Interview With Our Tourist Mel

Hi Mel, could you tell us a little bit about you and what took you to Australia this year?

My Name is Melanie Pahnke and I am from Germany. I am 19 years old and just got my Abitur this year. This year some of my biggest dreams came true while travelling the world in 31 days with my boyfriend. One destination was Australia.

How did you find Out The Back Australia?

We didn’t want to plan the whole trip from Germany, we went to Sydney first to see where our journey would take us. We stayed in Sydney for 2 days and it was raining the whole time. So we went to a travel agency on the second day, to see how we could spend the following 5 days in Australia.

We definitely wanted to travel a bit more, get a lot of experiences and have a great adventure. But we had to keep in mind that we only had 5 more days in Australia and our wallet should not be empty after those 5 days.

After a long time of talking and calculating, the travel agent told us, that a Globetrotter just told her about an Outback Tour she made and how amazed she was about the experiences and the kindness of the people.

What adventures did you experience?

We went kajaking and made a stop on a sandy island, where we had barbecue on an open fire. We went shooting with pumpguns and slept in swags under the star filled sky and we visited to Rocky Station.

What was your best experience?

There were a lot of adventures on the Outback Tour we could experience. My favourite experience was camping in swags under the star filled sky. I did not sleep much that night, because I could not let go of the thought missing out on something when I closed my eyes.

There are so many noises that I never heard before: the rasping sound of the birds, which makes you feel like you got back in time to the stone age. The cracking noise of the campfire. The grashoppers and all the other little crawling animals of which you don’t know where they are just at that moment.

And the stars. It’s like lying under canopy of bright glowing shining dots. Not sleeping was definitely the right decision, because I would have missed out on so much. I experienced something great that night, behind all the trees and bushes the night seemed to turn into day and I thought it was the sun rising. But it was the moon.

What impressions did you have of Cunnamulla and the locals?

I am from a big city and I have to say that it is a huge differnence to go on an adventure trip to Cunnamulla. To me Cunnamulla is a little town and not a city, where everyone knows everyone and that is excatly what makes this place so special. The people are so nice and friendly.

What was it like to travel to the Outback?

This experience was overwhelming. The contrast to the our common live is so huge. You get to know how to use simple things and tools instead of going the easy way if you have to. Through this experience I learned how to take a closer look to my environment.

Would you recommend this tour to other backpackers?

I would recommend this tour to everyone. I don’t think people who never made this tour will understand what we’ve experienced unless they go on this tour and experienced it.

Do you think the tour was well priced?

The price compared to the effort you get is really fine. And the tour starts from Brisbane and Sydney!

What is your conclusion from the tour with Out The Back Australia?

It might sound really cheesy, but this tour is so wonderful and well organised with a lot of heart!

Thank you so much Mel!

Out the Back Australia in Cunnamulla: Guess What – We Have A Baby Kangaroo!

Out the Back Australia in Cunnamulla: Guess What – We Have A Baby Kangaroo!: "It’s a girl and her name is Jojo, she has no mommy anymore, so we are happy to take the responsibility of raising her. She is about 7 months..."

Guess What – We Have A Baby Kangaroo!

It’s a girl and her name is Jojo, she has no mommy anymore, so we are happy to take the responsibility of raising her. She is about 7 months old and 30 cm tall. Did you know that they are only about 2 cm long and weigh less than a gram when they are born? It is unbelievable, right? Baby Kangaroos are called “Joey”.  She stays in a little pouch, which is a pillowcase we put in a bag and we keep hanging her next to the window.  Jojo has pretty dark blue eyes, little hands and long hind legs. When we got her she could barely stand and now she just started jumping the other day. We’re really proud of her! We have to clean her and feed her with milk every  couple of hours. When we feed her with the bottle, she grabs your finger while drinking. That is so cute and makes you feel like you have a real baby in your arms. You would get attached to her right away! Jojo gets curious more and more, so we let her out of her pouch to practice hopping on the grass. She is so fun to watch, you would love it!

Most Australians probably have never seen a baby kangaroo before and never touched one. So it is a real unique opportunity and experience for us to take care of her. So if you book a tour and come around here in about the next 6 months you will have the unique chance to feed Jojo and have unforgettable moments with a Joey! You should not miss out on that!

We will keep you updated, so follow Jojo!

Please give us feedback if you like and we will be very happy to answer any questions you have!

Charlotte Plains

After we left Rocky Station on Sunday we were heading to Charlotte Plains. I was really excited about the farm stay, because I only heard the best of it. Robyn and Reid, the station owners, showed us places where a huge variety of wild flowers grow. We stopped at a bore for lunch surrounded by emus and a great scenery. Their property is huge and really magnificent. They have sheep, cattle, horses and lots of other wildlife.

