This week I'm on the Eyre Peninsula, as the harvest begins.
The region is looking golden and fabulous as the grains ripen, and headers do ever-decreasing circles reaping the product of the farmer's toil. And they want their silos right now, if now sooner.
I'm escorting field bins (or silos) to farmers' properties across the region, based in Cleve. The evenings are cool, but the days are warm and balmy, just right for harvesting.
Yesterday I left home at 0515hrs, arrived at Cleve at about 1100hrs, and set out early afternoon for the first farm at Buckleboo.
As I drove the 115kms I felt pangs of guilt for not having travelled this beautiful part of the region before. While I've lived in Pt. Lincoln, Streaky Bay and Ceduna, I hadn't been out this way before, and I felt guilty.
There's about 2 or 3 more days of this, and I'm "camping" in the basic comfortable Cleve Hotel/Motel. Cleve is the scene of the internationally profiled annual Field Days.
I noted the location of the Sunrise Weatherman Grant Denyer was Kimba, by The BIG Galah, which we will be driving past several times. We have to go through Kimba to get to Buckleboo and other places.
Right now I'm waiting for the boss and the truck driver because the hydraulics on the truck failed yesterday. That's life. Very annoying. (to understate it dramatically).
animalcarer said
07:56 PM Nov 3, 2011
Sound absolutley wonderful, I wish I was there too. You described the colours beautifully, the sunset must be beautiful also.
milo said
09:33 PM Nov 3, 2011
cg , give kimba a wave for me .. one of my fave places in aus..
Cruising Granny said
10:44 PM Nov 3, 2011
I checked Kimba a wave of my own this afternoon on my way home. That broken down hydraulics won't be fixed until the parts arrive, so I was relieved of my duties until further notice. My return has been requested for the next run of field bins. I'm doing a local one from Sheoak Log tomorrow morning at daylight. There was a convoy of pilots from Kimba to Warnertown as we all headed home from our relevant duties. This is an interesting, underestimated, understated industry, - this branch of the transport industry. It's a necessary sector, but rarely acknowledged. I love it. Today I took photos of the local wildflowers which colour the roadsides. Grevilleas and other beautiful species hide among the mallee and other native vegetation, to the sound of wattle birds and other species. I'll post some when I'm alert. (We need more lerts).
blaze said
11:28 PM Nov 3, 2011
To many of those "lerts" can be a dangerous thing CG, they are a bit like "sperts" aint they. cheers blaze
RALPHRALPH said
07:21 AM Nov 4, 2011
sounds like magic out there ,love the wild flowers and sun rises must look great over the grain
Gerty Dancer said
08:08 AM Nov 4, 2011
I was thrilled, as everybody in those districts must be , to see such beautiful wheat crops, not only in SA but also in WA when we were there this year. its wonderful that they,ve reached harvest, without floods or locusts like the poor farmers in NSW had last year.
What worried me though was that there still seemed to be a lot of wheat stockpiled at the railway sidings, and I wondered just where this bumper crop was going to end up? Are the field bins are for the farmers own use?
aussietraveller said
09:50 PM Nov 9, 2011
sounds like an awesome job in a spectacular part of the country we were in Kimba last year and are now a bit envious.
jules47 said
10:28 PM Nov 9, 2011
Good on ya Chris - sounds like a great job - take care - but enjoy!
Travel Bug said
10:36 PM Nov 9, 2011
Hi Chris. Glad that you have some more work....and a promise of more to come.
Sounds like a beautiful part of the world too. Enjoy!
This week I'm on the Eyre Peninsula, as the harvest begins.
The region is looking golden and fabulous as the grains ripen, and headers do ever-decreasing circles reaping the product of the farmer's toil. And they want their silos right now, if now sooner.
I'm escorting field bins (or silos) to farmers' properties across the region, based in Cleve. The evenings are cool, but the days are warm and balmy, just right for harvesting.
Yesterday I left home at 0515hrs, arrived at Cleve at about 1100hrs, and set out early afternoon for the first farm at Buckleboo.
As I drove the 115kms I felt pangs of guilt for not having travelled this beautiful part of the region before. While I've lived in Pt. Lincoln, Streaky Bay and Ceduna, I hadn't been out this way before, and I felt guilty.
There's about 2 or 3 more days of this, and I'm "camping" in the basic comfortable Cleve Hotel/Motel. Cleve is the scene of the internationally profiled annual Field Days.
I noted the location of the Sunrise Weatherman Grant Denyer was Kimba, by The BIG Galah, which we will be driving past several times. We have to go through Kimba to get to Buckleboo and other places.
Right now I'm waiting for the boss and the truck driver because the hydraulics on the truck failed yesterday. That's life. Very annoying. (to understate it dramatically).
That broken down hydraulics won't be fixed until the parts arrive, so I was relieved of my duties until further notice. My return has been requested for the next run of field bins.
I'm doing a local one from Sheoak Log tomorrow morning at daylight.
There was a convoy of pilots from Kimba to Warnertown as we all headed home from our relevant duties.
This is an interesting, underestimated, understated industry, - this branch of the transport industry.
It's a necessary sector, but rarely acknowledged. I love it.
Today I took photos of the local wildflowers which colour the roadsides. Grevilleas and other beautiful species hide among the mallee and other native vegetation, to the sound of wattle birds and other species.
I'll post some when I'm alert. (We need more lerts).
cheers
blaze
sounds like magic out there ,love the wild flowers and sun rises must look great over the grain
What worried me though was that there still seemed to be a lot of wheat stockpiled at the railway sidings, and I wondered just where this bumper crop was going to end up? Are the field bins are for the farmers own use?
Hi Chris. Glad that you have some more work....and a promise of more to come.
Sounds like a beautiful part of the world too. Enjoy!
Take care. Pam.