…Go! Roadtrip from Katherine to Ayr (Or From Mangoes to Mangoes)

Time flies when you’re having fun. Or so the saying goes. In our case, time also flies when you were having fun and then got very busy very fast. So it has been a week since our little road trip and thank god I took some notes along the way or else I wouldn’t be able to tell you all about the first real travels we did here in Australia this time around…

Day 1: Fuses and Delays – Bye bye Katherine!

Distance: 93km

We finally got the green light to pack up and leave on Monday (27.11.). After finishing our last 4h shift of wrapping those dragontooth mangoes, we started packing for a seemingly never-ending evening. Kitchen, clothes, bedding, cleaning stuff etc ect ect. We also finally cleaned our car, which by the way, has a new old white door with a now fully functional (though still slightly difficult) window. Packed to the brim, we drove down that dirt road one last time the next morning. What a feeling (key: song)! After dropping off two friends at the side of the road (literally, because they hitchhiked up to Darwin), we bought provisions for the trip and visited Darren, our mechanic of choice. Because we are now responsible adults (and traumatized), we had him check our car from top to toe and service it. Good thing too, because we found out that we had nails stuck in two tires – guess that’s what we get for off-roading around the farm. Other than that, we were happy to find out that all was good under the hood.

Moe changed a few fuses and all of a sudden we had a car with fully functioning perks, such as the cigarette lighter socket, dashboard lights and warning blinkers (Moe is at this moment reading my blog and has kindly informed me that they are called hazard lights and that "warning blinkers" is very German) …and cruise control (more on that later).

Fixing two tires delayed us for a few hours, which we spent walking around Katherine town (for the first time in 2 months) and getting stuck in McDonalds during a rain shower.

By the time we actually drove out of this most-uncharming-town-I’ve-ever-been-to, it was late afternoon and we made it exactly 93km to the nearest rest area.

Here, surrounded by termite mounds as tall as me, we set up camp. Compared to a van, in which everything has it’s place, living in a station wagon is quite the pain in the ass. Everything had to be moved and stowed away somewhere else, so we could make our bed in the back. 

Blowing up a queen sized mattress without a pump was fun too. Slightly light headed and sweaty, we moved into our new home-on-wheels and enjoyed the rest of the evening with pre-cooked chili con carne and series. Every once in a while it started raining, which meant we had to close the windows. Instant sauna. The trunk had to stay closed as well, since it doesn’t stay closed without a stick holding it up and I was too scared of accidentally amputating a foot by kicking the stick. Also, we didn’t have a mosquito net for the trunk (we did for the windows) and every time we opened it the bugs would come swarming in – being the only source of light for miles.

We fell asleep to the sound of bats beating each other up in the tree right in front of our window and woke up to birds and sunlight and wet sweaty pillows.

Day 2: Mataranka and Cruise Control

Distance: 800km

Being the strategic travelers that we are, the choice of rest area was perfectly planned (uh huh). Because only 12km further down the road was Mataranka, a little town with beautiful hot springs (which aren’t hot – I still don’t get why the Aussies call so many fresh water springs “hot” when they are actually cool). The short walk there through a little palm forest is deafening. 

The flying foxes fight for space in the trees and screech so loudly you think your eardrums will rupture. The beautiful crystal clear blue water was just the right temperature and there was nobody else there. After some time we were joined by a little wallaby that strolled around on the other side of the pool and munched on fallen fruit and didn’t seem afraid of us at all. And if the refreshing dip wasn’t heavenly enough, there was a free shower in the caravan park (that is the entrance to the pools)!

Me excited about swimming next to a wallaby

A wallaby excited about standing next to me

These are giant evil looking things 

Breakfast was served on another rest area – next to a burnt out car.

Dishes with a view

Dishes were done on yet another rest area (since the water tank on the one before was empty) – with probably the best view one can have while doing dishes. When we were done, little tiny birds came to take a bath in the puddle we left.

