Bedste. Tømmermænd. Nogensinde./Best. Hangover. Ever.

For at fejre den nyligt overståede såning var Helle, Bjarke og jeg blevet inviteret til fest hos Erik, en svensk trainee fra Helles hold om fredagen. Erik er trainee hos en familie i nærheden af Bremer Bay, ca. 45 minutters kørsel fra hvor vi er. Selvom han ikke er fra mit hold har jeg mødt ham nogle gange før, og jeg takkede naturligvis ja til invitationen.
Vi ankom sidst på eftermiddagen efter at have forsynet os med drikkevarer I Jerramungup. Vi var nogle af de første der, men der gik ikke længe før at der begyndte at dukke folk op. Jeg var lidt overrasket da de første andre gæster ankom; jeg troede at det var Erik der holdt fest, men det viste sig egentlig at være hans værtsfamilie. Snart ankom der en masse farmere fra Bremer og omegn. Til start blev der sat en masse ost og kiks frem, samt en del andre snacks som folk forsynede sig med indtil hovedretten var klar: grillet lam, der havde stegt i omkring otte timer, laks, fanget samme eftermiddag, fra det kold hav mellem Australien og Antarktis (Southern Ocean, slet og ret) og diverse grøntsager og brød. Der var rigeligt til alle, og humøret blev hurtigt højt. Der begyndte også så småt at komme en del trainees, mest fra Helles hold (dvs., holdet før mig) men der dukkede også en enkelt fra mit hold op.
Som aften blev til nat forsvandt gæsterne, med undtagelse af os trainees. Humøret blev kun bedre som vi fik mere og drikke, og på et tidspunkt besluttede værtsfamilien at de ville lære os hvordan man bruger en rigtig læderpisk. Det er noget sværere end man skulle tro, men jeg fik den da til at smælde et par gange. Klokken var blevet morgen før jeg kom i seng.

Næste dag skulle vi på udflugt. Egentlig var jeg ikke videre stemt for det, da indersiden af mit hoved føltes mange gange større end ydersiden, men jeg lod mig alligevel overtale efter en gudsbenådet kop kaffe. Jeg kom ikke til at fortryde.
Vi var ti unge, samt værtsmoren og -faren, men logistikken blev løst ved at lægge nogle puder og madrasser op på ladet af to utes, hvorfor der pludselig var rigelig plads. Jeg kom til at sidde på ladet af en sammen med tre andre fyre; Erik, den svenske trainee, Jean-Louis fra Frankrig og Mads, en dansker. Knapt var vi sat i gang, før at det blev besluttet at vi skulle have en reparationsbajer. Vi kørte omkring kl. 13, og var tilbage 16.30. Turen tog os ned til Point Anne, og derefter langs stranden, næsten hele vejen til Bremer Bay... og der var en fantastisk tur. Trætte og med tømmermænd morede vi os gevaldigt på ladet af uten, mens omgivelserne bare lod til at blive smukkere og smukkere.
Nede ved vandet, efter en køretur på tre kvarter, så vi både hvaler en sæl og ørne, samt en del havfugle. Vandet var utroligt blåt, og sandet hvidt som sne. Hjemturen foregik ad mindre veje, ofte med bevoksning så tæt at vi måtte dukke hovederne for ikke at blive ramt. En ægte Australien-oplevelse.
Lørdag aften tog Bruce og Peta os med ud at spise på pubben i Jerramungup for at fejre at vå var færdige med at så, og som afsked for Bjarke og Helle, der tog til Perth om søndagen, for at tage videre hjem derfra onsdag eftermiddag. Så som det ser ud nu er jeg ene arbejder her, udover Bruce, indtil september hvor der kommer en ny trainee. Spændende.

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Jeg var til fest fredag, hvor jeg næsten lærte at smælde med en rigtig læderpisk. Lørdag var jeg på udflugt lå ladet af en ute til nogle utroligt smukke strande nær Bremer Bay. Bjarke og Helle er taget til Perth, og tager hjem til Danmark derfra, så jeg er ene arbejder og dansker tilbage på farmen.

