying to camouflage with rocks. Well the resident crocodile in the McArthur River at Borroloola is called Bombastic by the locals. I will try to get some pictures of Stoner and other wildlife on my patrols in coming days. Sun is setting, cans are cold, gotta go bye.

Knock off time

Ready for lay

Not as big as the last one, but does the job

Water, part of survival

Running low

Family gone bush, day 2: Set up camp, go to bore six kilometres away, fill 1500 litres in tank, go back to camp, start building, fishing, hunting and having a ball. One week later go back to refill tank at the bore and find the 20 kva generator gone, yes gone... What the ......?? Now we have a problem, not only because the genny is gone, on a locked road that nobody should be on, with big gates on both sides of rivers. But more importantly we have no water, and our part (air bags) for the bus is at the Pandion depot in Darwin waiting delivery on Thursday. Now we have about 150 litres in the on board tank strictly for quick showers, and 200 litres in mineral drinking water. So we should be alright until Friday, with a bit of whiff of course by then, before the bus will be fixed and we can head back into town to reorganize our water situation out here where our nearest neighbours are about 110 kms away. Oh boy don't know what the the reaction will be, when I get to town, looking like a true bushman with nikes and russell athletics on.... Modern day hunter or wanna be anyway. The building is going good and coming together well, the dog is injured after a big night hunt, the kids are having fire works tonight, and mum is feeding baby... I'm having a beer, catch ya.

Bushman in training

Barefoot runner

Getting smart

Went to the end of this haul road which crosses the Savannah way up near the Roper River today. I do security for this haul road which is about 140 km of mainly sealed road that is supposed to have no traffic on it. I drive the road twice a week checking everything is good, and no-one got on it and broke down or needed help as they would be waiting for a long time... There are gates on each end, but people do find their ways around, even with no entry signs every where. Human that's all.
I got back to the camp and the fridge had slowed right down, so I got smart and changed the configuration to 24 volts, nice, good, lovely, back in action. Mum unstressed and well, myself, heavily unstressed, all meats and cold foods saved as we only have the one double door fridge. Everyone including mum seem tired today,  must have been the big day fishing yesterday, and the kids having restless sleep all night, dreaming of the little shark we caught. Good experiences for the kids, not good sleep for mum and dad. Oh well, that's life, loving it. Ta ta.

Fridge - old is gold

Shark attack in bed, safer on the floor