Since the road trip was actually more of a crossing – from the center to the east coast – and meant to get us from A to B (from mangoes to mangoes), most of our time was spent driving. And driving in Australia is an experience on its own. Endless straight roads through nothingness. Bush on your left and right, sometimes burnt, sometimes green, sometimes with trees, sometimes with shrubbery, the horizon shifting without noticeable curves in the road and the most amazing sky. I don’t know why, but the sky here really is beautiful and different from anywhere I’ve ever been. No lights, no power lines, no buildings to obstruct the view. Every few hundred kilometers you pass through a little town or a zip by a roadhouse with horrendous fuel prices. But other than that, you just drive…

After we figured out how to use our cruise control, we could hardly call it driving anymore. It was more like sitting and holding the wheel in one position. Easy on the body and nerves and before you know it or feel it, a few hundred kilometers have streamed passed your window.

Don't you wish you could drive like this, mommy? ;)

During our lunch break, we shared a rest area with another group of backpackers. One came over and offered us some mangoes – some guy we had actually seen before around Darwin and Katherine. All I could do was laugh, because we too had a whole big bowl of fruit in the car (thanks to which it always smelled sweet and tropical). He understood right away: “Alrighty, you guys worked mangoes too, huh?” and walked back to his van with his bulging bag.

Highlight of my evening: Stopping at a roadhouse called Threeways – named for being at one of the very few intersections of highways in this country. Moe came back from paying for gas and ice with a Magnum Salted Caramel. Surprise Ice Cream is definitely the best kind there is! Best boyfriend ever! (Though maybe a little difficult to understand, why ice cream was the best part of my day… Remember that we are living on a tight budget and hardly ever spend on sweet nothings. Especially not when they cost as much as our budget for a whole meal (sometimes for the both of us))

Fun fact: The first time we loaded gas after leaving Katherine was after exactly 666,66km! And that in a car that cost us 600$. Hmmm…might we have sold our souls for a set of wheels…?

Though we had actually said that we wouldn’t drive at night, Moe couldn’t help it. For some reason he just enjoys it. So there we are, driving in the pitch black bush, when he has to relieve himself and pulls over on the side of the highway. Not a car or other sign of life in sight. Music blasting a bad 90s mix. He gets back into the car and the engine won’t start. We try again. And again. And I’m already dreaming up scenarios of us stranded in the Outback in the middle of the night, being attacked by dingoes or being towed by the guy from Wolf Creek. Luckily, a few minutes and many skipped heart beats later, our engine roared back to life and we were back on our way.

After such a successful set up the evening before, we decided to try out the tent for the evening. We found a suitable rest area and managed – though kicking and jerking to keep the bugs out of our face (headlamp in the bush – not a good idea) – to set it up. The area under the tree was glittering with the many eyes of very very big spiders, so we moved it two meters away. Right. Like those eight hairy legs won’t make it that far. Also, we discovered that we had a bird stuck in the front of our car.

Due to the larger mesh of the tent, we had to turn off all lights, because the bugs were squeezing though somehow. So there we were, in the pitch black, with a view of the stars from our bed, the wind howling and shaking our tent – quite the beautiful night after all.

Day 3: Finally Queensland

Distance: 970km

The next morning we were woken early by the surprisingly strong sunlight. Imagine the average temperature in summer in Germany – at 7am! After a good breakfast in the front seats of our car (we never invested in a table or chairs), I drove the first 400km to Mount Isa (after 200km we whooped and cheered as we crossed the border into Queensland). The landscape on the way changed from the bush we knew and had become accustomed to, to flat nothing. Absolute nothing. Pale golden dry grass. Also an experience.

Driving into Mount Isa was like an assault on the eyes – gray, industrious and ugly. A cliché mining town, though apparently one of the single most productive mines in the world (thank you, Wikipedia). But hey, it was civilization! Our visit to this town boiled down to food and charging our cellphone in the hallway leading to the bathrooms of a small mall while being looked at funny by the passers-by.

The drive out of Mount Isa lead through ranges. All of a sudden there were curves and hills and crests. And it was beautiful. Without noticing, we had risen to over 350m above sea level. So we cruised our way back down, Traumwelt playing in the background.

