Kicking back and second round
Host: Farrcombe Contracting
Written by Raine Farrcombe – Owner, Farrcombe Contracting.
Occasionally, a station social function will call us in, any excuse is a good excuse. A month or so ago Lyle and Helen Kent pulled into Newcastle Waters Station on their annual visit (Lyle and Helen provide a travelling saddlery shop with everything one might need when working on a station). At the time we were working next door on Dungowan Station but were invited to an evening BBQ and some browsing of the Kent Saddlery display. The crew were keen, so we finished in the yards and all rushed through the showers attempting to leave around 6pm. A quick two hour drive to Newcastle Waters in time for a quick feed, shop, and a beer or two before leaving again at 11pm for the two hour trip home. 1am we reached camp, but were concerned for two of our staff members who were still following us back in their car. They should have not been far behind us, so Potter waited up for another hour and still no sign. The next morning they had returned, as on the trip home they decided to pull up for a slight nap for an hour or so before finally reaching their destination, glad we didn’t wait up the whole night.
Just last week the Hay Cutting contracting crew came to drop off some Hay at the yards for us. They decided to stay for a BBQ and a few beverages. One of the boys is a known guitarist and singer, we were treated to some live entertainment for the evening and had a great night singing along to the latest country tunes.
Farrcombe VS Newcastle Waters in Beer Pong.
Of course we support the State of Origin football series and go to great lengths to make sure we are able to watch the games somewhere. The final game this year was set to be exciting! We were camped out at Doug Walters Bore at Newcastle Waters Station. Some of the crew (those who were seeking the luxury of mobile phone service) travelled the back roads to the homestead, while the rest of us travelled into nearby neighboring Ucharonidge Station to visit Mick and Jana and borrow their television set.
Tomorrow night we move camp out to a set of yards about two hours drive from the main station complex. We have been invited to ‘cracker night’, a fireworks show down by the lake at Newcastle Waters, fortunately for us this social outing will only be an 8km drive from our campsite!!
Quick fix for a hangover at work.
Occasionally we are treated to overnight visitors at our camp, these can be parents of ours or staff, station managers, or truck drivers. The rare occurrence of this brings great excitement and fresh conversation topics and often news of the outside world which we miss out on so often. Sometimes we are spoilt by gifts such as a fresh loaf of bread from the bakery, a banana cake or a recent newspaper, all of which we are very grateful for.
Well the Wedding is done and dusted, was everything we hoped it would be. Potter and I were ecstatic at the efforts our friends and family made to come and share this occasion with us in such an isolated location. Campdraft season is nearly over and we have just finished a mid-round at Dungowan. However, second round of mustering looms upon us and its predicted to be an early wet season this year. Plans are being discussed and mustering plans written up as we continue our busy year. We are currently drafting up the horse plant, bushing those who are falling away in condition due to the dry weather or who have done their load of work for the year and loading up with fresher horses. We move out to camp tomorrow to McKays to pull off the weaners so the cows do not continue to lose condition through these dryer and hotter months.
Braving the heights for the ultimate wedding shot. Edwina Robertson Photography.
Wedding in the paddock = perfect! Edwina Robertson Photography.
It looks to be a busy end to the year, mustering, last campdraft, Melbourne Cup, and Christmas parties. Lots of big changes are in the pipeline for Farrcombe Contracting next year and we are very excited. We look forward to being able to share this with you next year. Wishing everyone a safe and successful second round!
Cheersquad at Pussycat Campdraft.