Back to Beverley

Hey Guys,

Even though I’m back in the Netherlands and working up north again, I still have some stories to tell you about my three month trip through Australia. I ended my last story that I arrived in Cairns, so from there I’ll write on again. Here it goes….


Cairns itself wasn’t nice, except for the esplanade and lagoon area. The surroundings were beautiful though. On the Tully river outside of Cairns, near Misson Beach I went extreme water rafting. With 7 people included the guide we raft down the river. It was hard work, but amazing. So Cool! I jumped from one rock, but didn’t jump from the others. It was both raining as sunny that day. My wound at my shin opened again, that wasn’t that good and it was pretty painful. So I only could sit on the right side of the raft. The tour guides were funny. I fell out once on a moment I shouldn’t fell out. I didn’t panic and the guys pulled me in very quickly. I only pulled myself back in the raft once, further then that the guys had to help me back in. Not enough muscles I think. At around 19.00pm in the evening I got back in Cairns. From the 50 people in the bus, I was the last one they dropped off, because JJ’s backpackers was just outside of the main city. I had one day rest, before I went on a tour again.

At 07.40AM I got picked up by Cherene, from on the Wallaby tour. The tour was going all the way down to the Atherton Tablelands. The weather was shit, so we didn’t see many wildlife, except for one glimp of a platypus at Yungaburra. We had a look at the Cathedral Figtree, Lake Eacham and Millaa Millaa falls. We even had a swim in Millaa Millaa falls, but it was a pretty strong current and after a while the water was too cold to stay in. We went to mount Hypipamee Crater, where we throw a stone in the water and it made this explosive sound, that everyone was saying WoW!!!!! That really was a miracle. Cherene explained that the Crater was 65 meter deep bye the eye, but it was going lower and lower, and that nobody exactly knows how deep it is in reality.
In the late afternoon I stayed behind with 5 others at the On The Wallaby Lodge, the rest of the 15 others went back to Cairns. I felt so Welcome there, Tracy was so friendly and gave us all a feeling that we were at home. We had a good BBQ that night. It was definitely made with love. The night was cold, so besides a sheet, I also needed a dunna. All the doors at the lodge were open and the toilets were downstairs, that was pretty annoying, but I made it. The next day we went with the 6 of us and the tour guide mountainbiking around Lake Eacham. The Atherton Tablelands were beautiful. We had a small walk through a real rainforest, where we saw some hidden waterfalls. We had lunch at Roadhouse Eacham. The price quality was good! I got fish & chips. It was huge, but I ate it all. After lunch I had a swim in lake Eacham, the water was nice and the fishes didn’t really bothered me, cause the water wasn’t that clear ;-). Back in the lodge we searched out our gear and went for a wildlife canoe trip on the river. The weather cleared up, it was so nice. Sadly we only saw some water dragons, some wild cows and one tree kangaroo. We got back at 16.45PM and I went buying some mangoes over the road. On my way back I got some sweet bananas from a Dutch guy who lived there with his wife for ages and at around 18.00PM I said goodbye to Tracy, the lodge and the Atherton Tablelands. Back in Cairns I stayed at JJ’s Backpackers again. I would share a room with a German couple and as a surprise , it were Lena and Fabian, the people I met in Rainbow Beach. It was so good to see them again. The next few days I hang out with them, because on Saturday they would leave Cairns for Brisbrane. They decided to go to Asia instead of wandering around in Australia, waiting for jobs. They looked both really happy and relaxed, it made me smile!

On Saturday Lena and Fabian left Cairns and so did I for a day. With 4 others I went to Kurunda Village, Palm cove, Port Douglas and the Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Forest, North of Queensland. We were the whole day away for only 16 dollars per person. The evening was peaceful and the sunset was amazing. It was red as fire and words can’t describe what I saw.

On Sunday I walked to the Botanical Gardens to walk the blue arrow track circuit. They signed the track as a 4-5 hours track and you needed to have a high moderate fitness level bla bla bla. After a 15 minutes break and some photo stops moments, I was back after 2 hours walking. They exaggerated a lot those Australians. Any way I was bloody sweaty, so I treated myself with a slush puppy. In the afternoon Kat and I went to the lagoon. I was to be asked to take my clothes off ;-) so we could jump into the pool. Ha Ha Ha. Nobody had ever asked me that before, thanks Kat! ;-). On our way back to JJ’s, Kat and I ate 20 ice lollies. Actually that’s a lie. I bought a pack of 20 ice lollies and ate 8 myself, Kat ate 2. I gave 7 ice lollies away and the 3 left overs were melted down to a nice and sweet drink.
In the evening Kat, Stef, Alex and I went out. It was so nice, that I wished I could stay longer, but I had a reef tour the next day, so I got a cab back to JJ’s. 6 Hours later my alarm went off and at 07.00AM and I got dropped off at the Marina Pier. I would be out on the reef with sea star cruises that day.
Michael Cay was our first snorkel stop. I saw a shark, soft coral and lovely fishes. The water was calm, so it was easy to take photos. The second stop was Hastings outer reef on the Great Barrier Reef. It was hard coral and we saw more fishes. The day was finished in no time. I wasn’t even tired from snorkelling. It was a really good day.


