A Week at Longreach School of Distance Education ! Part One

Week six of term saw us heading into Longreach for a week which included mini-school clusters and sports days for the boys, and 3 days of workshops for Home Tutors.

 It is over 700kms from the station to Longreach, on mostly dirt roads, so we stopped a few times for the boys and drivers to have a break. 

Our first stop was just after leaving the property road and joining the Bulloo Development Rd on our way to Eromanga. The boys took the opportunity to climb ' big red.' 

 Our lunch stop was half way to Longreach and just past a property called 'The Retreat ' on the Jundah road. The boys took the opportunity this time to wade in the river.

At LSODE the boys met their friends and classmates, and had a few days of school with their teachers. The year 4-6 children also participated in rugby and netball workshops and a round robin. We remained in town on Saturday and the boys joined friends in a tennis lesson in the morning and our Yr 4 boy attended a swimming squad class in the afternoon. Of course we spent this afternoon and a few others during the week at the pool enjoying the clear clean water. A welcome retrieve from the mid 40 degree temperatures.

At LSODE the children attending the sport workshops on Thursday were relieved from the heat when the sprinklers were turned on while they played skill games in the afternoon.

On the Friday the children participated in a rugby round robin at the local showground. The white flecks in the photo are grasshoppers disturbed from their feeding as the children play.

George and I attended workshops for early literacy, numeracy, and an excellent full day program advertised as Impact. The presentation was very well paced and targeted the "why" part of learning. Impact promoted both explicit instruction as well as inquiry learning. It promoted current information on learning and neuro-science. A very interesting area which I have been delving into for the last 12 years while working as a Special Education teacher and as a parent raising a child with learning differences.

The week was also an opportunity for parents and home tutors/govies to catch up and enjoy some adult conversation. For those like us who stay at The Quarters on the LSODE site it is a  very social week. 

Part 2 

Will include photos of the Longreach School of Distance Education Quarters and surrounds in Part 2. 

By Lynne

Wildlife on the Station !

Thought I would share some of the photos we've been taking on the station. 

These photos, generally taken close to the homestead, are of some of the wildlife.

This little gecko is found around the buildings in the area. We have one that moves around on the outside of our loungeroom window at night catching insects that are attracted to the light from inside our big picture window.

A little brown tree frog found in moist wet areas like showers and toilets.

A Wedge Tail Eagle took flight from the road and perched safely in the tree until 

we passed by.

Pelicans are attracted to the inland river, Cooper Creek, that flows through the station.

In the early days when the explorers travelled across the landand named the river it seemed to be a mere creek. Little did they know thatwhen it rains in the Channel Countryit becomes a river that can cover the low surrounding area with multiple tributaries that flow eventually into Lake Eyre.

Corellas tend to circle above from the river to the main house and schoolhouse, flying in large flocks, of an afternoon. Often there are so many that they cause serious damage to the trees. We watch them from the loungeroom window.

The horses in the homestead yard. The photo was taken in the afternoon light.

By Lynne

Station Work Changes For George !

On our return to the station this year we were presented with an option to alter George's employment after we found ourselves well organised and only had two children in the schoolroom. George was offered the opportunity to do some handyman work and gardening while continuing to do a few hours in the classroom with the boys. This is a wonderful opportunity to get some experience in other work, and will look good on a resume while we travel. 

We took the opportunity of a new year to change the schoolroom around. We are very happy with the change and enjoying life in the schoolroom.

George is enjoying playing with 'big boy's toys' and has been shown how to use a tractor.

George uses the four wheeler and trailer to move around the station while upkeeping the lawns and gardens.  

                     

Sometimes George picks up a couple of hitch hikers when the traffic is low.  

By Lynne

Very Little Rain But There Is A Diiference !

On our return to the Station we could see the difference some rain had made.

But don't jump to conclusions like many do !

While we were home in Sydney many people commented on the fact that Western or Central Qld had had rain and now all must be better.  This country we live in, Australia, is a very large and diverse one and as we keep reminding people... Durham Downs Station is 2.3 million acres in size ... That is larger in size than many European countries. It is about the size of Cyprus.

Now if it rains in one part of Sydney it does not necessarily rain in another part. So assuming that all Stations of this size in an area will get the same rain is impossible, let alone that large portions of one station will receive that rain.

