We took a week to travel here from Winton. We covered only about 300 km each day, and stopped two nights in Tennant Creek. We arrived here at Nutwood Downs on Sunday midday, just over two weeks ago.
Nutwood Downs is a cattle station 4,269 sq km, about 75 km by 58 km. It is on the northern edge of the Barkly Tablelands, with good reliable summer rain. Grasses that grow after the wet generally last all year. It is good cattle country, especially with breeds that can withstand the heat. It is generally flat except for dry (in winter) river courses and some relatively low hills in a couple of ranges. The grasslands are mostly also covered with scattered trees up to about 10 metres in height. 
The station is almost completely surrounded by a very long outer perimeter fence. Immediately inside this is a large undeveloped area with no paddocks and no reliable water. Inside that is an inner area with large enclosed paddocks and 17 bores which pump sub-artesian water into large man-made dams with high walls and deep insides, called “turkey nests”. Cattle drink from troughs around the turkey nests. White ant nests are very common, some as high as two metres above groundWe have been taken for two drives around the station, each time over 100 km and we still haven’t seen most of it. The first was a bore run, where pumps had to be turned on or off and motors checked and fuel added, etc. It took 3 hours to check 5 bores.
Mustering is very dusty work. The helicopter pushes the stock by diving and swooping, making noise and dust. Five or six bull-catchers work with the helicopter, walking the cattle up a fence line and stopping renegades from breaking out.
The bull-catchers have to zoom about all the time in the first hour or two, but when the cattle get hot and tired, they mostly become more orderly.
Sometimes a wild animal will stare the bull catcher down or charge it. That’s the time to stay well inside the vehicle.
They muster to a stock yard, which has very strong steel frame fences. There are three main mustering yards. Usually the whole of the next day after a muster is spent working the cattle. They are vaccinated and de-horned, and sorted into groups including breeders and those for sale. These are then put back into separate paddocks, till it is time to sell some
Stock is moved around from one area to another, with their own six deck road train.
As well as the family there are several staff, a mechanic/handyman, five stockmen (3 of them aboriginal), a visiting friend and a cook. There seem to be people coming and going all the time. In the wet season, the river floods and the homestead is cut off. Only the family stays here then.
Everybody eats together in the kitchen. The family home and schoolroom are in an adjacent building, separated by a covered walkway. Several smaller dwellings house staff, and there are various store rooms and a large machinery workshop. There is a walk-in cool room beside the kitchen. Electric power comes from a diesel generator which runs 24/7. All buildings are steel frame with corrugated iron or aluminium walls; white ants would eat anything else
Usually someone will drive into “town” once or twice a week. – they drive to Daly Waters which is a pub / caravan park / post office / tourist attraction all in together. Australia Post deliver mail to the pub and they hold it there until someone collects it. Supplies come from Katherine and are held at Daly Waters.
Lee has hung our washing on the line – it will be dry in about an hour, it is hot and windy today. she went to make friends with one of the poddies and she licked her hand, and in between her fingers with her rough, black tongue. She is smaller and younger than the others, and she is tied up outside the yard as the others would butt her out of the way and she would not get the milk or poddy feed. Lee will go back later and let her have another lick.
Lee is doing well tutoring her student. His school of the air teacher came up 1,000 km from Alice Springs late last week, stayed overnight. He gave Lee some ideas but was basically happy with the way Lee was guiding him.
Peter’s student works independently (Year 11). He is a very capable student but because he has to work by himself and has jobs to do it on the station, he was behind. So we spent the first week catching up on work from last semester. We are trying to get organised and pace ourselves so it doesn’t happen again.
Well, this has been very long, but it is only a part of all the fascinating things we have learnt here. We would love to hear some news of your lives and events at home etc. Please click on this link: pcaspo@iinet.net.au
Mustering is very dusty work. The helicopter pushes the stock by diving and swooping, making noise and dust. Five or six bull-catchers work with the helicopter, walking the cattle up a fence line and stopping renegades from breaking out. 
The bull-catchers have to zoom about all the time in the first hour or two, but when the cattle get hot and tired, they mostly become more orderly. 
Sometimes a wild animal will stare the bull catcher down or charge it. That’s the time to stay well inside the vehicle. 
They muster to a stock yard, which has very strong steel frame fences. There are three main mustering yards. Usually the whole of the next day after a muster is spent working the cattle. They are vaccinated and de-horned, and sorted into groups including breeders and those for sale. These are then put back into separate paddocks, till it is time to sell some 
Stock is moved around from one area to another, with their own six deck road train. 
As well as the family there are several staff, a mechanic/handyman, five stockmen (3 of them aboriginal), a visiting friend and a cook. There seem to be people coming and going all the time. In the wet season, the river floods and the homestead is cut off. Only the family stays here then.
Everybody eats together in the kitchen. The family home and schoolroom are in an adjacent building, separated by a covered walkway. Several smaller dwellings house staff, and there are various store rooms and a large machinery workshop. There is a walk-in cool room beside the kitchen. Electric power comes from a diesel generator which runs 24/7. All buildings are steel frame with corrugated iron or aluminium walls; white ants would eat anything else 
Usually someone will drive into “town” once or twice a week. – they drive to Daly Waters which is a pub / caravan park / post office / tourist attraction all in together. Australia Post deliver mail to the pub and they hold it there until someone collects it. Supplies come from Katherine and are held at Daly Waters.Last week it was a truck load of poddy food that had to be collected, and there are 16 tyres of various shapes and sizes that also need to be collected, but they wouldn’t fit in with the poddy food. There are over 100 poddies that are in yards near the house – their mothers have died or are unable to look after them, so they are here near the clothes line – with that lovely cattle smell drifting over everything !!!
Lee has hung our washing on the line – it will be dry in about an hour, it is hot and windy today. she went to make friends with one of the poddies and she licked her hand, and in between her fingers with her rough, black tongue. She is smaller and younger than the others, and she is tied up outside the yard as the others would butt her out of the way and she would not get the milk or poddy feed. Lee will go back later and let her have another lick. 
Lee is doing well tutoring her student. His school of the air teacher came up 1,000 km from Alice Springs late last week, stayed overnight. He gave Lee some ideas but was basically happy with the way Lee was guiding him. Peter’s student works independently (Year 11). He is a very capable student but because he has to work by himself and has jobs to do it on the station, he was behind. So we spent the first week catching up on work from last semester. We are trying to get organised and pace ourselves so it doesn’t happen again.
Well, this has been very long, but it is only a part of all the fascinating things we have learnt here. We would love to hear some news of your lives and events at home etc. Please click on this link: pcaspo@iinet.net.au
Bye for now and God bless.
Peter and Lee.
Peter and Lee.
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