Whittam World Wanderings

Friday, July 22, 2011

Photos:
1. Eugine, Volunteer Coordinator
2. Clearing the paddocks
3. Mark on the chainsaw

Day 5
The day was spent with all volunteers helping to move the Blaze Aid camp to another spot (Frog Hollow at Mission Beach) because the Tully Show is on this weekend.
We were allocated to Admin and the dining room which included the BBQ, all the safety equipment and the spare camp beds and linen.
It took us all morning but we are all now established in our new home and a whole lot of new volunteers have arrived.

We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the local beaches which are really beautiful but you can see where the cyclone has done a lot of damage.

Volunteering with Blaze Aid

Photos:
1. Janet with Day 4 Team
2. The shed, dumped from 2km away
3. White lipped green tree frog in Janet's diningroom
4. This Cassawary thought we looked like an interesting exotic fruit

Day 3
Today we were assigned to go to the property of Justin and Jan (the neighbours of Mark).
Our team consisted of Jenna and Kathleen (Kat) two English backpackers and Pattie (a backpacker from Taiwan)

Justin has hurt his foot and was very embarrassed that we were there to work and he could not help us because of his injury, but Mark came to help out. We were supposed to help pull down a shed that had been demolished but Justin felt bad and he insisted we go back to Marks to do some work on the pump and water tank so that Janet would have clean water on Marks property.

Jan and Justin own an exotic fruit farm. All the fruit trees were uprooted and blown away during the cyclone. There is no sign of the trees, but there is the remnants of an entire shed, including some very heavy girders, too heavy for two people to lift, that has been deposited on their property from 2 km away.

With Mark’s assistance and the tractor we managed to clear a paddock of fallen timber so that the field could be slashed then we went into another part of the farm a cleared a track that has been impenetrable ever since the cyclone because of fallen trees and a small stream that has become a deep ravine. It will require a bridge to be built over this area to make it passable.

Jan and Justin live in a beautiful totally green self sufficient home in the rainforest which Justin built. Their water comes from two springs on the property and they have recently put down a bore, their electricity is totally solar energy and their toilet is a very efficient composting toilet (no water needed to flush and definitely no smell) and it is inside the house right next to their bedroom making it an ensuite. There is a beautiful claw bath outside in the fernery beside the house and because it is so secluded and tropical it would be a very relaxing way to take a bath in the open with a view of the rain forest. The whole house is very open and there are forest views from every room. They were there in the house during the cyclone and they said it was very frightening.

There are feeding stations for the Cassawarys on Jan and Justin’s farm and we inadvertently parked the car right next to one. The Cassawarys came in looking for food when they saw the car and as there was no food in the box they turned to us. We were wearing our orange safety Blaze Aid jackets and they must have thought we were big oranges or some fancy fruit because they started to approach us. They were between us and the car and we had nowhere to go but bush. Pattie now has a new name “Pattie Pancake” because Jenna, who was terrified, nearly crushed her trying to get into the car.

Day 4
Back to Jan & Justin’s to clear the road to their orchard, make sure the pump had filled the tank for Janet and take a load to the tip.
We also did some tree clearing in what was the orchard.

Justin is a ships captain and is away a lot of the time. He used to captain ships for scientists doing research out to sea and now he captains a ship which farms ocean mur (black sea cucumbers) an Asian delicacy as well as being used in medicine and it is very expensive, so a lucrative occupation.
Jan had been developing the orchard of exotic fruits so Justin could retire on the farm to spend more time with her, but that was all put on hold when the cyclone blew all of the trees away.
Justin explained the composting toilet today and it all revolves around the air being extracted. They dig out the compost (which by then is just dirt and doesn’t smell at all) about 2 wheelbarrows a year and put it on the garden.
There is also a green lipped tree frog that has made his home in a pot plant in their dining room.
They have a very idealistic life style there, except for the cyclones, of course.

The three girls working with us today (Stacey who is Irish and Kat and Jenna who are English and all about 24 years old) were good fun and they worked very hard.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

VOLUNTEERING WITH BLAZE AID

Photos:

1. Our first volunteer team: Ray & Jenny with Christian & Stacey

2. Mark and Ray in his chainsaw gear

3. Volunteers in the field

4. A Cassawary wandering through the property

We arrived in Tully on Sunday 17th July at 4pm.
Eugene welcomed us, signed us up and got us organised with all the stuff we needed to know and the equipment we would need (chainsaw, gloves etc.) Apparently they are going to feed us as well. Eugene is very well organized. There is lots to be done. The damage in the area is due to the cyclone in February and we will be helping to clear fallen trees and mending fences.
All the volunteers are camped at the Tully showgrounds. Most of them are Grey Nomads but there is also a few backpackers and a family travelling with their four young children. We met Joan and John, a lovely couple from Kurrumburra who have been very helpful.

Day 1
We were assigned to Mark Gayles property along with Stacey (an Irish backpacker) and Christian (a German backpacker).
We cleared trees (blown down in the cyclone) from the driveway and around the house and down to the water pump using the chainsaw and then we dragged it all into huge piles for burning later on. Janet (something of a recluse) lives alone on the property in squalid conditions. Along with her neighbour and Mark they made a lovely morning tea and lunch for us while we worked. They were very happy with the progress we were able to make. We will probably come back tomorrow to continue in another part of the property.

Day 2
We went out to the same place today and did more of the same thing.
Ray got to do a bit of chain sawing. We are very hot, tired and muscle sore. It was very hot today and we were working out in a paddock where there was no shade in the afternoon. Stacey had to take a break because she was getting over heated. She is Irish with peaches and cream skin after all.

We all take turns helping out in the kitchen back at the volunteer camp. Ray was on dishes last night and tonight I was on cooking. A bit daunting cooking for so many people.
We are enjoying ourselves though and meeting lots of very nice people.

First Volunteer job

Photos:

1. Morning tea on the job

2. Whats left of the toilet

3. Whats left of the house

4. Working in the field (Ray and Christian)

Hughenden to Tully

Photos:

1. Hinchenbrook Island from Cardwell

2. Sugar cane fields Townsville to Cardwell

We have decided to cut across to Tully from here, where we will volunteer with Blaze Aid for a couple of weeks.
Travelling through Charters Towers, Townsville, Ingham and Cardwell.
Beautiful misty mountain scenery with miles and miles of sugar cane fields.
Cardwell is opposite Hinchenbrook Island where there is much evidence of the terrible cyclone earlier this year.
The Tully residents were very badly hit by the cyclones and many of them have still not had any assistance. The insurance companies are proving very difficult to deal with and depression has started to set in with many of the smaller farmers in the area. This is a huge sugar cane area and the sugar refinery in Tully runs 24 hours a day with smoke/steam billowing from its three huge chimney stacks.
Finished my first ‘Drunkards Path’ block.

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