Original subtitles

I have ended up in a place called Marble Bar.

It's beautiful.

Red dirt, the space goes on and on.

It's not unusual for temperatures to reach, like, 45 degrees here.

Cannot wait to get going,

meet those who live here and try and find out more.

Want to get away from it all?

I mean, really get away from it all...

This is bonkers.

SHE SCREAMS

...where the people think a little differently...

The most dangerous thing on a beach

in North Queensland isn't the crocodiles,

it's a coconut - cos that could fall on you.

...and life isn't exactly lived

in the slow lane.

Oh!

More like no lane at all.

Never in my life did I think that I would

be steering a chopper over the Australian desert.

You have to get yourself to Australia.

This is the most wholesome thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

I revelled in the rugged and the glorious landscapes.

Push in. Oh, my...

Let's do it differently.

CHEERING

I love you, Australia.

This is Australia as few get to see her.

Come with me.

Stacey Dooley's Australia Off The Beaten Track.

I am going to be spending the next couple of days at a cattle station.

This is a first.

I've done lots of things,

but I've never worked at a cattle station.

The guy who manages the place, Lux,

he's very kindly agreed to come and collect me.

So that's me. Just here waiting in the boiling sun.

Marble Bar is the traditional country of the Nyamal people,

and it's the closest town to Lux's home.

It's about 900 miles from Perth.

That's 300 miles further

than travelling from one end of the UK to the other.

Oh, my God.

Here's my ride.

That's Lux up there in that tiny chopper.

I haven't been on a chopper in about...

Probably about five years.

And they're not my favourite modes of transport,

but I'm sure he's a seasoned pro.

I feel slightly apprehensive. But do you know what?

In these situations, I have to be logical and I have to think

and accept that they do this all the time.

Like, it's surreal for me, but it's very standard for them.

Hiya, mate. How are you, Stacey?

Welcome to the Pilbara in the heat. What an arrival!

I'm Stacey. Stacey, I'm Lux. How do you do?

Very nice to meet you. How long have you been flying?

Me? I've been flying for about six months under 40 years.

That's fantastic news.

I thought for a second, Lux, you were going to tell me

you'd been flying for six months. Well, I should have just said,

"They told me it's fun. I gave it a go this morning."

And I was going to say, "Do you know, it's been lovely meeting you.

"Good luck with the cattle. All the best."

But nearly 40 years - that's brilliant news.

Yeah. And you're still here. No, no, a long time, and, yeah,

it's just... We use the helicopter cos it's a tool.

I feel quietly reassured, having met you, Lux. Oh, righto. OK.

I feel like I'm in safe hands. You are.

All right, Lux, let's go. Let's go. We're on our way.

Oh...

We're on our way to Lux's place, a cattle station called Warrawagine,

out here in the Pilbara region in north western Australia.

And what you notice straight away is that red colour -

the ground, the dust, the rocks.

This is mineral rich land.

The hub of iron ore and lithium mining.

And it's home to some of the oldest geological formations on earth,

dating back 3.6 billion years.

This is phenomenal. Lux, I feel weirdly calm.

Yeah, you should be. Actually, I don't want to speak to you soon.

You're right. You hear me all right?

Crystal clear. Put your right hand on here.

Put it down there. Now I'm going to let go.

Now, what you want to do, right,

so if you want to go forward, you just push it lightly.

You want to go to the left, move it to the left.

You're all right, you're all right. You want to go...

It's OK. Just relax. Nothing can go wrong.

And then we just want to go to the right.

Just gentle... little gentle movements, all right? Just gentle.

OK, you got it.

I'm gonna steer. You look ahead and you steer.

I've got everything else.

See that gap in the hills over there?

See that funny looking V-shape in the hills? Head for that.

No, this is crazy. I'm steering, eh? Your hand's not on it.

Look at this. No, you're steering it.

What?!

Lux.

I'm made up this is documented

because I'll be dining out on this for years.

When someone says to me, "What's your occupation?"

I'll say, "I'm a chopper pilot." That's a pretty good catchphrase.