On the 15th of March I flew from Cairns to Perth. The humid weather changed in cold mornings, very warm and sunny during the day and in the evening cool again. The nights were cold, a dunna was needed. The 4 nights I stayed in Perth. I brought a visit to Fremantle Prison. I went twice to Kingspark and I had a look at the Botanical Gardens. I had seen Perth before, there wasn’t much interesting to see anymore. So on the 19th of March I took the bus to Beverley. I had left Beverley the 1st of October 2012. I had been working there for 14 weeks and now I came back to see, how everyone was doing. The first thing I did when I arrived in Beverley. Was going to see Hammer’s grave. I was very disappointed when I saw the same pile of sand after 1,5 years.
Back in the Freemasons Tavern, Snacks was the first person I met. Later on Mick, Lisa and Chase came along too. It was one big Happy family. Roy the pub’s furniture came in and remembered me. He started talking about the coins and matches. I still remembered his tricks. On the farmer side I saw Colin, we sat and chat there by ourselves for an hour. Bean-eye didn’t come in that night, but Garry and Kim did. Kim and Garry recognised me straight away and gave me a kiss. On the corner of the bar I saw Scotty and Jo and Brad and Jo with their little girl. We hugged and chat endless. I ate a steak sandwich with fries……. Yes fast food and gaining weight started again.

The next morning I was up early. So when Bean-eye rang the pub at 08.00AM wondering if I was available, I changed my dress into easy shorts and a shirt. Bean-eye took me for a ride to his paddock, we watched the sheep jumping over fences, getting stuck in fences and being smart and stupid at the same time. At 11.00AM I went visiting Jo, Scotty and William. At 13.00PM they dropped me off at Graham’s place. At 16.00PM I left and went back to the Freemans Tavern. In the evening every local and regular was in the pub. It was hard to give them each my attention. When the darts boys came in, I recognised Bradley. He was talking to Graham, so I turned around and said Hi. He said hi back and asked me how I was doing, as that is a standard question for people in Australia to greet you. Then suddenly he recognised me and gave me a hug and a big smile ha ha ha. He was so surprised!! At 21.30PM I left the pub. Bradley gave me one last big hug, because I might nog see him again that week. Everybody was staring at us, probably because I get along with everyone, no matter which environment they come from. I guess I must have been an awesome barmaid in the past.

In the early morning at 02.15AM I got up. I took a shower, had some cereals and got picked up at 03.15AM by Bean-eye. He had arranged that I could go with Big Jock and his massive truck, to pick up a load. So at 03.15AM Bean-eye brought me to York. In York they loaded me ;-) in Big Jock’s truck. The truck was so massive, that it felt like I was escaping the country. At 06.45AM we arrived in Lancelin. We loaded 54.000 kilo limestone in his truck and we drove back to York. The way back was so much slower, because it’s more risky going uphill and he had to change his 18 gears all the time. At 13.00PM I got dropped off in Beverley again. I slept for an hour and at 15.00PM Daniel picked me up in his small truck full with seeds. We drove to Quarrading to see his load of seeds, going into the seeds cleaners machine. It took ages, it was really boring. At 18.30PM I was home and my truck day had ended.
Back in the pub I straight asked for Laney, who sat on the corner of the bar. Nog his usual place to be. Lesley surprised me for coming in on Friday night too and Rick was there with a big smile on his face. I bought a pizza and ate half of it. Strange, because normally I would eat a whole pizza. Lisa and Chase came in and Lisa remembered Ken, the guy who I explained to everyone, but nobody seemed to know who I was talking about. Now the mystery guy was solved. I marked myself as NOT crazy! ;-). At 22.00PM I was in bed and slept great.

The next day I got out of bed at 10.00AM, but an hour later I was back in bed till 16.00PM. the new owners would celebrate their first year for being the owners of the Freemasons Tavern . The party was not that busy as they had hoped for, but it was fun. On Sunday I was invited at Rick’s place to have a bbq. He served me chickenwings and several kind of different salads. In the afternoon he dropped me off in town and I went for a small walk. I walked to the rest area, just over the bridge. There’s no one ever sitting there, so it was nice and quiet. Back in 2012 , that was my daily spot to sit and enjoy the silence. At night I was downstairs in the pub again, not that I really felt like going, but I had people around me. At 22.30PM I went to Daniels and Robbie’s place. They bought a really nice house together, so I had a look around. I was back at the pub at 23.30PM. But all the doors were locked, so I couldn’t get in. Pretty shit! I was locked out of the tavern, so also locked out of my room. I didn’t want to wake any one up, so I took some chair cover matrasses and took them to the top of the stairs in the back garden. It was really nice and warm outside and the stars were bright, so it was pretty nice to sleep outside. But yes if you know me? You know I have to pee at night. So at 03.00AM I couldn’t held my pee up anymore, and I knew that if I wanted to sleep a couple of more hours I needed to pee. So my adventure started. I walked down and a bit further then the car park, behind the empty beer barrels I did my pee. It was such a relief. I went back to my Oh So Comfortable Bed and fell asleep again. Sadly enough I woke up at 05.30AM. It was cold, the weather had changed increasable. I moved my way to the park over the bridge and waited there for a couple of hours. At 08.15AM Kate said good morning. Yes… finally I could get inside. The long and hot shower was lovely!! I packed my bag and left the Freemasons Tavern.