~*~

English for the Danish impared:
(For pictures, see the above Danish section)

To celebrate the newly finished seeding, Erik, a Swedish trainee from Helle's group, had invited Helle, Bjarke and I to a party Friday evening. Erik was a trainee with a family near Bremer Bay, about 45 minutes in car from where I am at. Even though he is not from my group, I have met him a couple of times before, and naturally accepted the invitation. We arrived in the late afternoon after having bought somthing to drink in Jerramungup. We were some of the first there, but it did not take long until people started arriving. I was a bit surprised when the first guests arrived; I though Erik was the one hosting the party, but it turned out that it was really his host family. Soon a lot of farmers from around the Bremer area arrived. For startes, cheese, crackers and a lot of other snacks were served, to ward off the hunger until the main course: barbecued lamb, which had been cooking for about eight hours, salmon from the cold seas between Australia and Antartica , caught that very afternoon, and various vegetables and bread. There was plenty for everyone, and the mood was good. Some other trainees started arriving, and even though most were from Helle's group (which is the group before mine), a single from mine came as well.
As evening turned into night, the guests went home, except from us trainees. It just got merrier as the drink continued to flow, and at some point, the host family decided to teach us how to use a real leather whip. It is a lot harder than it looks, but I got it to crack a couple of times. It was morning before I went to bed.

The next day we went on a trip. Initially I was a bit sceptical, as I had a bit of hangover, but after a blessed cup of coffee, I was talked into coming along. I did not come to regret that decision.
We were ten young people going, as well as the host mom and -dad, but the logistics were solved by putting some mattresses and pillows on the back of a couple of utes, whereupon there suddenly were plenty of room. I came to share the lid of a ute with three other guys: Erik, the Sweedish trainee, Jean-Louis from France and Mads, a Dane. We had barely set out before it was decided that we should have a beer to chase away the hangovers. We lft at about 1 PM, and were back 4.30 PM. The trip took us down to Point Anne, and long the beach, almost all the way to Bremer Bay... and it was a magnificent trip. Tired and hungover, we had loads of fun, and the surroundings just got prettier and prettier (one is tempted to call them "quaint" and "picturesque")
By the water, after a 45 min. drive, we saw both whales, a seel and eagles, along with various water birds. The water was incredibly blue, and the sand white as snow. The trip back took us along some smaller trails, often with the vegetation so dense we had to duck our heads no avoid getting hit. A true Australia-experience.
Saturday night Brucen and Peta took us out to dinner on the Pub, both to celebrate the finished seeding, but also to say farewell to Bjarke and Helle, who went to Perth on Sunday, to stay there to wednesday, upon when they are flying home to Denmark. So as it is now, I am the only worker here (apart from Bruce), until a new trainee arrives in September. Exciting.

Summary for lazy/busy readers: I was at a party Friday night, where I almost learned to crack a real leather whip. Saturday I was on an excursion on the back of a ute to some incredibly beautiful beaches near Bremer Bay. Bjarke and Helle has gone to Perth, to fly home to Denmark, so I am the only worker and Dane left on the farm.

/EMO

3...2...1... FÆRDIG!/3...2...1... FINISHED!

Langt om længe blev vi færdige med at så. Det har taget os lidt over en måned, og vi har tilsået ca. 3200 hektar med hhv. raps, hvede, byg, ærter og lupiner. Egentlig ville Bruce gerne have været færdig for en uge siden, men grundet diverse uheld var det ikke muligt.
Faktisk føltes det som om at vi var forfulgt af uheld et stykke tid. Et af hjulene på seederbaren skiftede vi hele tre gange, fordi det blev ved at blive fladt. Til sidst skiftede vi både dæk og fælg, hvilket løste problemet. Glæden var dog kort, da dets tvilling (dækkene sidder i par på baren) lavede samme nummer, hvorfor vi igen måtte til byen for at få et ny dæk. Endnu en formiddag spildt.
En anden ting der har voldt os problemer er motoren på seederboxen. Mere præcist var det batteriet og startmotoren. Vi klarede os et stykke tid ved at bruge den ene ute og nogle startkabler, men en dag ville motoren slet ikke. Vi måtte desværre konstatere at startmotoren var brændt af, og måtte så vente halvanden dag på en ny. Vi har haft nogle andre problemer, omend ikke nær så slemme. Blandt andet er der kommet en lille revne i gearkassen på traktoren, så vi har været nødt til at fylde olie på regelmæssigt. Hen mod slutningen af såningen var jeg på vej med et læs lupiner fra Holdman's til McHarty's (hvad jeg tidligere har kaldt McCarthy... nu er jeg helt sikker på at jeg har det rigtige navn), da det pludselig begyndte at ryge voldsomt fra motoren på trucken. Jeg standsede, kiggede op under den, og konstaterede at der var gået ild i noget i motoren. Uden en ildslukker ved hånden ringede jeg fluks til Bruce og indledte samtalen med ordene: "Uh, Bruce? The truck is on fire."
Selvsagt var han ikke glad for den besked, så han ræsede op til mig, mens jeg slukkede ilden ved at kaste sand på den. Det viste sig at være en lille olieslange som var knækket, og havde spildt olie på udstødningen, hvilket der så var gået ild i.
Der er også sket et par andre interessante ting siden sidst. For eksempel er der mistanke om at der har været fåretyve i området. Naboen har mister nogle får, og der er risiko for at Bruce også har. Vi har ikke talt dem endnu, men der er en del tegn på at der har været nogen inde i markerne her, da der er spor efter både en bil og en truck. Desuden har gates vi har lukket været åbnet, og to grupper af får som vi havde placeret langt fra hinanden var pludselig blandet sammen til én stor flok.