Imagine driving through this...

...listening to this:      https://soundcloud.com/traumwelt/sets/traumwelt-lp (I'm serious, if you don't know it yet, listen to it NOW!)

By the afternoon I was two-toned. Completely sunburned on one side and night-shift pale on the other.

So what had changed after crossing over into Queensland? More road signs. More power lines and railroad tracks. Strong gusts of wind threatening to push us off the road. Giant birds that stand like statues by the side of the road and then scare the hell out of you when the fly off just as you drive by. Bigger kangaroos. More developed farmland. The feeling of getting closer to more populated areas. So many roadtrains.

Only in Australia

That night we slept on a free campground behind a hotel in a little town called Prairie. At around 10pm, we pulled up in front of the closed looking hotel, wondering if our Roadmap was lying about being able to sleep here for free, when a man came out. “Yous lookin’ for a place to camp, are ya? Gate’s open out back! Need anything to drink? Righty-O, g’night.”

Day 4: Budgies and Beach (and CVS)

Distance: 350km

I heart Prairie. I think I just might have bought a t-shirt with that on it. Maybe I should have asked one of the 106 citizens of Prairie to make me one. Though we only spent a night and a few hours there, it was lovely. A free camp without bugs. Waking up with blue skies above us and a cool breeze. 

Waking up to this...

...and this...

Cooking breakfast in the nearby Windmill Park – guess what? It’s a park with a big ol’ windmill in it. 

Yin yang

Admit it, you're jealous...

The trees around us were filled with little green and yellow budgies – the kind you usually only see in pet stores. And some gray and pink parrots. It had a kind of tropical wild wild west charm.

Budgies!

I Heart Prairie

The short drive to Townsville was quite picturesque. And what do two travellers like Moe and I do after spending two months in the bush…? We buy a baguette, a roast chicken and drive to the closest beach. Ah, the ocean! Water! Sand! Heavenly! But as it is in this country, a sign warning about stingers and crocs kept us out of the water.

Saunders Beach

Looking for a place to spend the night, we stumbled across Bluewater Park. Our trusty Roadmap told us there were free showers there and that was reason enough to check it out. After…no, I won’t tell you how long… basta, it was good to shower. In our bathing suits. Outside.

Now, for those who don’t know me inside out, back in May I hung out in the hospital for some time, while doctors tried their best to find out why I have random and sudden attacks of nausea sometimes. Many tests later, I was discharged with the wastebasket diagnosis of Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. Inexplicable, no real cure, just happens sometimes. I have been CVS-free for a few months now, but for some odd reason, it decided to stop by again that late afternoon. I just about made it out of the shower and into some clothes before it started. Having a paramedic boyfriend, the doctors in Manila prescribed this anti-nausea medicine intravenously – meaning Moe gets to poke me with a needle (much to his enjoyment). So, in Blackwater Park, on a rest area, sitting in the front seat of a car, Moe got to inject me for the first time. Too bad it didn’t help. I continued to be retching and restless. So this is where I lost all sense of time and place and longed for my couch in Berlin or my bed in Manila. Though I was well taken care of… Moe set up the tent. I collapse into the tent and everything after that is a blur of sleep, sweat and my head in a plastic bag. In between there I remember peppermint tea, an improvised hot water bottle and being half-carried to the bathroom because I was too weak to walk – best boyfriend ever. At some point the darkness swallowed me and I think that made me quite happy.

Not many pictures of this evening.

Day 5: Ayr

Distance: 90km

After the rain comes sun again… The next morning was such a relief. Feeling better somehow always makes you feel even better. Still a bit shaky on my legs, we had a relaxed morning and then headed over to Ayr, our new home for the next I-don’t know-how-many weeks.

The town has a population of around 8000 and is known for the huge sugar cane plantations around it. Basically, it’s a charming little place with two supermarkets, a main shopping road, a couple of fast food joints and a small cinema. Very quaint and somehow comfy. Then again, everything is comfy after Katherine.

