The Road to Becoming OZ Experienced – Nundle from Sydney

Photojournalist David Savage travels Australia on the OZ Experience…

On the Bus…
The OZ Experience bus left Sydney from the legendary ‘Kings Cross’, the driver performing the obligatory engine stall two minutes into the journey. After that was out of the way the driver explained that the Kings Cross was legendary for being the main Red Light District of Australia,

“Stop the bus!” shouted a male voice from the back. On board the bus was a mix of nationalities. Twenty students from New York, an equivalent number of English, (the loud variety), and the odd Swede thrown in for flavour. For many of the travellers on board, Sydney was the starting point of the OZ Experience Tour. The mood was pretty jubilant and the driver, ‘Trevor’ had his tactics (bribery and corruption) for getting us all acquainted.

Soon after we crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge the landscape began to change, buildings being replaced by vineyards and sheep. Before arriving at our destination we found time to throw down a few, and then a few more, samples of wine at a wine tasting gas station in the Hunter Valley.

Nundle, NSW
The first day of my OZ Experience took me from Red Light District to Sheep Station, (not a lot of difference). The Dag Sheep Station at Nundle was our first overnight stop and our chance to engage in a ‘Sheep Experience’. As we found out, this involved being vigorously flung around the bar floor. The Dag Sheep Station is a typical Australian sheep farm deep in the New South Wales bush. It is still a working station and the backpacker presence has been a bizarre spin off. Backpackers and sheep actually mix quite well and most travellers are keen to get an insight into this Australian way of life.

We arrived at the Sheep Station just after dark. The bus door opened and a man wearing a Drover’s hat stepped on, shook the driver’s hands and turned to face us,
“G-day, Ows-youse-all-doin? My name’s Duck”, a few murmurs came from the back and Duck replied with Australian humour, “Ah shut-up, get off the bus, grab your gear and I’ll show you where youse grab a bunk.” This was straight talking Australian… Mate, throw another shrimp on the barbie!

As soon as we’d grabbed our bunks, we were off for our ‘Sheep Experience’ in the safe hands of Mickey, sheep shearer of some 20 years. Mickey’s introduction started with all the jokes that I had heard back home (UK) about Sheep and the Welsh, only his versions featured Sheep and the Kiwi’s.

He then asked for a volunteer who was in need of a haircut. That volunteer wasn’t going to be me…that man had sheep clippers in his hands. Jim from Nottingham stepped forward and before he knew it Mickey had him wrestled over like a Ewe and took the clippers to his barnet. Despite the patches of bald scalp it was a fine haircut with no bloodshed. Mickey went on to do the same with a couple of sheep before letting us loose with the clippers and the sheep.

Our final task for day was to taste the wine, at $5 a bottle we tasted a few. Once the atmosphere had begun to warm-up, the bucking sheep was introduced. Suspended from the ceiling and manually operated by four men, the bucking sheep is a very dangerous creature. A crash mat was placed beneath the sheep and helmets issued to all contenders willing to match their skill against the sheep. Contenders came and went, (usually thrown across the floor), and the crowd went wild.

The evening led on to more cheap wine, trousers were pulled off, floral dresses were handed to the boys and the wine ran out. I would love to say that I was not involved in the final sequence of events, but I can’t lie. Fortunately the memory of that night became just a faded smear somewhere in my mind, concealed largely by a hangover.

Staying On…
The Dag Sheep Station welcomes all passengers of the OZ Experience to stay on at Nundle. They offer free accommodation and food in exchange for a helping hand around the property. Alternatively they offer a 3 day package for $225 called the Jackaroo / Jillaroo Experience. The package includes horse riding till it hurts. Tel. 02 6769 3234

Australian Saying

“Get your hands off my daughter, you filthy Gallah!”

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