Denise's Adventures in Wonderland

Gallery: Kroombit Park

awesomehossom — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:11:00 GMT

Unforgetable

Leaving... piece by piece, moment by moment

awesomehossom — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:45:00 GMT

I haven't really had the courage to write my next journal entry till now. I've been in Brisbane for two weeks now with fast internet and every reason to write down everything that has happened at Kroombit and the departing of it, but it was too fresh. I think I have almost fully arrived here in Brisbane.

I left so much behind at Kroombit Park. Even saying it now chokes me up. Just the name conjures up images and moments in my life that seized my entirety, the most wholly affecting experiences I've had. I left a family, I left friends, I left horses, I left my self somewhere out in the supernatural and extraordinary bush I traversed, immersed, and absorbed into my being. I had no idea. It was chance that landed me there and it was fated that I loved it so dearly. I truly believe in some greater workings ind which I cannot explain but simply thank for having given all that they have.

The Sandiland family took me in, loved me, cared for me, taught me, and appreciated me. In such a short time I recieved a love and joy in life that some people look for their entire lives and never find. And here I am with families spanning three continents now. With love for my family strewn across the world held together by the strong faith that it is the most powerful things there is.

Alan, the owner and "Best Boss in the Whole World" was a dad to me. If I was sad, Alan knew and would come give me a hug without a word. He was always there to hug me good night, and he knew what I needed before I did. He was a a symbol of Kroombit. His cool calm face and gentle nature; yet he was so unfearing, so rugged and tough. When he laughed he laughed with his eyes. When he was sad or stern his eyes were heavy, he wouldn't say much. Come to think of it, he never spoke much, but he was always saying something profound with his actions and presence.

All my friends; Jill, Selene, Deanne, Ashley, Alex, Tina, Ragnhild, Cate, Lee, Jen, Sacha, Mirthe, Johnathan, Wendy, Cassandra, David, and Rachel. Amazing people; Aussies, Brits, Canadians, Danes, Norweigians, New Zealanders, and East Coast Yanks. I loved em all. They were my crew. We depended on eachother. We always had eachothers back. We had to, in a place like that, your friends and your family are all you have. You have your tiffs and your ruffled feathers but you know that it will be fine, because things have a way of working themselves out.

And the animals... how my heart held onto some of those animals. There were horses who changed my life. They changed my idea of what a horse and person can achieve together, and how one can find courage in the other in times of doubt. How it is the

An Ethnography... by me

awesomehossom — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:35:00 GMT

It's starting to sink in now. I've been here long enough that I have found my bearings and have come into true observation. The shock of change has worn off and I am once again in my intellectual element, able to see things through a more objective stance. It feels good.

I got into a debate this morning; one of controversial anthropology. Thats not what the people involved recognized the issue as, but I spoke of it as such, it was in fact, a matter of both cultural and physical anthropology perspectives.

Kroombit Park where I am staying... Is a beef cattle and goat meat farm. The animals here are for eating. The animals we care for, muster, and work with on a daily basis we later eat. Now, the people who come through Kroombit are tourists from Europe, North America, and occasionally South America, and a good deal of Vegetarians come through; especially from the States. So myself and the other staff members were standing round the fire this morning with one of the Tour Bus Drivers whom happens to be an "occasional vegetarian". He's on and off with it; he says for health and for conservation of animals. And then it was the debate... Outback Cowboy Ranchers vs. City Boy Bus Driver. This was very interesting for me to watch and listen to. I got to see what these people think of people like me and the Tour Bus Driver. I saw what I look like from the other side of the fence. Being a person who has never been fully immersed in Agricultural living and work before now, I have never been able to see things the way I did today in the debate. It really opened my eyes.

You see, I have always hung around the hippies, the progressives, the international travelers, the new age thinkers, the academics, the musicians and artists, and your typical New World type of people. I guess I have always looked down on the Cowboy, considering him an outdated and brutish type. I admit to my clear stereotyping. I've always poked fun at the rednecks and cowboys and people who only listen to country, thinking they were so different than me. And now I have found myself immersed in their culture.