Late afternoon we joined one of our bosses in the house we were offered to stay in. Jackpot! After a kitchen-adjoined room in a blue container, we now live in a very nice house with all facilities one could wish for, have a big room with the most comfortable bed and even a little yard. It is more than we could have ever hoped for.

Day 6: Sunday Lovely Sunday

Distance: 16km and a few hundred meters

I know, we have arrived at our destination. The road trip is over. But since we didn’t have to start work till Monday, I thought I’d include the first Advent. The official start of the countdown to Christmas. Haha. We’ve managed to ignore the decorations and songs. Just doesn’t feel right to get all festive, while working for a farm that sells “A taste of Australian Summer”. So instead of lighting a candle and baking cookies, we spent the morning in our room, enjoying fast internet and aircon. Then drove to Alva Beach in the afternoon and lay around in the shade playing Backgammon. And finally went to see the new Hunger Games in the little movie theatre in town.

Life is sweet.

And Monday we went to work… But I’ll get into that next week ;)

Dragon Teeth, Jet Lag and On Your Marks, Get Set…

40, 45, 60, 70, 50… Those are the number of hours we worked in the last 5 weeks. And day before yesterday, from one night to the next, it was over… At least for the night shift. After taking care of the last Kensington Pride mangoes during a relaxed and understaffed shift, we were told that the season was over. Bittersweet – finally working good hours and earning good money, many were disappointed that it was over. On the other hand, aching backs and throbbing hands, itchy mango rash and sap burned skin were thankful for the anticipated final day.

Moe and I, however, were asked to stay and help out the small handful of people ending the season. A few more varieties, of which the farm only has very few trees, need to be packed. The shed needs to be cleaned. Fun stuff like that. So after ending our last night shift at 11pm and finally forcing ourselves to sleep around 3am, we were back at work at 8:30am yesterday morning.

There, we found a table full of strange looking oblong fruit that were shaped more like cucumbers or eggplants than mangoes. Dragon Tooth – a variety that is supposedly very delicious. Since this mango is so special, we had/have to pack it differently. Two teeth sitting on a little pink foamy thing have to be wrapped up in cellophane and decorated with a special sticker (Guess what… It has a dragon on it.). This, turns out, is such tedious and slow work, that we still haven’t finished and probably won’t finish anytime soon – despite having started the 2-people shifts at 7am this morning.

Last night, we – meaning everyone who worked at the farm and is still in town  -were invited to dinner in the Katherine Country Club. Now don’t go imagining a fancy shmancy “Country Club”… it’s basically a golf course with a diner and a pub where the people of Katherine meet to eat, drink and be merry (while the Aborigines scream at each other out on the streets outside).

The food was so. damn. good! The waiters brought steak after steak and after steak to our tables (and grilled Barramundi fillet to mine). Some cake and ice cream to top it off. And while the others enjoyed the Manbulloo tab at the bar, I sipped an ice cold orange juice – in awe of how something so simple can be so heavenly. Full and fully satisfied, the many happy faces slowly left the club and we ended up the final four (with two French guys) sitting outside in front of the 9 televisions (again, something I haven’t seen in a while) watching figure skating, the world’s most shocking police videos, the new X-Men movie, dolphins, cartoons, gaelic football and dog racing at the same time (the other screen was being used for Keno and dog racing was on two TVs).

I must say, trying to switch from night to day shift within one day has kind of thrown me off. Despite only a few hours of sleep, I was wide awake when we got home at midnight last night. Today, after enough sleep, I was/am groggy and weak – kind of like after having to get up at 2am to catch an early flight or something. Jet lag is no fun. And in addition to turning my body clock from upside down to right side around, there’s the heat. After working and living in the cool of the night, the actual heat of the day is stifling. Kind of like on the first few days of living in the camp here. So after wrapping dragon tooths in cellophane for 4h today, all I can do is lie in our air-con room and stay occupied so I won’t fall asleep.

