Off with a bang: From hospital to Broome, Western Australia

What a crazy week!

It was my last week at Springvale Station. I was sad to be leaving plus a little anxious about returning to “the real world” and being alone again after spending the last six months living, working, eating and socialising with a close-knit crew. My mind was all over the shop and admittedly I was feeling a little dozey, exhausted after my first season on a station.

It was an early start at Marty’s Yard loading bulls on to the truck. I was moving cattle up when one of the Mickey (young) Bulls lifted me ever-so-slightly off the ground with his horns. It didn’t hurt at first, must have been the shock, but as time went by my guts felt as if they had been pulled open. Luckily the horn didn’t pierce the skin and only left a golf ball sized lump around the wound. I was very lucky.

After a few hours I started to feel real queasy and went a little quiet which my friend Sally noticed. Sally loves to look after me (and everyone!) and suggested I join her in a trip to town so I could get checked out. As soon as the doctors assessed me at the local hospital I was placed on a drip and was told they would be flying me to Broome for further treatment, some 800km away.

I laughed at what I thought was a major over-reaction and begged for them not fly me to Broome on my last weekend at the station. The impact had damaged some of the muscle, which releases a product putting strain on the kidneys and because I only have one and a bit fully functioning kidney, it may not have been able to cope. After much pleading we agreed that I would stay in over night to be monitored and if all was well in the morning, I was able to go home.  

After a sleepless night in Halls Creek Hospital I was allowed to drive back to the homestead, where I was told most of the crew were heading to Broome that evening for a weekend off. Although I was needing a lift to Broome that weekend anyway, I felt sore and groggy and driving nine hours for a weekend of potential partying was probably not what the doctor ordered.

However, I couldn’t possibly miss out on a social gathering and pulled myself together, cracked open a beer and set off for Broome town. Five hours in and a little tipsy, we stopped off for the night at Willare Roadhouse to watch some live music and catch up with friends. Another semi-sleepless night and we were back on the road arriving in Broome for brunch at Town Beach Cafe right on, you guessed it, Town Beach. I had Eggs Royale with a side of spinach and a Soy Flat White, which went down a treat. My first brunch in six months!

After booking out an entire dorm at Beaches of Broome we made our way to nearby Cable Beach to meet some of Josh’s friends. It was only 10am but needed no excuse to crack open a cold beer and go for a dip in the sea.

It was AFL final day so we headed to the pub at midday to catch the action. Luckily I had Alex to keep me company as I hadn’t the foggiest what was going on. The day was spent drinking in various establishments around town, mainly Divers Bar.

Alex and I got cabin fever come 4ish, so headed to the very swanky Mangrove Hotel for a pizza and an espresso martini on one of their lounge beds overlooking the mangroves. It was everything that I had missed since being on the station.

We made our way to Gantheaume Point, a rocky lookout, for sunset with our favourite chilled house playlist. It was here I decided I will most definitely be back next year!

A quick outfit change and a bit of make up (I had forgotten what it was like to feel like a girl!) we met back up with the boys who were still at the same exact spot in Divers and pretty worse for wear. A few of the guys from Kilto Station joined us for a fun night which ended with a $150 trip to Macca’s (McDonalds for all you folks back home!)

I woke a couple of hours later and headed down to the beach for a walk with Alex. There’s nothing better than a dip in the ocean at 7am after a night out. Her friends Bonnie and Bryony bought us coffees which we enjoyed looking out to sea. 

Back at the hostel we dragged the boys out of bed and to the shops which to their annoyance, took a fair while. By the time we arrived at Divers, to exactly the same spot again, it was lunch time so we attempted to cure our sore heads with a big feed and a pint. It did nothing but made me feel worse so I spent the rest of the day by the pool before catching a very brief glimpse of sunset on Cable Beach.

The alcohol had worn off and I was in pain. The mickey bull had hurt me more than I thought and I struggled to sleep that night. The two day drive to Perth the following morning was getting less and less appealing. Time to man up and be on my way.

Living life, loving Broome,

H x