Week 4 started near Sorrell staying with Sean and Brigette. It was an early start to the day as I was going to work with Brigette at a Potato farm in Boomer Bay. Before starting work, I went for a drive along the coast stopping at the Whale viewpoint, Tasman Arch, Devilsβ Kitchen, and the Blowhole. The sun was just rising, and the scenery was spectacular, very Jurassic Park vibes.
I then drove back to the Potato farm and got a job helping on the grading machine. This involved the potatoβs going along on a conveyor belt and I picked out all the bad ones and βwonkyβ ones. The bad ones went into a large crate which is then mixed into the cows feeding and used to fatten the beef cows on the farm. The βwonky onesβ and not so perfect potatoes went into the seconds crate and are bought by local restaurants and kitchens to use. It was great to see the steps they had taken to reduce food waste and the cows did really well of the potatoes. Work finished early in the afternoon, I then went for a mini tasting at the distillery on site, I tried limoncello, chocolate and salted caramel liqueur. I will definitely be bringing some home with me.
We then went to one of Brigetteβs clients to work a horse before heading to Tasman for the evening. The day was going very smoothly until we managed to burst a tyre on route. Luckily, we stopped outside a house, and they very kindly helped us get the tyre changed and back on the road. We then made it down to Nubeena where I would be staying with the Kingston Family for a few nights. They farmed around 400 hectares with 100 being tree plantation. They also have 200 cows, 450 sheep and grow chickens for a local company from day olds to 8 weeks. We had some dinner and then Dain brought out the whisky, it turned into quite a wild Monday evening.
On Tuesday it was another early start to go to work with Dain, he worked for a ground works construction company. The project this week was doing ground works for a shed and new bathroom extension. I helped take many gravel buckets to and from for the foundations, it was a busy day, but it kept me warm! After work we headed back to the house, Dion gave me a full tour of the property, it was a very impressive place. Brigette and Andy joined us in the evening, and we went out for tea at a local pub, the Lufra, I of course had another Chicken Parmi. Andy stayed at the Kingstonβs that night as well as we were heading to Port Arthur for the day on Wednesday.
We had a chilled start to the day and then Dion dropped us off at Port Arthur. It was a very interesting place to visit, we went on a short boat tour around the Isle of the Dead and past the juvenile prison, Point Puer. Then we explored the main site which has been very well preserved after multiple bush fires destroyed many of the buildings. Following some lunch, Dion picked us up and we went to visit the remarkable caves, this was the furthest South we had been. It was a very strange feeling looking at the map and seeing how far from Scotland I was! The caves are remarkable because if you look through the gaps it looks like the map of Tasmania. We then went to an incredible viewpoint called the Eaglehawk look out, it was up a very off-road style track, Dion promised us it was an actual road. After our tour we headed back to meet Brigette as I was staying with her for the rest of the week.
After we dropped Andy back off at the Mace family, we went into town to watch Sean play darts at a local pub. Sean was a very good player and his team won! We then got some pizza and headed home for the evening.
Thursday I was back at the Potato farm, I did some other jobs such as packing the crates, wrapping the palettes and more grading. One of the machines broke in the afternoon so I went out for a walk to Marion Bay, not realising it was over 4 miles awayβ¦it did my step count a lot of good. After work we went to K β Mart, which was very exciting. I think it is the Tasmania version of Primark, we manage to not spend all our money. I cooked tea tonight for Brigette and Sean and we had a nice chill evening in.
Last early start of the week back at the Potato Farm, today I mainly worked on the grading machine. Brigette and I had bought a lot of snacks to keep us going, Anzac biscuits and Tim Tams are my favourites. After work I joined Brigette and her co -worker Ivy for a dog walk along Marion Bay, it was a lovely white sandy beach and the rain stayed away! We then went home for dinner and Sean got us some Tasmania kebabs or βHSPβ, they were very tasty. I then got organised for Saturday as we were going back to Quercus Park for the Agfest dinner.
On Saturday we drove to Quercus via the great lakes, I think this is where all the sunshine has been hiding! We stopped at the Liffey Falls for a quick picture opportunity before arriving. It was great to be back at the park and see everyone. We all had a BBQ style lunch before the post Agfest meeting started. Meetings run very similarly to meetings at home, they were a few suggestions for next yearβs event but most of the planning will happen at the brainstorm meeting in a couple of weeks and following the AGM. I then went into town with some of the girls to grab some drinks before we all got ready for the dinner. It was a brilliant fun evening, with great food and a DJ (not quite DJ Dave!). There were also a few different photo booths, we took full advantage of them. After the dinner we all took to the dance floor with all the classics playing, I was introduced to the βNutbush danceβ which was great fun. At midnight everyone headed to the crib room to keep the party going.
On Sunday we packed up our things, the giant purple suitcase is definitely not getting any lighter. Alex and Jordon gave us a lift to our next hosts Caitlin and Owen from North Motton where I would be staying for the next week.
I canβt believe I am already past week 4 of this exchange. The highlights this week were, touring the coast with Andy and Dion, visiting Port Arthur, working with Brigette and the team at the potato factory and of course the Agfest dinner. Thank you to my brilliant hosts this week Brigette, Sean, Dain and Dion. As ever you are all welcome to come to Scotland anytime.