I don't think I would have been open enough to enter Cowboy culture in the US as I have always felt great disdain for the political and social opinions of the Country Folk of the US... whom I know for prejudice and racism, abuse of women, children, and animals, and general ignorance of the world. They are the people who think war is good, that Big is ALWAYS Better, and that don't believe in being open minded. Thats what I've witnessed of country people back in the States. I know their are good people in the country and rural areas, but I have a hard time ignoring all the people who've made a bad name for the cowboys and ranchers of the US.

So here I am in Australia, living the Cattle Rancher lifestyle, wondering to myself how I see it now. And I must say, it is far different than I thought, and I mean in a good way. The Aussie Cowboy (originally called a 'Ringer' before Americanization of Australia) is somewhat like the stereotype back home. They smoke, drink a lot, swear a lot, and love country music. But there is a gentility to them, a quiet and subtle nature that calms a wild brumby horse when they saddle them, and pets the big billy goat on the head when nobodys looking. There is something about them that is very different then the people walking around cities going from their cubicle to the cafe or city pub. And I've never heard anyone say anything about it. No one has ever mentioned the actual Zen calm of a cowboy; able to stare a fierce bull in the face and escape a horn goring their gut with the most natural agility. No one talks about how they know the land, the animals, and the reality of life better than most of us far removed from even the animals we eat on our plates every night. I have discovered so much about this life that I would have never known looking in from the outside. I have an enormously new found respect for the people and the lifestyle I have previously shunned.

I must say that I am absolutely full of joy being here. The Sandiland family which includes Alan and Carol, owners of Kroombit and Parents/Grandparents to 2 kids (Brent and Kerri) and 2 grandchildren (Jesse, 3 and Kayla, 6) have taken me in as well as the rest of the staff. The Staff is made up of 7 other girls my age that are local or from Europe, Canada, and the US, one guy from Britain, Wendy and Johnathan and their daughter Cassy from New Zealand. And we are a big family. We listen to country music and eat lots of steak, and I love it.

Little Jesse and Kayla running around with over 15 people to take care of them and staying up late with Kerri and her husband Andrew (parents to Jesse and Kayla), drinking their home brewed beer till 2 in the morning on the veranda. Life is good. I live close to the land, understanding it's cycles and riding horses through the bush everyday. I watch gorgeous sunsets breaching the tree topped hills on horseback at the end of a successful goat muster and have endless moments of awe. I feel connected and complete. And I know this is why I was supposed to come here. I knew Australia had something in store for me; but I never knew it could be so good.

I will never look at a cowboy the same way again; and that is a good thing.

All my Love,

The Cattle and Goat Rancher Cowgirl,

Denise

My First Month in Oz

awesomehossom — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:07:00 GMT

Hey Everyone! Sorry it has taken so long for me to update my journal and let you all know what Australia is like. Internet is pretty hard to come by out here in the Outback and when I was in Brisbane I was really busy with getting my ducks in line for work. But here I am a month later, looking back on everything I've done and I'm a bit stunned with it all. I've really accomplished quite a bit in a short amount of time. I arrived in Brisbane a month ago tomorrow, and was staying with my friend Mark and his roommate Samantha for the first week. They both are very philosophical like myself so we there was so much great conversation to be had. Mark has many other really great friends whom he introduced me to and I thought were so much fun. Theres Blake whose an Aussie, Ibi from London, Grant from South Africa, and Annette from Poland, and a bucnah of others. I had an awesome time going out on the town with the whole group on my first and last nights in Brisbane. We went to South Bank on my first night, and a Pub on the Riverside my last night. Definitely good times.

