Nabiac

Hey y'all. So, as a few of you are aware, I've been in the middle of fucking nowhere since Friday. I took a lovely 6 hour train ride from Sydney to Taree, and then this woman, Karen, picked me up to take me back to my first workaway. She lives about 5ks from the nearest anything, and is right in the thick of the bush about a half hour from Forster. She lives in a tiny house with solar energy, and rain barrels. She eats like shit. She has a big steel storage container with bunk beds and a roll of toilet paper for backpackers. I have to pee outside. Showers are 3 minutes max, and there is a kangaroo named Koolie that lives I'm the house. She also has three cats, two of which are kittens named Snuggles and Smooch. She has a red-necked wallaby named Birapie who hops in every night for dinner with her Joey in her pouch, and an unnamed possum comes in for some banana and oats as well. There are fake bats and frogs hanging all over the house, and loads of white bread, beer, and kraft singles cheese. She wakes up at the ass crack of dawn every day and deals with her land and finds absurd things to do until around noon when she has lunch and then plops down in front of the tv to watch Judge Judy and Dr. Phil, while surfing the net on her ipad for the rest of the night. She has backpackers come in to do the hard work in exchange for cheap food and the (actually rather cozy) little storage container. She is a bitter woman, who hates everything/one except her animals and land, and just assumes everyone is like her. I'm a "silly city girl" who comes from a place that "seems like hell." She won't ever be visiting Indiana, that's for sure.

On the first full day, up at 8am, we headed out into the rainforest to pull lantana plants. Lantana is a huge bush/tree that is EVERYwhere, over growing her shit. So my job, in full pants, long sleeves, boots, leech spray and bug spray, at 80 degrees and full humidity, is to pull these things from the thick, and then rip out their roots. I did this for about two hours until I couldn't pull anymore. Then it was off to cut down skinny gum trees to make a canopy for her table. I had to carry trees, on my own, through the forest up to the house. Then we pulled weeds, and cut up logs. I wouldn't have minded the lot of it if I had, at least once, received a "thank you." So then it was lunch. More white bread. Then, it rained. Nothing to do, nowhere to walk or go, so I sat in my room and played music all night until a very unhealthy dinner was served. After that, we took some beers and went to her neighbor's place. They had 4 dogs, 5 mini ponies, chickens, roosters, ducks, and a ferret. The woman had on a white shirt and pants that were absolutely filthy, as was every other part of her. Her boyfriend was deaf and they ignored him, and her son's name was Decklin or something. I was introduced as "another backpacker. From Indiana this time." Then I was also ignored for two hours as they chatted by the fire. On the way home the night was brightened by the visit of a tawny frogmouth.

Sunday, it was my day off. Up at 7, headed to the markets. There, I bought a pair of hippy/genie pants (which got a hole I had to sew up the next day), before we headed out. Then Karen proceeded to drive me into Forster, drive past pretty things very matter-of-factly, stop for a second, and ask me if I wanted to get out to take a photo before moving on to the next spot. We went to a lookout, and there was a little trail. "You can take that walk if walking is your thing. I'm gonna wait in the car." Wait. What? Seriously? So naturally, I called mom to complain. Then we made a worthwhile stop at this road that had trees filled with hundreds of flying foxes, and a wedge tailed eagle flew over! That was rad. Then we stopped at the Green Cathedral, which is a worship spot outside, in the middle of a palm forest, at the edge of a lake viewing mountains. Really beautiful. On the ride home she drops the bomb that, on my day off, I have to supply my own food. Excuse me? So we stopped at a dominos and the pizza guy gave me a deal for a $4 pizza to last me for lunch and dinner. She said it was cause "I didn't do any work and she carted me around all day." Woah. No. I just thought we were going to the market and the beach because she wanted to and she enjoyed it! But no, it was out of obligation, and we were back by noon. Also, I was introduced to at least six more people as just "the backpacker." It's like I'm not a human to her. Just something to help her get her work done, who she shows around out of obligation to contract. Buh. Plus side, I met and pet and fed the possum that night. And learned that leeches can climb doors and that here, they are fucking EVERYWHERE.

Monday, moved 11 more trees, dug up several hundred pounds of gravel from the river, and filled in holes in the driveway. Then we watched tv. I leave tomorrow. Thank god, Byron Bay Arts Factory Hostel, here I come.

 

 

 

Total sightings: tiny lizards, kangaroo, wallaby, 10 paddy melons, tree frogs, tawny frogmouth, Joey, leeches, blue bees, ponies, dogs, cats, magpies, whip birds, bowerbird and bower, kookaburra, and more. Holy fuck, made this hell worth it.

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