Pack the swag

[bones]

Well gents its happening the trip to the NT is on, only this one is not the one i was thinking about, but it seems i opened my mouth to much, so i'm off on Friday morn, and wont be back till sometime like the last week of June(unless i get sacked).
I'm nearly packed up got a couple of days at Hoody's before i go, let me think i got me clothes, swag, spare parts,lots of coats,5 cartons of beer, 5 bottles of rum, yup think thats all i need, ummm hang on might need a gyro,,,,,,,,, hmmmm better throw that on the trailer i guess.... so everyone keep the rotors up and keep having fun, and i'll yak to you all when i get in front of a puter screen again sometime.... :beer: :cheers:

[russ]

HANG ON, hang on, hang on...............can't recall seein your application to come into gods country crossing my desk :blowme:

we got standards to uphold up ear, and interstate "long grassers" are as welcome as cane toads :peace:

[BeefBear]

Hey Bones.... up Darwin way there'll be a obnoxous lump in the middle of the road protesting about the better class of citizen arriving in the NT. Just run him over, will you? Bottle of rum waiting for you if you can do this for me.

[russ]

I'll obnoxous you ina minute :evil2:

[BeefBear]

:moon:

[bones]

Well hello there :'(, i'm back so whatch your p's & q's now then ayyyy, so whats been happening?????????

[BeefBear]

Been awhile since we've heard from you Mark, so I'll be brief.......




......And that about sums it up.... bet your glad you weren't in the middle of it all.

[bones]

Well gents been home about a week now, and after getting some badly needed special attention(no Birdy those gins will never look good, and i didnt touch the Yank either) and quiet a few drinks with some mates its back to reality.
I arrived over there late April, to the sound of rain on the roof well, not there though i had to keep driving about 8 hrs more than i wanted to, to find some dry to roll out my swag, 19 hrs down and bout 1800kms, only 350 to go be there for a late breaky me thinks, up at 6 to get fuel, starts off all well be there no problems by about 9.30, then along came the "PLENTY", well frig me i seen plowed paddocks smoother than that, 6 hrs latter, i arrive, to find Liz and Alice in the house no boss, so a cup of tea was high on the order, then over the radio was a voice wanting to know if, Liz had a visitor.The rest of the day was spent setting up and reading my machine for the onslaught.
The next couple of days was spent checking fences and the likes, then it was time to muster some culls and sell a few to make room for the one to come from the full round ahead, well this is where some one who has been around the traps a few times, had some of the biggest belly laughs i ever had, the day went fairly plainly for the whole, til came time to put them through a gate they never been through before, stay off em give time to look was the call for the first 30 mins, then it was i'll just put a bit of pressure on the top side to get them to look, all the time wondering where the hell the ground crew(Neon)was,he hadnt made it out from town yet, then as 600 odd head took their own slice of the only 100 odd degrees that was available out of the corner, i said to myself, i said self, we know what were doing tomorrow, it was at this point that that Birdy(Milo Man) lost it and Harry started barking, we managed to bluff most of them back into the corner, after a brief convo about how much fuel i had left, his words to me over the two way were, just try and keep the f*cking c*nts of things together on the fence ,,,,,,,,,, I'LL BE BACK as soon as i can, going to get Ned, now for those of you who dont understand what is about to happen i just wish i had a picture of Ned for you to see, Ned is a 6 cyl petrol nissan hardtop with the top removed, bull barred up and it is mean, the next thing i know is there is this trail of very fast moving dust coming through the trees, a couple of calls to confirm the everything was on the fence, it was then that these cattles' day went horribly wrong, i have never seen something like this from above before, the size and number of trees that Ned cuts off is a credit to Nissan, any way after much bashing around and a few more words from Harry, cows flying through the air for 30' ect the usual thing you know... the rest of the day went to plan, and just as we lifted off for the trip back home there is on the radio ,,"you there Birdy" ,,, "good on ya blisters, see ya at the house" was the reply...

Gents thats just a sample of the momories i have from the trip, and if i keep going it will take all bloody night to type, might add to it bit by bit...

[Gyrodes]

look forward to the next enjoyable episode next time from bonesy. i am still smileing :chuckel: Des

[marko66]

Hi Mark

Me too :clap:

[Echo 2]

Here ya go Bones..... 'Ned' & Claypan.

