Highs and lows at Anna Plains Station

Temperature - Day (maximum):
approx. 33 degrees

Anna Plains Station – 26.04.2001

On the way to Anna Plains Station, we make a quick stop at Sandfire Roadhouse to say hello to Ken Norton. He also greets us in a very friendly manner and we immediately talk about the possibility of the Kidson Track being passable or not. “Yesterday someone came by who allegedly used the track. I think it should be passable,” he says, whereupon I no longer know which of the information is correct. We say goodbye to Ken and set off on the last 120 kilometers to Anna Plains. After about 80 km we leave the Great Northern Highway and turn onto a dirt road heading west. The Holden has a hard time pulling the heavy trailer through the fine sand and we are glad to reach the farmhouse (homestead) after about 20 kilometers. We park our little Roadtrain in front of the Jillerooqouter (accommodation for cowgirls) where we stayed in December. We are surprised to notice that the station looks deserted. A woman hangs a few items of clothing on the washing line, a jackeroo shuffles across the lawn towards us and in the workshop the mechanic washes a small generator. Next to our quarters we meet the station technician Geoff. When we ask him if he has heard anything about our camels, he says: “No idea. All I know is that they ran off many weeks ago. I haven’t seen anything of them since then. However, I hardly ever leave the farm here.” His statement hits us like a punch in the stomach. We now shuffle to the old house that will provide us with a roof over our heads for the next few weeks. We feel abandoned and helpless at this moment. “The rest of the crew must be at the cattle round-up,” I say to Tanja, who looks to me like I feel to myself, namely totally depressed.

Before we unload our Holden and the trailer, we take a look around our new home. Hundreds and hundreds of spider webs, in which thousands of tiny flies have left their lives, adorn the ceilings and dirty windows. There are rats and mice droppings everywhere, especially in the kitchen. It smells unpleasant and looks like we were the last residents here four months ago. Now completely dejected, we sit on the terrace covered in earth, dust and dried grass and gather our strength. The temperature of around 33 degrees in the shade is also getting to us. It was pleasant in Wundowie compared to here and wet and cold in Germany. It will take us a few days to get used to the tropical temperatures here again. After half an hour, I raise my sweaty, tired body and start sweeping the sea of cobwebs from the ceilings with a broom. Dust, spiders and dirt trickle down on me. I don’t feel comfortable at work because the walls and ceilings of the old accommodation in Australia are almost all built with asbestos. Although I am aware of the cancer risk of the dust particles, I have no choice but to continue this unpleasant work. After all, we must and may live in the house until our expedition departs. While Tanja sweeps the floor, I tackle the rats and mouse droppings with a nice-smelling cleaning agent. Later, we clean two old bedsteads that are abandoned and rusty on the kitchen wall and place them in the living room, which is devoid of furniture. They are intended to serve as storage space for equipment. Tomorrow I’m going to put two old door leaves that I also found in the kitchen on top to make a large table that way. Tanja and I spend the whole afternoon slaving away until the old Jillerooqouter looks more or less habitable again. Before we carry all our belongings back to our accommodation, we sit down on the freshly swept terrace, drink some warm water and catch our breath for a few moments. Suddenly a jeep drives across the grounds and stops in front of John Stoate’s house. “That’s John,” I say. “We should say hello to him first before we continue working here,” says Tanja. “Hm, okay,” I reply a little grumpily and get up from the wobbly chair.

John welcomes us in a very friendly manner. He tells us about the surprising departure of his manager and about the new head stockman called Luke. “Have you heard anything about our camels?” I blurt out with inner impatience. “No, nothing new. All I know is that many weeks ago one of the construction workers left the gate open and they escaped. As far as I know, David found them again, but he left a week ago. Maybe Luke knows. I’ll keep my eyes open over the next few days, maybe I’ll spot them somewhere. Apart from that, we’re in the process of rounding up the cattle. We’re using helicopters for this. I can offer to search for them from the air if we haven’t found them in the next few days.” Tanja and I are very happy about John’s offer and somewhat relieved. In the course of the conversation we ask if we can use the fridge which is in a box in the Jillerooqouter. “Uh, …strange that I didn’t think about it before, but if you want you can stay in the manager’s house. It’s empty at the moment. I haven’t been there for a long time, but there should be a fridge in there.” Tanja and I look at each other in pleasant surprise, thank John for the generous offer and take a look at the recently built house. “I can’t believe it, look around here! My God, this is a palace!” I exclaim happily. In the beautiful house, which is also unfurnished, an air conditioning system ensures extremely pleasant room temperatures. An eat-in kitchen with dishwasher, stove, extractor fan and everything that a super modern kitchen has to offer really smiles at us. The light that shines through the many large windows gives the red-bricked walls a pleasantly inviting and homely glow. The floor of the approx. 50 square meter living room is made of sealed cork. Two bathrooms, a bedroom and two children’s rooms give us more than enough space to spread out our extensive equipment. In short, we are happy. I would love to dance around the beautiful home with Tanja. We quickly pick up our Holden with trailer and park it in front of our luxurious property in the middle of the Australian bush. With fresh energy, we unload everything and move into our new Red Earth Expedition base camp. Rufus also seems to be very happy. He races through the rooms like an angry boy, throws himself on the floor and rolls around on the smooth surface. Tanja is happy about the large fridge that will guarantee us fresh food and cold drinks for the next few weeks. She quickly prepared dinner for us, which we ate sitting on the floor. Later, Willah greets us. She lives in one of the children’s rooms and works on the farm as a jilleroo. She turns out to be a very friendly and accommodating person with whom we enjoy sharing our home.