Heat, Dust, Flies – and Fun

This is me at the top end of SA.

BY JEANETTE COOMBES

Certainly, this is not my best look! No Akubra for me, but the fly net is a must at Mt Barry working on a cattle station in the far north of South Australia in January.

The weather has been kinder today. Only 37 – not yesterday’s 47! The water in the taps is too hot to shower in until we run it for a while, but even then there is no such thing as a cold shower! I keep a bucket of water in the house that I can use to wet the dog down during the day. The water is far too hot for her!

Garry and I usually spend three-four weeks living and working on the station, which is 100km north of Coober Pedy, the nearest township. And Coober Pedy itself is another story.

The landscape of Mt Barry is red, flat, crisscrossed sparsely with water courses which are usually bone dry. Here and there stark residual hills punctuate the otherwise flat landscape. The watercourses are critical in the carrying of flood waters to the vast tracts of land grazed by the station cattle and the other animals. Dams are filled from rainfall carried in the creeks, but when there is no rain, as is the case this year, the dams dry out and the fish die and the cattle need to be moved so that they do not bog themselves in the mud. So cattle then drink from troughs filled from bores. Troughs need to be cleaned frequently to rid them of the algae which grow quickly in the warm water pumped from beneath the earth surface. The ground is covered in red stones seriously eroded by centuries of weathering. They give a rosy glow and shine in the sunlight and radiate such heat in the summer that they are too hot to pick up.

Mr Barry’s general landscape

One of Garry’s jobs is to keep the water pumps operating and the troughs clean. Sometimes that job takes five-six hours requiring him to drive over 100km on rough station tracks where the travel is only at 40 or so km per hour. While he is away from the station, we are in radio contact with me back in the homestead. That ensures his safety and my ability to support him with reassuring communication. Remember that in January, the temperatures are into the 50 degrees centigrade, so the work is strenuous and potentially dangerous. So it is important that safety measures are in place. Air conditioning in the Toyota traytop is a bonus! But the cold water in the esky is a lifesaver as is good food on his return!

Of course there are always flies….I have a very low tolerance to the pests, hence the fly net on my hat. I can’t stand them in my eyes, nose, ears, mouth and behind my glasses, so anything to keep them at bay is ok with me…too bad about the good look!

We love going to Mt Barry as we have over the last 13 years. We went there first as support teachers to a sick Mum who needed help with her student child whilst she was struggling with her illness. We have become close to the family and give them a holiday break down south in the harshest time of the year when regular cattle work is not carried out.

A major attraction for us, apart from the help we know we can give the family, is the huge contrast in life style that we experience because we live in such a ‘soft’ environment, close to the sea. We go from the cool sea breezes, the green country side, shops around the corner, neighbours a stone’s throw away, to the isolation, ruggedness, and challenges of a harsh work place. We realise how hard these people work to add to the economy of our country. We appreciate our home too! We have 24 hour power, inexpensive compared to the diesel run generator that operates only about 12 hours a day.

That husband Garry in 59 degree heat.

Another bonus Garry really enjoys is the opportunity to play with Big Boys Toys! He finds himself driving tractors and bulldozers and other heavy vehicles, tinkering with motor bikes and problem solving issues relating to anything from simple home maintenance to major breakdowns.

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