My week in Brisbane was mainly to get over jet lag, get my Visa and work stuff in order, see the city (I walked EVERYWHERE, took buses, and river ferries), and then depart on the Visit Oz program (which I booked through Greenforce in London). It was myself and a German girl named Kira whom were starting the program on the same day from Brisbane. We became friends quickly as we soon discovered we were both in the program because we wanted to work with horses and owned our own horses back home. We then went to Rainbow beach for 3 days from Brisbane. It's a lovely beach about a 3 hours drive North of Brisbane. Theres pictures of it that I have yet to put up. Then we left for Gympie, where we went to our training farm (pictures of that too), and I stayed at Joe's Farm. Joe is the classic Aussie Outback Cowboy. He trained myself, Kira, and three Irish boys from Dublin whom I could not understand for the life of me!!! The five of us had a great training week. The first day was driving semi trucks to get 120lb metal gate panels loaded and out to a Rodeo, we learned how to load them and strap them down on the truck and stuff. Lots of Lifting! The next day was Timber cutting, tractor driving, and chainsaw work. Thats right. I used a chainsaw, dragged cut timber by tractor and learned how to use an axe to get the bark off of trees. But best of all on that day... I SAW A KOALA!!!! IN THE WILD!!! Not even most Aussies get to see that. It was spectacular to watch it. It was in a tree I was standing right next to!!! The next day was Cattle Work; I learned how to muster cattle on horseback and also how to mix grains to feed all the farm animals at Joe's farm. 100's of chickens, ducks, and pigs that need to have grain morning and night. Joe also had about 45 horses and 500 head of cattle. There was a little baby foal. Then a 2500lb bull got a Spinal Virus and he couldn't stand up or use his legs, so we had to water him with a bottle and lift him with the truck straps. Poor Bloke was just awfully sick. I did Reiki on him with Joe's permission and after Reiki (which the bull greatfully accepted)he drank two buckets of water all by himself. That was a big relief for everyone. Then the next day I learned how to ride offroad motor bikes (I was actually good at it, funny enough), and we mustered more cattle in the evening. Then the training was over and we all got ready to leave for our jobs.

I had already recieved a job offer for a working cattle and goat station that does trail rides and goat musters for tourists and backpackers in Biloela (5 hour drive North of Gympie). I accepted right away since it was the nearest Horse job that I could find and it sounded really rustic and authentic Australian living. I had no idea how much I would love it. So here I am. Lochenbar Station at Kroombit Park in Biloela. I have a favorite horse here out of the 70 horses. His name is Max. He's a beautiful Tricolor paint, with two colors in his mane. I love him. He's an excellent goat musterer. Thats right. I chase goats on horseback. It's hilarious! The horses will bite the goats butt if they don't move. And it is much more difficult than moving cattle to me because the goats aren't really scared of humans or horses like cattle are. If you want to, you can checkout the website of Kroombit to get some more info and see what it's like. www.kroombit.com.au

I love it here. I'm living the Outback life and I see Kangaroos, Wallabies, Kookaburras, Deer, and Wild Cockatoos everyday. I ride horses everyday and I eat campfire and barbequed aussie food everyday. There are 14 other backpackers, locals, and travelers working here with me, whom I enjoy tremedously.

Even so, I miss everyone at home and can't wait to see you all again and share pictures and stories in person. I am working on filling my memory card on my camera and downloading about 250 photos pretty soon here. So there will be photos of this stuff up eventually. I hope you are all doing well and getting ready for a great summer.

All my love,

Denise

Gallery: My Horse Magic

awesomehossom — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:08:00 GMT

Gets a Haircut

Preparing for Departure

awesomehossom — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:08:00 GMT

So here I am bags packed and almost everything in places for leaving for a four month trip. Thinking about all the loose ends to tie up. I went and visited my horse for the last time till August which was kind of daunting. I've never spent that much time away from her, so I, of course, wanted to make sure she really knew I loved her dearly, so I gave her a spa day! What every mare dreams of! But it was a symbolic day, because for the first time ever, I cut Magic's mane short. For those of you who don't know this... Magic is a purebred Arabian with exceptional Polish Bloodlines. She has an International Champion, Khemosabi, as her grandpa, and she certainly got his looks. He was considered to be one of the most beautiful, purebred arabians in the US and his bloodline is highly prized amongst the Arabian community.

Well, a thing about Arabians is that they have a very particular look. There is a certain way to groom Arabs because they are unique, and are one of the most celebrated beauty's of the horse world. Arab's often grow very long manes and tails and instead of chopping it all off for showing, Arab owners know that the breed is supposed to have long well kept manes and tails for shows. So I did what no Arab owner ever wants to do... I defyed the thousand year old tradition of long manes and tails, and I cut Magic's hair short for the first in almost 9 years of owning her. It's probably the only time she's ever had short hair in her life! But she'll be turned out to a 10 acre pasture in a foresty area for the whole summer; and without me here to keep up that mane for monthes... her mane could have been ruined by the time I came home. So I prevented that from happening with a summer cut. Point is... I took before and after photos of long mane and short mane to show off my pretty mare. Check out the Gallery of photos. They're in there!

Over and Out,

Denise