The camp is empty. Only a few people remain. I’m one of the last women left working. And we can’t wait to leave as well… We are just waiting for the boss to say “Ok guys, you can start heading over” and we will have our bags packed in a flash. The lists of what we still need to buy and do before finally leaving Katherine have been compiled. The car door has been fixed – well, almost, one little adjustment is still needed, but hey, Mechanic Moe did a pretty good job! And I just can’t wait to drive down that dirt road for the last time…

What exactly is waiting for us in Queensland, we don’t really know. But it’s work and that’s good.

So the next blog entry will not concern mangoes for a change… “On the road again…Just can’t wait to be on the road again”

Pictures of the day:

Moe fixing our car door, so we have a window that goes up and down.

Me working on our list of things to do and buy before we leave. Hello jet lag!

Mangoes, Mangoes, Mangoes - Our Day In Vivid Color

After over a month of mango season, everyone is getting tired. So are the machines. Computer glitches, breakdowns and the occasional outbreak of chaos in the shed are part of our daily routine. Today, a bigger breakdown bestowed us with a glorious, spontaneous night off. The reason why I have the time to finally post some of the pictures that have been waiting to be posted... So here they are, a photographic journey through our nights in the Manbulloo Mango shed. Enjoy.

Our "day" beings at sunset. Spectacular colors have become our signal to sign in and get started.

As I prep the packing line for take off, it's just me and a whole lot of empty bins and trays.

Then we begin.

The bins from the field get tipped into a huge bath...

...get sent through a drier...

...and roll onto the grading table. 

Where our competent graders (with our Quality Controller here) sort out the bad from the good.

And only the best land in the packer's bins.

Where they stand and grab two mangoes, put them in a tray, grab two mangoes, put them in a tray...

...and then send the full tray down the line.

Every once in a while our QC pulls out some samples and checks if they are a-okay.

Most of them just travel onwards towards the stacking line.

 Where Mr. Supervisor Mo (now called "Chef") and his team stack one on the other.

Hard at work.

And then they are wrapped, cooled and sent off to the supermarkets all over the country. Cool, huh?

And because a work day includes a whole lot of bathroom breaks, I thought I'd include some shots of me new friends, who hang out with me and protect me from moths and other things that flutter by.

And just so we don't forget what we look like... a bit paler and a darker shade of eye-bags... 

but still smiling!

Lots of LOVE from Katherine!

A Series of Fortunate Events

Sitting in bed after a delicious meal, full and tired – but happy. Today was our first day off since the 17^th of October. The first chance I have to sit down and put all the stories I have been writing in my head for the last three weeks.

I left off on somewhat of a negative note – no work, overheating car, hot and bothered. So I am all the more excited to finally be writing down our series of fortunate events…

Adios, Hot Momma

All the finger-crossing, knocking-on-wood, hoping-and-praying or mechanical tricks could not save our perfectly equipped but mechanically challenged (to put it nicely) van that we lovingly dubbed Hot Momma. She spent some time at Darren’s (our trusty mechanic here in Katherine), who did everything in his power (except fix the engine for 3000$) to cool her down. The last resorts were some bottles of liquid stuff that is supposed to seal leaks from the inside – to no avail. Her temper(ature) just kept rising every time we took her out.

But due to another very fortunate event (more specifics later), we moved into a real room two weeks ago and decided to try our luck at selling her. Since we never really got the chance to love her, the way a traveler should love his/her home on wheels, that decision came easy. We put an ad up on gumtree.com and two days later met up with a Korean couple who had just arrived in Australia and had realized that having an own means of transportation makes life so much easier. They did not seem interested in all the cool stuff I showed them in and around the van – and just remarked on how camping experienced we must be. Then they test drove it around the block… or more like Moritz test drove it for them, because he didn’t seem to know how to drive a manual car. Hmmm… She was more interested in inviting me to a cup of ice cream in the supermarket (which she visits every day). The second test drive was more of a test hobble hobble croak hobble hobble croak. He tried and decided he needed a bit more practice.

The next day, we brought them Hot Momma and said our goodbyes.