The station will often have impressive storm clouds covering a large portion of the sky, but has not often see significant rain. At the moment it is still in need of substantial rain, which we haven't had yet. 

The Station is part of the Lake Eyre Basin in South West Channel Country and so it benefits from any significant rain further north. This water flows through and into the Cooper Creek, and if there is enough eventually through to Lake Eyre. Below are photos of the section of Cooper Creek that flows behind the main homestead area and which we swim in. The first photos were taken before we left for home last December, the next were taken last week after we returned. This increase is a result of the storms further north of us. This is wonderful for the station water supplies but does not solve the problem of long term feed on the ground in the paddocks. New growth is shortlived without follow up rains

You can see the difference between the water levels in the above photos to the one below. It is the same tree and the waterway to the left of the tree ... dry and with water. The waterway to the right I had not even conceived then would have water in it.

Below is the pontoon that we swim and dive from, sit, relax and chat on. Before Christmas the position of the pontoon would be where the water's edge was. 

Below is a photo of the view from our lounge and bedroom windows. We now can see the Cooper Creek winding its way along behind the homestead. Last year it was not possible to see the river. 

 Some photos taken on our drive back into the station after Christmas. These were creeks that had seen some rain before Christmas and had worried us driving out. They have retained a small amount of water. 

By Lynne

2015 A Dramatic New Beginning !

We have arrived back at the station for another six months after a rough few weeks.

A few weeks ago we questioned whether it was even possible to come back. But being positive people and always managing to find a solution ... We are back !

So ! What happened ?

We had a wonderful 10 days at home in Sydney with our family over Christmas. We then headed down the coast to Corrimal, in the Wollongong area, for our annual 10 day beach holiday with family and friends. It was so good to be home spending time with our daughters, son in law and grandchildren !

  

 But on the way up Mt Ousley coming home tragedy struck. 

Our faithful coaster bus caught on fire in the engine bay, which sits under the cabin seats where George and our grandson were seated, and began to fill with smoke. The Mt Ousley climb has nowhere to pull over until you reach the top rest area. Luckily 2 police cars were sitting on the other side of the road at the top and had seen the bus coming and headed down Mt Ousley to a turning bay and came back up. George stopped and pulled Riley out with him and the police took a shocked Riley to sit in the police car. Luckily we carry a fire extinguisher just inside the bus door and fortunately a second one in the trailer as well. With no fire truck in sight George used these to put out the fire along with the police's ones.

Suffice to say when we bought our new rig we bought a new fire extinguisher straight away !

The fire damaged the underbody of the bus and being a 1984 classic it was deemed too expensive to repair her and was declared an 'economic write off.' We then found ourselves without our vehicle and our 'home' on the road. We were shocked and devastated  having spent nearly 9 years slowly fitting her out and having just made the move to work and travel in her full time. 

We had 10 days to replace her and leave Sydney. We decided to purchase a ute, as George had been driving one for six months on the station, and we couldnt afford much else. While packing and not knowing how we would fit all the gear in that we'd left up at the station a very good friend lent us his parents camper trailer for the six months we would be gone. So we washed the terrible smoke smell from all our clothes and gear, replaced what 

we had to, repacked and left .....

.....  For Tamworth via Port Macquarie, where we visited a very dear friend of ours.

 While in Port Macquarie we had looked at some pop up campers and thought we might over the next six months look for a second hand one to continue our travels in. Difficult when you live in a remote corner of Qld but possible we thought when we have friends living widely across several states.

But there were more changes in store for us after my cousin, who we always stay with in Tamworth while George and Jessica sing at the Country Music Festival, came home stating he'd seen what we needed for sale on the side of the road. So off we went and once more  we found ourselves unpacking and repacking our gear for the fourth time in 18 days, and George drove the borrowed camper trailer back to Singleton. 

Above at a rest stop west of St George Qld.

Below our overnight stop at Eulo Billabong the night before we arrived at the station. 

We are very thankful that we have been able to find a vehicle and van to travel in in such a short time and that we could afford. We are thankful that we are here as things could have been much worse, we could have been attending a burns unit or a funeral. 

We  thank all those family and friends who have helped us at this difficult time in many ways.

As always we know God has his plans for us, they are just a little different to what we expected.

By Lynne