Get an experiene out of the ordinary and visit a small-town sheepfarm in the middle of nowhere

- September 30, 2017

When most people think about visiting Australia they think of cities like Sydney or Melbourne, of pulsating and big-city lifestyle. Or they think of the outback with its red sand and Uluru as the majestic rock frosting the landscape. They rarely think of a sleepy small town countryside lifestyle, where everyone knows each other and where farming is an essential and daily part of life. Here life doesn’t seem to have changed much in the 200 years of farming history and probably won’t change much in the years to come.

Where to go searching for an adventure

You can experience living the isolated small-town life in Australia by visiting one of the many cattle or sheep farms scattered all over the country. We chose to visit Walla Walla, between Wagga Wagga and Albury in New South Wales. Walla Walla is a small country-town with one main road and a few other roads that somehow assemble into a town. Like many other Australian areas this place was once home to aboriginals, the Wiradjuris who, inhabited this land for many thousands of years prior to European settlement. The current town of Walla Walla was founded in 1845 by German settlers and hasn’t changed much since. The old church still stands, one of the buildings the inhabitants of Walla Walla proudly show you when you arrive. So does the facades of many of the old buildings down the main road. But when you leave Walla, that is when the real adventure begins. Outside the town, you come out into farm country, which is where our road takes us.

Main street, Walla Walla

The Farm

The small country townfolk are kind and eager to tell their stories and share their life. We were invited to spend two days on a sheep farm, Mr. Barbers farm. To me it was a huge farm, I was told it was small. It had a population of about 3.000 sheep, lambs, and muttons. To me, and my little city-lifestyle it was so many. I spent the entire day on the back of the truck, wind in my hair, driving with our host, the farmer around on his farm getting amazed by just about everything. The thousands of sheep took my breath away. The fact that they all did the same, exactly like sheep, amused me. The fact that the Australian kelpie Lucy could get them to do anything she was told by the farmer impressed me. Her eagerness to please Mr. Barber and her joy with doing the work of a sheepdog made me smile. And the facts about sheep, mutton, and lambs that I learned while feeding, observing and laughing… I won't bore you with the details, but if you ever get the chance and want a different take on traveling and experiencing real life, try it.

Sheep knowing it is feeding time

I had many firsts on this trip. I had the pleasure of trying my first fresh-water cray-fishing. They are called something as Australian and exotic as Yabbies. An incident and adventure that just made the whole trip even better. Mr. Barber had nets out in their small lakes on the farm, so basally what became my job was to pull in the nets and while pulling on the rope having the suspense building upon whether or not there would be Yabbies in the net. Afterwards, we had the most primitive and amazing BBQ made on a metal plate over the open fire which, to my surprise, can create amazing lunch for a hard-working woman such as myself.

Catching Yabbies at the almost dried out lake on the farm

Morgans Lookout

While you’re here, check out Morgans Lookout, an impressive white granite outcrop located in what is otherwise very flat country next to Billabong Creek. Nature is beautiful in its own way. We came around in dry season and even though the countryside was brown and dry it was vastly beautiful. It is very tourist friendly with steps built in on the cliff so you can make it to the stop all safe and in one piece to enjoy the view.