Believe me, we felt like complete jerks and our conscience was killing us. I mean, we know how it feels to be sold a dud. We have already accepted that karma will get to us and we will probably be born as ants in our next life, only to be fried on the pavement by a kid with a looking glass. But oh well… Given our situation – no money and shitty car – and theirs – too much money and no car (and no clue about cars or driving whatsoever) – it also kind of felt like fate was throwing us a bone, here in Katherine, NT.

(New) Wheels Keep On Turning

Although we were alright without a car and knew that people would give us a ride into town every once in a while if we needed to, by some strange coincidence, we ended up with a new set of wheels within the week. One of our fellow shed-workers decided he had had enough of the mangoes and booked a flight to Nepal (jealous!). Once again, the puzzle pieces matched. Us – a little bit more money, no car – him – enough money, car. So he sold us his ‘95 Holden Commodore Acclaim station wagon for 600$. It looks like it belongs onto a junk yard (though there might actually be more attractive vehicles there), but the V6 engine still roars and took us to 140km/h in a flash – without overheating! Of course, it has a few questionable character traits… Such as a trunk that doesn’t stay open without a stick holding it up, a glove compartment that falls into your lap when you open it, the fabric of the ceiling held in place by thumb tacks and a crack or two in the windshield and a seemingly endless amount of dust and dirt left by the previous owner. But the one thing we definitely need to get fixed is the driver’s door. The former owner had had a little run in with a post on the sidewalk, while driving under the influence with the door open. It is a bit bent out of shape and doesn’t really open and close as it should. That wouldn’t be too much of a problem, if it weren’t for the window not closing anymore. So at the moment, Moritz gets to climb in over the passenger side or through the window (though when he does it, it does not look quite as cool as in the Dukes of Hazard).

Tomorrow we will take another quick trip into town (now that we can go into town on our own volition and actually be quick) and look for a wrecker that has an extra door lying around.

Our new wheels - still need a name though...

Night And Day OR Hi Ho Hi Ho, It’s Off To Work We Go

One day, about two and a half weeks ago, Moritz came to me with a proposal from Marie, the owner of Manbulloo and our big boss. She offered us a position on the night shift. Doesn’t sound too enticing, huh? Well, in addition to making us the supervisors of the nightshift (meaning more responsibility and a tad bit more money), she would throw in an air-conditioned room rent-free. So, sleeping in the van for 60$/person/week and working during the hottest hours as a packer (Moritz already was supervisor) VS sleeping in a free air-con room and becoming the bosses of the packers…?

I am not much of a night person. So I was a bit nervous about that, but the deal was just too good to pass up.

So now we live in a room that has a bed and a table in it and a hole in the wall. That hole leads into the kitchen, which all the bosses and managers (our neighbors left and right) use. After a few nights with only a standing up bed frame covered with a blanket between us and the sounds and smells of said kitchen, we covered it with a long piece of cardboard (+ the bedframe and blanket). There’s still a couple of centimeters open at the top, a crack that lets in some light, the occasional conversation between bosses or the mouthwatering smell of a steak we could never afford at the moment – but other than that our improvised sliding door works quite well.

The upside to moving into the room next to the kitchen is that we get to use it. A real stove, an oven, a toaster, a toaster-oven, a microwave and a water boiler and even a little room in the freezer – pure luxury after cooking on butane gas burners in the howling wind. And now that we are earning a bit, we’ve been allowing ourselves the occasional piece of meat and more vegetables (that are not carrots). So this week it was a big pack of ground beef and a giant bell pepper. Just to put this in perspective for you – 1,2kg of ground beef cost around 6$ (the absolute cheapest you can buy, usually beef starts at around 13$/kg) and one single red bell pepper cost us almost 5$! That kind of baffled me, being used to three bell peppers for 80 cents in Berlin… But damn, did that Bolognese taste good. And so did the burritos we made for dinner the next day. And the chili con carne the day after that. And I’m sure we will enjoy the tub of frozen chili some day soon as well. Now that we are really working, good food with real nutrients has become essential. Without a few vitamins, minerals and proteins every once in a while, we would probably shrivel up or collapse or something. We do still eat our fair share of instant noodles, canned stuff and toast, but every once in a while I get to enjoy cooking again and we both can get excited about a bell pepper.