It was Graham’s place to be for the next couple of days. I didn’t do anything that day, the weather was 36degrees. So when Graham took me that afternoon to Pat’s Paddock field, I didn’t even got out of the car, not even for the ultimate bright photo of the landscape.

25-03-2014
Woke up at 05.30AM, but no way I was planning to go out of bed. 07.00AM was even to early. I dragged myself out of bed at 09.30AM. The morning started really slow. In the afternoon I took the pushbike to Billy and Morag and later on I cycled to Bean-eye’s property. Surprisingly it only took me 25minutes and I didn’t even get off the bike. I was proud of myself. At 17.00PM I cycled back in about 15minutes. It was almost only downhill. The next day I saw Philly. I was so excited to see her again. We chatted away and had a dinner together.

27-03-2014
My alarm went off at 06.15AM. I got myself dressed and had some breakfast. Graham drove me to Bean-eye’s place. At 07.30AM I started working. Roustabout was the job I was going to do for the next 4 days. I had to grab the poo out of the sheep wool and had to sort out the 3 different type of wool. Poo pile, poo with still grass in it and the best part of the wool, who would be sold for the highest price. It was hard and pretty dirty work. After that day I was thinking that If I would do that job fulltime, I would never bite my nails again, ever!
At 17.30PM we were finished. Shit I was tired. For the first time in ages my legs were hurting from standing on the same place all day long. At 21.00PM I said goodnight. The next day I was not that picky as the day before, I was told. I knew where on which pile everything belonged. The whole shearing team was nice and I could get along with them pretty good. I have respect for them! The third day I woke up at 05.30AM. at 06.30AM they picked me up. We had to go to one of Bean-eye’s property, 40 minutes out of town. That day we had 6 shearers instead of 5. And we were only with 3 roustabouts. It was crazy and damn hard work. After the third day I could say, that I didn’t mind doing the job, it’s just really shit if a sheep just had poo before it got sheared. Because the poo keeps hanging onto the wool and with my hands I have to grab the best part out of it. At one point I had a hair in my mouth and I couldn’t get it out. But I also had no time to get a tissue or wash my hands, so I took it out with my black poo hands. It was so disgusting, that I hold on to my spit. But even now I had no time to go outside and spit and of course I couldn’t spit on the wool. So eventually I swallowed it. Bleeeeeh…….
At 18.30PM I was back home. Had to make myself some dinner and later on I catches up with Rick and Lou in the pub. After 2 ciders I was necked already. At 23.00PM I walked back to Graham’s place. The stars were beautiful! I walked with my head up high and then I saw it. Wow!! A shooting star……….. was my reaction. I reckon that I’ve never seen a shooting star like that before. When I realised that I had to make a wish, I did, but probably it was too late already. Any way I slept perfect.
The next day I got picked up at 06.30AM again. I was so tired, I was yawning the whole day. But instead of working till 17.30PM, we were finished at 11.30AM. Because there were instead of 8000 sheep, only 7000 sheep. I had a good experience and it was fun. At 17.30PM I met up with Philly and Bean-eye for a goodbye drink. When I said goodbye to Bean-eye, I wanted a hug and not a small wave like he did in 2012. Philly and I left the Freemasons Tavern and we went to the top pub. The other shearers came along too. Philly told me that the shearers were surprised that I picked it up so fast and I was the best roustabout they reckon.

On the 31st of March I left Beverley. So in the morning I went to the bakery to get the delicious steak and mushroom pie. The whole two weeks that I stayed there I didn’t buy one yet, so today was the day. Philly picked me up at 11.00AM and drove me to the bus stop. She insisted on that. At the bus stop Bean-eye was waiting for me. When I saw him, I said I thought we had a proper goodbye yesterday evening? He said: I want to make sure, you get on that bus . Ha Ha So there they were. 2 of the best and greatest persons I met 1,5 years ago and who I stayed in contact with. They were waving me goodbye with a big smile.

Well people this was my update so far. The next adventure will be written in the next few days/weeks. I hope you enjoy it again and see you next time!

Li La Lai