[bones]

Well with the Culls on there way, it was time for a quick bore run, set some gates and the likes for the first of the paddocks to be done, but wait there is a rodeo on just up the road, about 400kms by road only 225 by air, so we decides to fly up Saturday morn, and help out and catch up with a few people from the area, the flight up was un eventful(kinda) and with the usual drop in at an air strip for a toilet break and a smoke(orrr and thanks sooo much for that too, been bloody hard not to back home) we continue on our way, landing on the unused race track out the back, locks up and heads over.The day was as per usual at those types of things, Tim throwing crap at Birdy all day over the mike for wearing thongs, plenty of people getting dusted, watching shelias get drunk drinking tequela in the Mexican donkey race, kids trying to ride sheep, and people buying bruised sheep for $500 to eat(i wonder who that was?), so the rodeo was over and now its time for the cabaret, so after a shower in the room at the road house we walks back to the grounds to find a heap of the guys that we were talking all day maning the gate, it was cool and the fire was warm so hung around yaking for a couple of hours, and between local people trying to sneak through the fence up in the darkness, to a bloke probably in his 60's gonna put a pack packer in his 20's on the knuckel for bad mouthing Alice Springs, to telling good looking shelias in cars there can get in for free for a flash(and got a couple, one was a school teacher too, and one even offered a bit more than that, but the boyfriend wasnt too happy both that)All in all there was no trouble but near everyone was looking for some,so after enough of this fun it was on to the hall,but wait you need a tie to get in, and theres a mean looking SOB at the door, (hi Cone) so we buys a tie for $10, the best bit was no one looked down to see us wearing thongs, the night was going great then a shelia that Birdy knew started talking to him for a while and before long the intro were being done :blahblah:, then comes the questing to me, what do you do?, and before i could think of something smart, this comment was coming past my ears unbelievingly, orrrr he's a FA18 pilot on holidays up here,,,,,,, :yikes: how the hell was i gonna keep this going, so i managed to keep believable answers coming for about 5 mins then i confessed it was a lie, so after the, you never had me believing you thing,, yeah right,,,,,, whats next out of his mouth, ask him why we can him Bones? :censored: with mates like him who needs enemies, arrr well it was good fun, bit of dancing and plenty of drinking, soon the night was at a end, but i didnt walk home alone,,, right there beside me was ummm Birdy(my PAL) :eyebrow:.
Next morning brings the sun way to early and hot and everything was way too loud, so apon finding a bacon and egg burger from the ICPA stand(thanks LIZ) a couple of cups of coffee, it was time to head for home before the wind picked up, so after arranging fuel at the servo, a short demo fly pass was the thing to do out the front of the servo(i thought) upon straight and level flight was resumed the demo flight was still happening in my stomach, and the head wind meant that we had to divert to a property for fuel on the trip back(luckily)as soon as we touched down and rotors was secured, i needed to go for a walk, so feeling better(i thought) and birdy fueled up, it was decided time was we weren't there, so walking to my machine i felt not too good again, and just sort of leant forward and that bacon and egg burger decided it didnt want to go all to way :throwup:, now really feeling green, we finially left, home ward bound at last, and a bit of hieght to cure all ills. WE got home fine and started reading ourselves for the weeks ahead..
till next itme..

[Aussie_Paul]

Great story Mark. I must have missed it a couple of days ago.

Human interest stories like that seem to go down well with the flying and non flying members of the forums and magazine readers. Well written.

Aussie Paul. :shiver:

[BeefBear]

Good one Bones.... Are you going back for more?

[bones]

Ummm me thinks that once might be enough, but you never know, if i can get the home front sorted out abit more it will be easier to get away more often..

[bones]

Now it was time to get on with the job at hand, so the first paddock was set upon with great gusto, and after a muchly disappointing day, well apart from back pack hitting a great boooomp(that you could see from outerspace)and the usual cursing and swearing, the mob was safely through the holding paddock gate, after the usual piss stop and yak, it was time to head for the first of many nights in the swag. The next morning was planned we were to both go up and get them to a corner I was to land and take my position in “Joe”, as Liz was on her way out to be there in “Ned”, all in all went well, apart from one old ummm dear, whom took it upon herself to annoy Birdy the whole morning, that was till he kindly handed her over to me as he believed she was now closer to my side than his(thanks mate), so tempers(mainly mine) were starting to fray at this cows determination, to not go the right way, just then I see Ned wandering through the scrub, so after an invitation to “NEDUCATE’ this old dear, liz’s voice came over the radio to say that she had a flat tyre, so I thinks I’ll call in back pack in Joe(what was I thinking) it was about this time the Birdy realised that things were getting tense and came for a look, and me not to let a chance go by, left to check the lead :evil_laugh:. The cow and Harry had words after she decided that going through the fence and running off would be a smart thing to do(what was she thinking), so after some fuel for birdy and he kindly helping his bride to change the tyre, the call to land and mount up was made..After about 15 minutes it was action time and the back pack learned that Joe had more than 2 gears, and he does go fast threw timber too, so the mob was turned off the fence to head across the neck of the paddock to put them in behind the ‘wings’ to the yard, as does happen things were getting faster keeping the mob together, a couple of evasive move were called upon, then just as the call over the radio’ fence ahead’ , the pack back yelled and with a look on his face like I believe he meant this statement ‘FENCE don’t go threw that you’ll get shot’,, it was lucky that most of the trouble was behind us now, because that was on of the funniest things I ever heard come out of his mouth, and I was no use for a few minutes…
That mob finished, and the move of the yards to BC was under taken.