When we arrived at their homestead two german girls, Louisa and Simone, were  already expecting us. Five puppies were running into us and wanted to be cuddled non-stop. But we also had to take care of two little lambs, Maggie and Rose, which the girls have to feed until they are grown up. I forgot to mention Matilda, “the house sheep”.  The puppies are chasing her most of the time. It is really funny to watch. Poor Matilda.

We took a dip in the pool and got ready for dinner. After dinner we went to our accommodation and had a camp fire with some stickbread under the star filled sky including a couple of shooting stars.

The next morning after breakfast we went to the shearing shed and Jack’s Hut and Robyn told us a lot about the history of Charlotte Plains, which was originally called Turnworth.  On our way we saw a lot of kangaroos, emus and camels.  

Yeah, camels. If I hadn’t seen them myself, I would not believe it. But the camels are really living on their property. A guy named Willie, who stayed in Jack’s Hut, was famous all over Australia because of his camel tours he used to make.

 I couldn’t wait to get to the Natural Artesian Spa. The bore head is really hot, but once you are in the water, you get used to it very quickly. It was really relaxing and calm. I should get an weekly appointment.

Back at the homestead, Robyn showed us the house where she used to live in when she was a child. The house is filled with historical stuff like beautiful black and white photographs, pretty dresses, dolls, a gramophone and antique suitcases. Just to mention a few things. It was like a flashback to the past.

I can’t wait to come back to Charlotte Plains to learn more about the history and get a nice treatment in the bore again!

Rocky Station

On Sunday we had to rise early to get on tour with our adventurous tourists. This time our destination was Rocky Station. Chris and Mike Webster, the station owners,  gave us a warm welcome.

We walked the natural Wallaby Walk along the Warrego River and kept our eyes open. But unfortunately we did not spot any Wallabys.

The 75m swinging footbridge was very impressive. Mike and his father build that bridge in 1967.  So I wasn’t quite sure, if I should really go on that bridge. Suddenly Mike appeared on the bridge with his Motorbike and drove over it. The bridge is not that wide, so it is a bit of a challenge to get the Motorbike through. Of course it looked really easy when Mike did it. It was very entertaining to watch.

That was proof enough for me that this bridge is very solid. We were very excited to walk over the bridge and strike a pose for a photo. Everybody enjoyed a bit of jumping and swinging on the bridge. Chris told us that they have to take everything over the bridge that is supposed to be at their property or in their house. Not only groceries, but sheep for instance. Imagine hundreds of sheep on a swinging footbridge. Very funny.

After we took a bunch of photos we were starving. Chris and Mike took us to their house and showed us around. They served us tea, coffee, soft drinks, scones, sandwiches and ginger cookies. It was probably the best Smoko I had so far. We had some time to chat with the tourist and of course with the station owners. Unfortunately we had to leave right after Smoko. I had a great time and would love to come back to Rocky!

Adgingbong

Today we had to get up very early at 05:00am before sunrise to head to Roderick Taylors Farm Adgingbong, which is about 25kms away from Cunnamulla. On our way we saw a lot of kangaroos, cows and different kinds of birds.

Rod and Claudia (another girl from Germany, she works on Rods farm) invited us to experience the farm life and lamb marking on our own.  So we drove to the Paddock where the sheep were supposed to be, but it was empty and the gate was open. So the sheep were all over the place and had to be mustered first. That is not that easy if your property is about 310qkms big. So Rod jumped in his plane to gather all the sheep together, what took about 2 hours. The others jumped on their Rhinos or Motorbikes to follow Rods instructions, which he gave via a radio unit. Once we had the sheep on the Paddock where they were supposed to be, we started to separate the lambs from the other sheep.

Three real farmers were marking and castrating the lambs – it is not really nice to watch, if you are not used to have blood all over yourself – but it surely has to be done. The other sheep had to go through some sort of shower, where they get some kind of treatment in their wool, which prevents the sheep from getting fly blown where flies inject their eggs into the sheep. Sheep blow flies is a really bad disease for these animals, where they lose all their fur and their bones get hard so they can’t move anymore. That can be very bad for the sheep and their owner.

During the whole process a lamb was born. Claudia told us that this happens a lot, because the sheeps are really nervous and stressed out so they give birth really quick.

This is some tough work famers have to do, you see, that  the sheep don’t do whatever you tell them to do. You really need to be loud and sometimes rough to get everything done in time. Don’t forget the heat out there, theres barely shade to hide. So we were really happy to have a smoko with coffee and delicious muffins, which Claudia made for us.

We had an awesome day and definitely want to help out on that farm again!

NAIDOC week in Cunnamulla

NAIDOC week in Cunnamulla

The 23rd – 25th September a lot of people from different cultures come together to celebrate NAIDOC week in Cunnamulla.

NAIDOC stands for National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920s that sought to raise awareness among the general public about the condition and the treatment of indigenous Australians.

On the NAIDOC celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures you have the opportunity to get to know the contributions of Indigenous Australians in various fields.
The activities of the NAIDOC week take place in the complete nation. This is an opportunity for the community of Cunnamulla to celebrate NAIDOC and show their support for reconciliation.
As we got an invitation to this celebration, we did not hesitate to take this opportunity and see what NAIDOC week is all about.
We asked a lot of people what NAIDOC is and what they think about it.
One of the people was Peter, he is one of the members of the Cunnamulla NAIDOC week and he talked about NAIDOC with real passion. Peter said, that the people nowadays should explore the paths of their ancestors and to appreciate and respect what each one of them did for the Aboriginal community. This is just one way to show the respect and appreciation, but you can really tell, that they have everything in their hearts and souls and will never forget the past. It is very important to the Aboriginal community to raise their children so they can fit in the society. The children are our future. 

We started with a Community March at 9.00 pm from the RSL Corner to the Centenary Park
The people were wearing clothes colored with black, red and yellow and had a flag to represent their tribe
At ten o´clock a lot everybody got to the Centenary Park to watch the baby show. The staff members from the NAIDOC Committee asked us if we wanted to be part of the jury. They really caught us by surprise – so we said yes! So Alex, Nik and Nilo had the chance to be judges for once. We had to choose the best Baby in different categories. Our job was to find the happiest, cheekiest, sleepiest and cutest Baby in the age from 0 - 6, 6 - 8, 8 – 12 and 12 - 24 months.
The winners of the competition became a sash and a toy and of course a huge applause. Alltogether we had 20 winners and the price for the best baby went to Haley G. Her mother Marcia was shocked and happy at the same time. It was the first time ever, that Haley participated in such a competition and she got the first price. That is amazing! I have to admit Haley is a adorable baby.
Later on the traditional games started and a great Barbeque was served. People were laughing, eating, chatting and just enjoying the great atmosphere and the beautiful weather. So the first day of NAIDOC week was ending and everybody is excited about the second one!

The second day of the Naidooc week began on the evening. It was the greatest day for the kids, because of the Awards ceremony for children. Many kids came for visit, they were laughing and dancing the whole evening.

On this day, Nilo and I did the Jury again. This time we both only.  

We had to choose the most beautiful and most sympathetic couple between 3-6 and 7-12. The kids had styled themselves and for them it was such a fun, to get rated by us. Some of them had really good ideas. They tried to impress us with dancing or singing. Really, a few of them were quite good. But unfortunately some seemed to be very shy and didn’t have enough courage. For the winners, there were any awards. The boys get boomerangs and the girls a crown of feathers (to feel like a real princess).
After the awards, we came to the most excited part on this evening: The gig of Sean Choolburra, an international famous Australian comedian, who looks like the young Michael Jackson. He impressed the people with a mix of dancing and gags. It was really amusing and it was fun to listen to him. According to Sean’s gig, Dj scotty from Charlesville started to heat up the people with his music. On the dancefloor the hell was loose! All kids were dancing and I think the parents were very happy of it, because they will sleep very well after the celebration.



On Saturday, the last day of the NAIDOC week, we didn’t get so many sleep because of the breakfast in park at nine o’clock. Typical german, you have to be there some minutes earlier. Maybe this would be the reason, why we were alone for the first half an hour. But the long wait was worthwhile. After a time, more and more people were coming together. For the morning the menu was crocodile. Very interesting for an European. Café and crocodile, a breakfast you have to adapt to. After the breakfast you could do some sports with a session of aerobics and tai chi. It was a really nice morning with a really wonderful sunshine. But we were happy to go back home for relaxing a little bit. On the evening was the highlight for the organization team. Although 5 $ entry, 8 Germans won’t missed the spectacle. The team of organization was awarded. The hall was decorated really nice, by the colors black, red, yellow. In the beginning we saw a presentation about the history and the nice sites of cunnamulla. After that, was the awarding with some emotional speeches.

According to it, Shean began again with this show, but on this day, more for the Adults.

It was real fun to listen to him and the atmosphere was very good. After the first part of the show, I had the chance to taste some meat of kangaroo. It tasted different to other meats, but I don’t like it so much. Also the meat of crocodile. Shean continued his show after the dessert. It was such a great evening, and I think if you have the possibility to take part on such a project like naidoc week, do it! You could take one’s own initiative. I like to see, how the different culture were finding together. They were dancing and laughing – it should be so every day.