So this weekend...
On Friday, I went to the Chinese New Year Festival in Parramatta. It was interesting, there were a lot of things going on. Lots of traditional Chinese dancing with the costumes and makeup. There was a kung fu demonstration. Some dragon dancers. Some people singing that sounded like me...really bad karaoke. And I left when the k-pop dancers came on...not sure where the China thing fit there. It was really neat to see though. It is so nice that they celebrate the diversity like that here.
Then on Saturday I went to Paddy's Market again. You might want to sit down for this...I didn't buy anything! I did however realize it is faster to walk to the market from Central Station instead of Town Hall. Plus the intercity rail is an option but in this case it was crowded and I didn't have to walk far. It was the first time I had changed at Central. They do call it Central because there are a billion lines leaving from it so that taught me that I need to get there early when I take the regional train! For me a couple of hours probably wont be too much....I am such a lost cause!
Sunday was the big day...Tobruk Sheep Station!!!! I was so excited for this because it is an authentic Aussie outback farm. Of course "outback" here meaning I got to wear my hat!!! It didn't let me down! I loved it! First of all it is about an hour from Sydney so the drive was nice. Pictures and video of the day here.
When we arrived Jess the Jillaroo greeted us along with Teddy on the sign post. She talked to us for awhile and we took some pictures. Then we moved over to the food area (yeah don't remember what that was called besides the Hilton). From there you can see the stars during the day via holes in the roof. While there Jess taught us High Jean- wiping your hands high on your jeans to wash them. Hey, we were in the Outback! I still say the Australians have better live performances- they just have a way with the jokes. Anyway we had damper which is like scone on the outside and bread in the inside. It was really really good but I think the golden syrup didn't hurt either. It is made in a camp oven and consists of 2 liters of water, 2 kilos of flour, 2 pinches of salt and takes 2 hours to make- even men can remember that-she tested that and it was true. We also had Billy Tea which Demi helped count all 272 pieces of that. Jess swung it around in a Billy can to brew it. The tea was really good too. I bought some to take home but I will brew it more traditionally since I don't really want third degree burns down my back.
Jess took this time to demonstrate some awesome whip tricks and the boomerang. It was raining at that point so the boomerang didn't go that well. She actually nailed this car...oops! Pretty impressive though.
Then we went over to watch Diva (5 month old dog, her first show) and Teddy muster the sheep. That was pretty neat. Working dogs really amaze me. I mean they like working just as much as Debbie likes not working...sorry Debbie that was a cheap shot. Anyway they did really well. Then we were allowed to take selfies with the sheep...Then we moved over to the more confined area (why didn't I pay more attention to the names?!??!). Anyway Farmer Joe (Peter from Sweden who has goat sheep) had to come down and show how to check a sheep. It was his car that had earlier been killed by the boomerang so needless to say I am sure he was having a blast. Jess also went over how they take the tails off their sheep because otherwise they get infection from the fly eggs. After Teddy was done taking a bath (in the sheep's water I might add) he showed us his main trick which is backing. Basically he lines up all the sheep and then runs up and down their backs. Really cool.
Then Jess took us into the shearing shed where we learned about the history of shearing and how the tools have evolved. Jess sheared a sheep in front of us and had us feel the wool. Demi helped with that also! After that the dinner bell rang...literally. We had potatoes, steak, and salad. It was good. I opted out of the onion:)
After that it was our turn to try out the boomerangs and whips. Of course I was a natural at both of them...you know there I am throwing out the boomerang and as it is circling back I throw out the whip to snap around it...oh wait that is the good story Stan gave me on the way home...haha. Let's just say Jess didn't ask me if I was part Aboriginal. Anyway I was marginally better at the whip thank goodness. Marginally used real loosely here but no video was taken so no one has any proof of how bad I really was.
Good news is I bought a Boomerang so I can practice! Pretty geeked up about that. I think I will start watching some YouTube videos of how that is done...Then perhaps become the Boomerang champion of the world...or not.
To end the day we then took a tractor ride around the property to get a better view of the station and the Blue Mountains. It was really nice. And as a random fyi Jess watches Duck Dynasty. It was a great day! I really enjoyed it.
Well have a great week and don't turn into frozen ice blocks back there. I don't think people here even believe me how cold it gets there!
After awhile crocodiles!