An example of one of our "deluxe" dinners - a tiny steak, potatoes, sauteed onions and a salad (cooked by me)

An example of one of our post-work snacks - canned tuna thai curry style with toast and/or rice (cooked by Moritz:"Here you go, honey. Enjoy!")

But to actually find the time and energy to cook (or clean or read or write or watch a movie or…) has become increasingly difficult. A bit over a week ago, we started working at 7pm (before that is was 4pm). The sun starts setting behind the shed, as we make our way to start our shift.

While Moritz was made supervisor before we moved to the night shift, he basically just does his thing. He was brought in to save the day and turn a bunch of lazy and chaotic stackers into a functioning team – with success. He has some quirky characters to keep in check, but it seems to be going quite well.

I, on the other hand, didn’t really know what to expect. All I had seen of Carol’s job (my supervisor on the day shift), was that she ran around a lot. And after a day of following her footsteps and getting trained in the job, I knew why. My responsibilities range from making sure all the materials are there – providing stickers for the machines, cleaning these machines, lugging boxes of inlets from storage to the tables, having band aids on the ready etc. – to making sure the process of getting the mangoes into the boxes runs smoothly – keeping an eye on the graders and watching that they throw away the bad stuff (and only bad stuff), coordinating with the quality controller (another Berliner girl) who checks the packed boxes, moving around the packers so the bins don’t overflow etc. I also coordinate the clean up, lug around big blue crates of mangoes to bring back to the sizing machine, stand by the conveyor belt, examine the trays and take back the occasional tray to the packer to tell him/her what’s wrong with it. In between I make sure the shed stays tidy, the time sheets are filled out and there is a constant supply of cool drinking water. And finally, I pack. So yes, basically I run around a lot.

We take a 15min break at 9:30, a 30min “lunch” break at midnight and another 15min Smoko between 2:30 and 3:15, depending on how many bins of fruit are left. The last week has been 10-11h of work, meaning up to 12h in the shed. Our muscles are sore, our backs hurt, the soles of my feet protest loudly when I slip on my shoes (though I must say that I am forever grateful for mommy dearest making be buy some good shoes that I would have never ever before bought or worn – they are saving my life! And definitely no longer look like I bought them 2 months ago). We have bruises all over our legs – I have a big fat one that looks like the Australian continent on the top of my thigh from resting boxes of mangoes on it and a few little ones. Moritz’s legs look a little like leopard print from pallet jacks, walking into belts and tables and stuff like that. I spent the last few days working with my wrist bandaged up, because it was getting quite painful to bend (in either direction). And Moritz smashed his thumb with a hammer yesterday. And although it did finally stop bleeding after a few hours, it will probably turn a nice dark shade of purple in the next days.

So you can only imagine how much our bodies are enjoying this evening off, lying in bed, moving nothing but our fingers on the keyboard (and the occasional wave of the hand to get rid of a bug).

But generally, the body can get used to everything. And putting it to the test the way we have been has once again proven this fact. I could have never imagined myself working a night shift, sleeping during the day and doing this 7 days a week. But surprisingly, after a few days, my body clock has done a 180. We wake up in the afternoon – at first automatically between 3pm and 4pm, but lately only thanks to an alarm around 5pm.

Then there’s the question of food… Last week I craved lunch at breakfast time, breakfast after work and it was all very confusing. By now we have cereals at 5:30pm, “real” food at midnight and a snack after work.

And getting errands done – cleaning, laundry, shopping etc. – takes a bit more coordination and planning. A lot of shops close at 5pm (such as the wreckers from which we still need a new car door), so the alarm needs to be set earlier on days we have to head into town. Laundry has to be thrown in the second we finish work, so the few pieces of clothing dedicated to being thrown away after this job can dry till the next shift. And today, our first evening off, was spent finally cleaning up our one table covered in ¾ kitchen and ¼ bathroom.

