Tambo, Queensland

The bus from Brisbane was 13 hours. A horrendous length in English terms, but in Australia, that'll only get you half way across one territory. And that was still half the length of one of the bus rides I took from Laos. It was bareable in the end none the less. I had my guitar with me on the coach to keep me occupied at the back, and a group of Canadian chicks joined in and travelled with me for half the journey. They were probably the last females my age I'd see for 2 months.

I got the job offer after making some phone calls to the contacts Ryan had set me up with at my real estate job. The company was Usher Pastoral and they arranged for me to join a family out near Tambo on a ranch called Truno. I arrived early in the morning on my first day and got picked up at the local petrol station by a very Australian sounding man, Ronnie Haffey, who drove me, my heavy backpacks, and my Akubra cowboy hat to get settled in on the ranch.Read more