Never in my life did I think that I would

be steering a chopper over the Australian desert.

But here we are. Yeah, you're having a go at it.

Have a feel of what it's actually like. Yeah.

It's very, very sensitive, OK?

So have it in your mind. You're looking to where you want to go.

The helicopter will fly. Your hands will guide the helicopter.

That was one hell of an experience.

But with Lux's steady hand back on the wheel,

I can really enjoy this amazing landscape.

It may be a desert, but this land has everything -

mountains, gorges, plains as far as the eye can see,

and an indigenous history that goes back over 60,000 years.

This station, like everything in Australia's west, is massive.

1.2 million acres of land to 30,000 heads of cattle.

That's roughly one cow to 53 acres, if my maths is right.

Lux's wife, Belinda, and their kids,

Jack and Regina, are the welcome crew.

Belinda, how are you? Nice to meet you. So nice to meet you.

Regina. Hello, darling. How are you? Nice to meet you. Nice to see you.

And Jack. Nice to meet you, mate. Nice to meet you, too.

How's things? Good, thank you. Good. Listen, thank you for having me.

This is so exciting. Thank you very, very much.

Running an operation like this is like running a small town.

It's an isolated place, so everything needs to be provided -

from meals to accommodation.

Welcome to our kitchen. We all sit in here and eat.

This is all the people on the station at the moment.

And then we all...

So this is everybody living here at the minute? Yeah.

How many do you reckon you've got?

Oh, I think we're up to 36. That many? Yep.

It's a full house. Yep.

It's a lovely sort of communal space.

And, what, everybody will eat together at the same time?

Yep. What time is breakfast? What time is dinner?

Breakfast is 5:30, and dinner's at 19:00.

5:30? Yep. Early start.

It's an impressive set-up.

A patch of green that sits like an oasis

in the middle of the red desert,

fed by bore water deep from the earth.

And this place will be home for the next few days.

Lux is a total gent.

I am so fond of Lux.

I think he's, like, my kind of guy.

Belinda... So she must be across, like,

the logistics and, like, the manpower. She...

The pair of them must be so unbelievably busy the entire time

because the size of this place,

there's nearly 40 people living on site,

they've got the two kids, they've got 30,000 cattle,

they've got to look after over one million acres.

I've got one child, one house.

And somehow I still always find something to moan about.

The crew are back from their day out in the heat.

Hiya. Hey. Do you want a beer, Stacey? Sure.

I'll be working with these guys for the rest of the week.

Jared's been a station hand here for a couple of years.

I've no idea what to expect, but I'm just gonna go with it.

Yeah, I think, like, most people,

like, people who didn't grow up in the industry,

I didn't grow up in the industry. I think everyone just kind

of jumps into it and you just, like, hope for the best.

It's good fun, though. It's all part of the job - figuring it out.

Reg has been doing it for... How old are you now?

I'm 17 tomorrow. It's your birthday tomorrow?

Yeah. Regina, that is so exciting. How are we celebrating?

Mastering. Yeah, right.

17. What was I doing when I was 17?

That was, like, 100 years ago. That was a long time ago.

Who's the oldest here? Me. How old are you?

29. 29 and you're the oldest. And the youngest is Jack.

Yeah, you're 16, Jack. 15. 15, Jack. Jeez. Little baby.

I'm 40 next year, so I'm a geriatric,

so please look after me tomorrow.

Make sure your grandma's got her water.

I don't want to die out there.

What an experience for them all.

Out here in the heat and dirt, with only each other to rely on.

I'm looking forward to spending time with them.

Today has been utterly amazing.

I have had the time of my life,

but I know tomorrow is going to be a beast of a day,

because even those who have been mustering

for years are saying, "Make sure you've got water.

"Make sure you're hydrated. It's hard graft.

"Go easy."

So let's see what tomorrow brings.

It's eerily stunning out here this morning.

The sun is barely up.

It's an early start after breakfast to try and escape that heat.

So we've just arrived for a morning of mustering.

I'm actually very excited. It's me and Regina today,

so Regina's going to show me the ropes.