Only actual “chill time” suffers a bit. I haven’t done yoga in ages, though it would probably do me quite good right now. I am still reading the same book as 2 weeks ago. And our series is progressing in half episode intervals – half an episode at breakfast and half after work ;) And every second day I (and my tired limbs) wish I could just stay in bed for a little while longer…

But work is work and work is good. Another day another (200) dollar(s) ;) And every time it hurts just a bit too much or I just don’t want to get out of bed or I want to curse them mangoes and Northern Territory and the lot, I remind myself that one measly night of work here might mean a few beautiful days traveling Asia. And that is motivation enough.

Sunrises, Bugs, & Rain (for lack of a better title)

An upside to working the night shift is the previously unimaginable amount of sunrises I have experienced in the last weeks. By the time I get out of the shower, the sky behind our container (have I mentioned that our room is in a big blue container) turns all shades of cotton candy. The outline of mango trees on the paddock is still gray, then slowly the colors emerge and we listen to the world waking up, as the still of the night slowly fades. The birds that used to wake us up are now wakened by us. And by the time we lock ourselves into our dark, cold cave to sleep, we have felt the first pleasantly warm (and not brutally hot) rays of sunlight on our faces. Just as pleasantly warm as those, that blind us when we reemerge from hibernation in the late afternoon. (Though I have to say, that the lack of sunlight has kind of drained the nice tan I had before the switch).

Sunrise and mango trees

Our room in the container

Another little thing that comes with turning into a night owl is the whole new set of creatures. The day has flies and the occasional mosquito, we have moths. They are black and white and annoyingly hyperactive. They wait outside our door and flood in when we open it, or hitch a ride on my back, my hair…. They have become little friends who like to come cuddle with me on top of my blanket, only to wake me when I make sudden moves, by flying right around my face. They are all over the place… The roof of the shed, illuminated by big halogen tubes, is covered in them. They dive into the bins and boxes of mangoes. The other day, I’m sitting on the toilet, wondering what that strange noise is – kind of like water in a tin kettle starting to boil – and look up. More moths. They leave their fine dark dust everywhere…and decide to die in the strangest places. Today I found one inside my sock. So I chase them with a Tupperware and notepad and literally throw them out the door – for around 20minutes an evening.

And with the changing weather, there are so many more and diverse insects around – beetles, flying ants (the ones that fly a few circles and then die) and strange bugs I have never seen before, huuuuge, mean looking ones with long antlers. Maybe the large amount of bugs is why the frogs in the bathroom are no longer in the toilet, but all hiding, neatly in a row, in the creases of the corrugated walls.

Slowly but surely the season is changing. The air is getting more humid and the harsh winds have settled. Two nights ago it rained. Heavenly. We were working, when all of a sudden it just poured. Heavenly. It smelled so good. It felt so good. It was like a sudden burst of energy that I haven’t felt in too long. It made me miss the water, being near it and being in it. The sound was deafening, as it beat down on the steel roofing. The wind was cold and everyone woke up instantly. Some had to run to their tents and try and rescue some stuff. Moritz had to run to the car and tape up our window with a garbage bag.

Aside from lifting my spirits, the rain caused a few blackouts in the shed. Though strangely enough, the lights above the packing tables stayed on, so it made for a great atmosphere (I still regret not having my camera on me). Half of the shed wanted candles and romance, the other half started singing and hoping we’d turn it into a party. We just continued working (but with that little tingle of excitement in the corner of our smiles).

When we clocked out, it was still raining. The day shift was just waking up and climbing out of soggy tents to asses the damages (like a guitar filled to the brim with water, for example). No picking. No work the next day/night.

And that’s why I am here, finally getting to tell whoever reads this blog all about our last weeks here. Finally getting the stories out of my head and onto the page.

This morning, the first sunny morning since the rain, the grass is green, there was dew dripping onto us during our end-of-work cigarette, the trees were blooming red and yellow and the skies were blue.

In life, in travels as in nature…“after the sun comes rain, after the rain comes sun again…”.