Life on a Farm

Towards the end of our trip around Australia, we had to start looking into where we were going to live when we arrived back to the Gold Coast. We were able to get a long term spot at a caravan park on the more southern end of the Gold Coast. The only catch was we had to be here by a certain date or we lost the spot. This meant that we had to cut our holiday short to get here on time. On arriving at this caravan park, the site was not ready, so they gave us another spot and we left our van and headed off to Rockhampton to visit my family and go through our mail and collect any possessions that we knew we would need in the coming months. 

Our boys love life on a farm and always help Papa when they can. They love running around outside, so when they were given the opportunity to help feed the cows every night, they were really excited.

They loved the cows and did quite well not to stand into too much of the cow poo, while feeding and patting them.

The felt a little sorry for the two little calves who had plastic orange rings in their noses. These were only there to stop them feeding from their mothers.

With no rain for months, and none looking like arriving very quickly, the boys were always quite careful of watching where they stepped as we knew there were brown snakes in the area. It wasn’t until one morning, we woke up and Papa had found a dead snake (thanks to the dog) and hung it in a tree to show the boys want they need to look for.

Though this was only a small one, it is still a brown snake which are very dangerous snakes.

The boys also helped watched Papa dig some holes for some trees that will eventually give shade for the cows.

Then they were able to have a short drive on the tractor.

They also helped make a new, flat area for the cows water trough and move it as it was leaking on the old spot.

They also learnt to ride the small motorbike.

Once they got the hang of it, they loved it!

Even I was able to have a ride. Hubby tried but it wouldn’t move due to his weight. Being small does have its advantages sometimes.

After busy days on the farm, the boys were able to have a relaxing swim before dinner.

On one of Papa’s days off, we went to the Rockhampton Zoo with him. The boys love this free zoo. Even with the cyclone at the beginning of the year doing a fair bit of damage, the place was looking really good.

Just a couple of days before we left, hubby had his birthday and as mum and dad’s oven had broken before we arrived, a cheesecake shop birthday cake was the best we could do.

The day before we left, one of the cows delivered their baby. Sadly, this calf was a stillborn, our boys first encounter with death. It was a very sad time for them, watching Papa take the baby calf away.

There were lots of tears that night and the following morning, as they didn’t want to leave and come back to the Gold Coast. They have so much fun on the farm and can’t wait to visit again.

On arriving back at the Gold Coast, we moved our van to our more permanent site and are looking forward to the next chapter of our life.