Bortset fra uheldene er såningen forløbet fint. Traktoren har kørt som den skulle, og har faktisk haft en forbløffende god brændstoføkonomi. Selv har jeg mest kørt om aftenen og natten, et bevidst valg fra min side. Dels så har jeg ikke noget mod at køre rundt alene med min musik, dels så har det givet de to andre trainees (som også kommer sammen) mulighed for at være sammen uden at jeg var i nærheden.

Endelig har jeg lidt stof til eftertanke: I Danmark er det ikke ualmindeligt at regne med 10-15 tons udbytte per hektar. Bruce regner med 2 tons/ha. Der er ikke noget at sige til at han har så meget jord.

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Vi er færdige med at så. Vi har haft nogle uheld, men ikke noget der ikke kunne løses. Der er muligvis fåretyve i området.

~*~

English for the Danish impared:

Finally we finished seeding. It took us just over a month, and we have cropped about 3200 hectares with canola, wheat, barley, peas and lupins. In truth, Bruce would have liked to finish a week ago, but due to various setbacks and accidents, that was not possible.
Actually, it felt like we were pursued by bad luck for a time. We had to change one of the tires on the seederbar a total of three times because it kept going flat. Finally, we changed both the tire and the rim, which solved the problem. But alas, the joy was short, as its twin (the tires are mounted in pairs on the bar) went flat as well, upon which we had to go to town to get a new tire. Another morning wasted.
Another thing which caused us trouble was the motor on the seederbox. More precisely, it was the battery and the starter motor. We got by for awhile by using a ute and some jumper leads, but one day it just would not start. It turned out that we had burned the starter motor, and we hadto wait one-and-a-half day for a new one. We have also had some other troubles, though less serious. For example, we discovered a crack in the gearbox on the tractor, which meant that we had to out oil on regularly. Towards the end of seeding I was carting a load of lupins and fertilizer from Holdman's to McHarty's (what I've previaously been calling McCarthy... I'm sure of the name now, though), when it started smoking from the engine on the truck. I pulled over and had a look at the engine, where I could see fire. With no fire extinguisher at hand, I called Bruce and opened the conversation with the words: "Uh, Bruce? The truck is on fire."
Naturally, he was not very pleased with that message, so he raced up to me in a ute, while I put out the fire by throwing dirt on it. It turned out that a small oil hose had broken off, and had spilled oil out on the exhaust pipe, which had caught fire.
Some other interesting things have happend. There is a suspicion of people stealing sheep in the area. The neighbour has lost some sheep, and perhaps Bruce has too. We have not counted them yet, but there are signs that people have been into the paddocks here, as there are tracks from both a car and a truck. Furthermore, gates which we had closed have been opened, and two mobs of sheep, which was placed far from one another, have merged to one, and been put in the same paddock.

Apart from the accidents, the seedig has gone well. The tractor has run as it should, and it has had a surprisingly good fuel economy. I myself have mostly been driving evenings and nights, a conscious choise on my part. Both because I do not mind driving alone with just my music as company, but also to give the two other trainees (who are also a couple) some time alone.

Finally, some numbers: In Denmark it is not unusual to expect 10-15 tonnes of crop per hectare in harvest. Bruce is counting on 2 tonnes/hectare. No wonder he needs that much land.

Summary for lazy/busy readers: We've finished seeding. We've had a few accidents, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. There may be sheep rustlers about.

/EMO