This one I’ll title, ‘The Great White Hunter and his side kick’. :dance:
Two mobs down at this yard and thing were going great with no major troubles or incidents, The ‘Simpson Surgeon’ :shiver: (a bloody cold southerly wind straight off the Simpson desert, that cold it cuts right through you) was starting to kick in and the temps were dropping, making nights a little uncomfortable, but nothing like a hot cup of MILO wont fix ayy Birdy(our little secret mate I wont tell anyone) :wave:, the biggest paddock on the place was the target for this morning, so after confirming that the temp gauge on the gyro was reading a fresh -9, some one decided it was time to go(slap me next time please) we were making a dotted line for half way, when it was decided that the sun wasn’t up enough and the shadows were still to bad, yup that’ll do, and there happens to be a clay pan under us how bout we stop for half an hour or so.After the toilet stop and stretch of the legs to pump some blood, it was flying time again, upon take off my prop found a rock :yikes:(that may or may not have come from my hand) taking 1 ½” off the end of one blade, resulting in a bit of a shake and a lot of noise, after inspecting, it was decided I fly back to camp and get in the ute and go back to the house and get a spare prop from the hanger, that was the longest 9 odd kms I think I ever flew, so the rest of the mustering that day was canned, and since we were short on meat, Birdy and back pack ‘The Great White Hunter and his side kick’, wisely decided to go and find some of the 192 odd Bend Necks that I counted a few days earlier, and straighten some necks and get some much needed meat.
So upon returning from the homestead(bit of Yank there) funny isn’t it when you don’t have a gun as I saw 9 camels and 2 dogs, :pistoles: damn shame I could have got some meat from them bend necks, not to worry the fridge will be full by the time i get back after all so no probs, so after a few measurements I decided to shorten the other blades to the same length as the damaged one, and repitch all three to hold the hp of the motor again, a total of about 6 hours since I left til now that the prop is repatched and ready for a test run, just then Joe and the hunters return, and up to the camp, beauty I thinks coffee time while they put their kill away,, after I finished laughing at the fact that they had been driving non stop, near a full tank of fuel, and the only thing they shot was one half dead camel, :lalala: and after telling him off the camels that I saw not more 10km from the house didn’t help the mood much,they being the ones he had been looking out for a long time too, so it was decided that should the prop feel good, I should do an quick sweep over the top corner of the paddock and flush a few of emm out for him, but there were none to be found, so that’s the story of the Great White Hunter, but in his defence he did drop a dog in the middle of night at 75-100 yards fair in the middle of the scon, while laying in his swag..

That be the last of my dribble guys hope it wasn’t too bad, not good at penning things, though I would just like to say thanks to everyone that I met out there, and a thanks to my hosts, top people, many thanks fella.. :cheers:
Bones

[Birdy2]

The pleasure was all ours Bonsey, and no, you'll never make a yarn spinner. :chuckel:

Wot bout "THAT" bloke ona scoota?? :chainsaw:

BTW, in the last 3 bore runs, i got at least 90 odd necks straightened. :pistoles:

[bones]

Orrrr sh*t how did i forget about that :chuckel: :joy: ,,, then how would i have policitial descibed him thou maybe abit like this :flamed: , see to many things to remember, orr had another :chuckel: at him, it's no wonder you work by yourself most of the time.. :hahano:

[Birdy2]

Come t think of it, you could rite a book.............the backpacker slayer that almost slayed the BP :lol:................ the nite you n the BP almost put two holes in the hayshed roof [dingo] :yikes:..................neo n the banana cake :chainsaw:...............Mate, you got plenty to go yet.

[Graeme]

Hmmm. Life seems pretty dull around my place compared to yours Birdy.

[bones]

Ok i was bored this arvo, after getting home so heres another bit.
Been a week or so out at camps and the likes and all the time droping hints to Liz and Jen about how cakes go down real nice in the issolation of the camps, like i mean to say the menu wasnt real ummm wide and varied, first night there is, steak, corn, peas, beans, and mash potato and sweet potato, feed fit for a king right,,,
then the next night you have, steak, sweet potato, peas, beans, mash potatos and corn,,, ummm are you seeing a pattern here, any ways it was go tucker and it was a no brainer as to what was for tea.
Anyways we finially got a bananna cake to bring out to camp(thanks Liz, actually i think it was for me doing the horses, but anyway), as we were flying out to camp, checking some trap fences around a dam and the likes, there is a voice over the radio, it was Neon(Neil) seems he was on his way home and wanted to know if he could call in for a coffee, so it was to be a meeting at BC. Alls well till he hears of the cake, I love bananna cakes especially Liz's, so the whole cake dissappears in one sitting, and then he pinches about 40 lts of fuel, and then leaves and it wasnt until about 4 weeks latter that i found out where he came from and was going to, and found out that this mongrel flew about 180km out of his way, now thats a good sense of smell right there, to eat the only cake we got and to pinch fuel and then just piss off, didnt even help out orr anything..So beware of fly by cake thieves,, :pistoles:
Damn i'm gonna have to come back out there i think it was just too much fun...

[Birdy2]

I got his name on the next 'harry'. :pistoles:

Wot bout the 2 holes you n the BP put in the roof o the shed.[harry burped.] :yikes: