All Alone - 20. Alo Chapter 20

“I presume from the big smiles, that you have leased your farm, and that you are hoping that the job offer I made is still on” I said to them as we all sat down, and I waited for a few moments, and then looking serious.

“I am sorry…” I began, and I saw their faces go from smiling to dropping into shock and worry.

“I am sorry, but you have a very long drive ahead of you, to your new job, I hope you are ready”, I continued, this time smiling broadly, and moments later we were all laughing.

“Don’t do that to me Lloyd, you gave me a huge fright” Sue said to me.

“I am sorry, I just wanted to see your reactions, I promise I won’t do that again” I said to them as we sipped out tea.

“Right now, down to business, I will be employing you Dave as senior station hand, we already have two staff on the station, Matt and Greg, who are brothers, and who are young but are experienced station hands, and they know the station very well.

Since the cyclone, and with me taking over ownership of the station, we have had no stock on the property, as we have been concentrating on cleaning up, and building new facilities.

We have recently appointed two Camping Caretaker couples, one at the north end and the other at the south end, the North end couple have been caretakers on the station for the past five years, and they too know the station very well, and the other couple are good friends of theirs, and we are planning to open to the public for camping, the day before Easter, which is less than two weeks away.

As you may have seen in the media, we lost pretty much most of the building on the station, with just the machinery shed, the visitors centre and adjoining apartment, and the owners house on the hill escaping any major damage, and the shearing shed lost its roof and some of the corrugated iron sheeting walls. You will be taking up the owner’s house, which is fully furnished, and will give you plenty of privacy during your off hours.

Since the cyclone, we have built new entry gates at the north end and the main gate, plus established more suitable caravan sites for the two caretakers, repaired all the boundary and most of the internal fences, that were damaged. We have built a new backpacker’s hostel, well away from the homestead compound, 4 kms south, which is used weekly by two tour groups as an overnight stop.

We are in the process in building three of the planned 6 guest cottages, that will also be well away from the homestead compound, 6 kms to the north, and gravel roads are being built to allow 2wd vehicles to get to the Hostel and the cottages, the rest is all 4wd access only, except part of the 14-mile camping area.

We have completed a new staff cottage, for the Price Brothers to live in, that is located behind the Manager’s apartment, which is my residence, as I like to be close to the office” I announced. “What are the distances on the station?” Sue asked me.

“Well using the station tracks, which is not far off from being a straight line, it is 56 kms from the south boundary, to the north boundary, and all of it on the Ningaloo coast, which is our western boundary, and the eastern boundary is approximately 30 kms east of the coast, on the east side of the Minilya Exmouth Road, with approximately 734,000 acres of land in area” I replied.

“Wow that is some distance and area, it must be tough trying to check on stock and water points in an area that big” Dave commented.

“Not really, a lot of the water tanks and troughs are accessible from existing station tracks, so we only do boundary checks every now and then, for fence breakages.

By the way the water we have on the station is artesian, so it is warm and salty, the stock and plants can handle it, but it isn’t suitable for drinking by humans. We have several desalination plants, that provide us with a plentiful supply of fresh water, and now, we are running on two diesel generators, until we can get the new solar and wind turbine station operating.

During the cyclone, the power station that housed the solar power batteries and the diesel generator, burnt down, and the wind turbine generator, was a right off when the tower collapsed during the cyclone. From the Visitor Centre to Coral Bay, it is between 65 and 85 kms to the north, depending on which way you go, and it takes about 80 minutes to get there.

To Minilya Roadhouse, where we collect a lot of our urgent supplies, from Carnarvon or Geraldton, it is 55 kms to the south east, and takes 50 minutes to get there, and to Carnarvon, it is 194 kms to the south, which takes about 2 ½ hours to get there.

Exmouth is 215 kms to the north, and also takes 2 ½ hours to get there, we also have a station airstrip close to the Homestead compound, and 2 RFDS standard airstrips for emergencies, which is 8 kms or twenty minutes from the homestead compound, and about halfway towards the main gate and the Minilya Exmouth Road” said to Dave and Sue.

“I guess that distances, is something that we will just have to get use too” Dave commented.

“Yes indeed, when outside of the homestead compound, I insist that all station staff carry a satellite phone with them, for urgent and emergency calls only, otherwise the two-way radio covers most areas of the station, with the caretakers each having a radio base.

“Sue, if you like, I would like to employ you as a station administration staff member, to assist me in the office, and in the visitor centre, where we take enquiries, bookings for hostel and cottage accommodation, plus we have a good selection of tourist information of the area, and souvenirs” I said to Sue.

“Yes please, I would like that very much” she replied happily.

“Now a couple other things, we have just completed redoing the station mud map for tourists, which gives the campers a guide to where their allocated camping site is located. I will show you when we get to the station, but in brief, all adult campers now must produce photo ID, which is to be recorded in the registration sheet, along with the vehicle registration and the campsite allocation number, which I will show you both when we get there.

This is important, as we are enforcing stricter rules on where campers can camp, and even tighter rules on beach access. I am thinking of getting Matt to work with you Dave, as he has the most experience as a station hand on the station, and Greg will assist me and Sue with managing the visitor centre, patrolling the camp sites, and cleaning the accommodation.

We already have 24 people on a list of banned people, not permitted to enter the station, and that list is available to all station staff including the caretaker’s, and finally, we will be having monthly visits from Parks and Wildlife, who patrol the Ningaloo coastline, since it is part of their jurisdiction, and sometimes we even may get a visit from the elders of the local indigenous owners of the land, to come and inspect the property, which I think is very important, and I will deal with their visits myself.

There is a small mountain range, located 10 kms north west of the front gate, and 3 kms off the main station access road, that is a restricted, no one except our traditional land owns are permitted to enter that area, including myself, unless I am specifically invited.

