Myalbangera Outstation

It was a bit of a challenge to fit all of our stuff in the roof box, but we did it. And we set off on our 1250km, 17hour journey from Federal to Yenda.

We stopped very little but couldn't resist pulling in to see Wollomombi Falls, the second tallest waterfall in Australia.

We drove through a patch of land that was severely flooded, fields and fields under maybe 2 or 3 feet of water. And with the water came the bugs. We drove to bodies hitting the windscreen like hailstones. The windscreen wipers were completely ineffective so we could barely see. We had to stop at the first gas station and use the windscreen cleaner before we could see again! 

We finally arrived at 10:30pm. So we are on a farm. Again.

Myalbangera Outstation. It's more a big share house than a working hostel. The people are really great - mostly French, and German. There's only one other English person, and he grew up in the village next door to my cousins! It's a big wooden building with a deck running all the way around so you can sit and stare at the nothing-ness that surrounds you. 

I have started work in a Pack House, packing oranges on a MUCH larger scale than at the Fruitshack. When I was packing mandarins there we would do around 20 bins a day with 6 of us working. Here there are about 15 or 20 people and we'll do 40 bins before lunch.

I'm a grader. At station 1 the oranges get tipped from the bins and roll up onto the conveyor belt where I will pull out the mouldy and rotten ones.

Then they go on to station 2 where the fruit is split into those going to the store and those being squished for juice. 

The fruit for juicing goes into a big truck and off to the juicing factory, while the oranges for the stores carry on along the belt and either drop into the big cardboard bins or are packed by hand.

On my very first day we ran a load of lemons that had been sat in the shed for 2 months. There weren't mouldy ones as such, there was just mush. There were 4 of us just dragging handfuls of slush from the belt. The machine got clogged up and stopped about 4 times, and wouldn't start again until we had hosed it down. 

Every time a bin was tipped onto the belt a green haze wafted up, so we all looked great in our masks! Plus the ear protectors we always wear because the machine is so loud.

The Supermoon was incredible from the Outstation!

But we get oranges just as big at the pack house!