The two access tracks to this area are clearly marked with signs, stating it is a restricted area, so I suggest you keep out of the area. The mountain range is 20 metres high at its tallest point, 1 ½ kms wide and extends from the station access road, southwards to the station boundary, 7 kms away, and beyond the station boundary, so all of that area is out of bounds, and the station hands are aware of this. Mining companies even tried to get access to the area, but didn’t have a chance, which I was pleased about.

When we get to Carnarvon, we will be picking up a new vehicle for you to use Dave, a Holden Colorado, we already have a Burnt Orange one, so this new one will be Cobalt Blue, which like the other Colorado, will be raised for higher clearance, and will include extra fuel tanks, water tanks, a front Heavy duty winch, roof rack, solar panels, a side fold out awning, a car fridge, intensive first aid kit, sat phone, two-way radio and a swag, all you need to survival out in the outback” I said to Dave.

“Wow that is a lot of gear, you like to be well prepared” Dave said to me.

”That I do. Even my Trail Blazer here has all of what I mentioned, but it doesn’t quite have as much clearance as the Colorado’s do, and doesn’t have a double fuel tank, but does carry plenty of water.

Other vehicles on the station include a buggy, that is used for hospitality duties, that you can use Sue, when helping with cleaning the cottages and backpackers, and there are two station Toyota Landcruiser Utes, and two quad bikes as well” I said to Dave and Sue.

“Well, I am really looking forward to this sea change, and can hardly wait” Sue commented, which made me smile.

“I gave the farmer in Adjara your phone number, has he contacted you yet, as he sounds like he is very keen to lease your land also” Dave said to me, just as my mobile rang.

“Hello Lloyd Templeton, speaking” I said answering the call, that looked to be local, according to the caller ID. “Yes, Dave is here, we were just discussing it, your ear must be burning” I said after the introductions were made.

“Yes, I have considered the offer, and I am happy to lease the farm, but only for one year at first and that will not include the main family house, that is to remain for my use, when I come down this way” I said in reply, and I listened some more. “Ok I will see you in an hour, bye for now” I responded and ended the call.

“He is coming down to sign the lease in an hour, and he is happy for me to have the main house for myself, as long as he can have access to all the sheds, silos and the cottage” I said to Dave and Sue.

“That is good news, so when will be heading to up to the station?” Dave replied.

“How does four days’ time sound to you, is that enough time for you?” I replied.

“Plenty, we are already halfway through packing, and a lot of our belongings are going into storage for now, leaving just the furniture behind” Sue replied. Once Dave and Sue had left to continue their packing, I called the station.

“Hey boss, what is happening?” Greg said when he answered the call, and I laughed.

“Dramatic changes, Dave and Sue, my neighbours and I have leased out our farms long term, so I am employing Dave as senior station hand, and Sue to assist in the Visitor’s centre, and with cleaning, you will be part of our team, while your brother will be working on the station with Dave” I informed Greg.

“Wow that is a big change, can’t to get enough of station life boss?” Greg responded and I laughed at his cheeky comment.

“We will be arriving in five days’ time, so can you and Matt move in to the new staff cottage, as I will be wanting to have the apartment back, while Dave and Sue will move into the main house on the hill” I said to Greg.

“Sure thing, boss, that’s not a problem. The southern gravel road is completed, and we have the tour group arriving tomorrow afternoon, so we have got the backpacker’s shining clean, ready for their arrival, Troy and Rebecca are itching to get settled into their new campsite, especially when I let them know that the bathroom, and gazebos would be arriving next week.

They have moved their caravan down to the backpackers, now that the road is done, and they seem to chat a lot with Chris and Anne over the two-way, especially in the evenings” Greg said, “right, do a thorough clean of the main house if you can please, and I will see you when we get back, oh also remind me to put Nicholas Dalworth on the banned list, and tell Greg that he will get to keep using the Colorado, as I am getting a blue one for Dave to use” I said, and Greg laughed.

“He will be pleased about that, bye for now” Greg said and we ended the call.

Five days later, after completing the first half of the journey from the farm to Carnarvon yesterday, and collecting the new Colorado, which Sue insisted on driving, we sent her ahead, while we did some shopping for supplies for the station. Once Sue was on her way, and I had called Greg to drive to the gate in an hour to let her in, I led the way in my vehicle to just out of town, where the car dealerships are located.

“What are we doing here?” Dave enquired, “I thought we better keep your missus happy too, so how about we trade in your worn out Prado, and get her a brand-new Holden Trail Blazer, but it will have to be Red or White, as you see mine is Blue” I commented and Dave just laughed, you have got a deal… boss” Dave replied.

About 45 minutes later, we had a white Trail Blazer, with a tow hitch, so it can tow the trailer that Dave had been towing from the farm, and we transferred all the luggage and supplies over to the new car, and we set off out of town, heading for the station.

When we arrived at the front gate 90 minutes later it was closed and locked, which I was pleased about, and after unlocking it and driving through, I locked it again, and followed Dave down the station access road towards the homestead.

As we stopped at the visitor centre, the blue Colorado was parked at the front, and Sue was standing their looking at us puzzled, and Dave just laughed. “This is for you dear” Dave said as I climbed out and immediately, I smelt smoke and looked around.

“Oh hell” I said as I reached inside and turned on the radio, and right away there was talking, “Go and get the other water trailer, it is behind the machinery shed, over” I heard Matt say, “On my way” I heard Greg respond.

“Cancel that Greg, I am already close by, what is going on?” I said into the radio mike, “Hi boss, good to have you back, even if is to deal with another crisis. I spotted the smoke when I was approaching the machinery shed, after going down to south end to check on things down that way.