Everyone's getting ready.

It's going to be a solid day.

I've learnt that mustering means gathering

the cattle from around the property

and getting them back to these cattle yards,

so Lux and his crew can give them a health check.

Today, we're rounding up 700 of the 30,000

that are hanging in a section of the station.

Alex is in charge of the ground crew.

We're just going to ride to White Rock together,

and then we'll split up in our two crews.

And we'll just go two by two and then newbie riders can go at

the front and everyone else can go at the back.

Hughie can lead and I'll follow behind you.

Let's go!

A muster this huge means there'll be two teams.

Each has a chopper to locate the cattle from the air.

They radio their team of dirt bike riders

who start herding the cows back towards the cattle yards.

Sounds easy, right?

I don't think I'm quite ready to ride a bike,

so I'm joining Regina in the buggy.

So, Regina, how long have you been mustering?

About six years. So you were 11? Yeah. That's incredible.

Yeah. That's pretty cool.

So you've been driving the buggy since you were 11 years old?

Yeah. Out on the field, getting stuck in.

But from your point of view,

like, you've always been interested in this?

Yeah. What is it about this that you love?

I just like everything about it. It's really hard to pinpoint.

The two choppers,

along with the teams on the ground, are slowly bringing them together.

And we're joining Lux's team.

So remind me why we're taking them all back, Regina.

So we need to give them their yearly vaccinations.

And we also need to preg test them, as well.

How many of these do you reckon will be pregnant?

A majority of them, yeah. Yeah? Our fertility rate is very high.

So there's a few bulls in there, obviously. Yeah.

Managing the bulls is one of our main jobs today.

While the dirt bikes are enough to handle most of the cows,

some of these bulls are huge and can get aggressive,

so that's when the extra size of our buggy will be needed.

Your friends that you go to school with, what do their folks do?

They have properties, but nothing of this scale.

It's the scale of this place that is so surprising, right?

When I flew in with your dad,

I couldn't comprehend that he was in charge of the entire space.

Pretty amazing way to grow up. Yeah, I'd say I'm pretty lucky.

This is basically organised chaos.

I was thinking last night, "How hard can it be?"

"All we've got to do is move

"700 cows from one part of the farm to the other."

It's difficult.

This breed are called drought masters.

They're known as the survival experts of

the cattle world

because they're built for these harsh conditions.

Unlike me, who's melting in this brutally hot, dry landscape.

So what's happened now? The two groups have joined together.

Yeah. The two mobs have all come together.

And then basically now we sit here, have lunch,

give them a drink, give them a breather,

and then we all just go to the yards, all together.

Oh, fine. And, yeah. OK. Yeah. Brilliant.

So will I jump out here? Yeah.

You can go find one of the boys and hop on their bike.

I'll go and find one of the boys.

Regina, you're a star. Thank you. Bye.

Thanks, love. Thanks. Oh, BLEEP, wait, I've come out...

Bye!

Is that the smoothest thing you've ever seen?

I'll see you in a bit. Bye. Brilliant.

Listen, I've just gone for a wee.

There's a big snake behind this ant-hill.

OK, let's just backtrack a little. The day was going pretty well,

but one of the main dangers out here is heatstroke and dehydration.

Everyone kept saying, "Stacey, stay hydrated today."

"Stacey, drink your water."

Which I did.

But turns out ducking off for a wee out here has its own dangers.

There's venomous snakes out here. Are they venomous, Lux?

Depends what type of snake it is.

It depends. But there is venomous snake here, yeah. Great.

There is venomous snakes here. Absolutely great. Be careful.

Snake skin.

Oh, it's snake skin. It's snake skin.

That's what she would have seen. Yeah.

Can you tell what snake it was from the skin?

It's pretty old. Oh. That would have been a brown.

That would have been a king brown. Venomous snake, yeah.

Stop! Mm-hm. Yep. So I was right. I've got my wits about me.

Yeah. That's good you saw that, yeah.

If you get bitten by a brown...?

Um, you'd be all right.

We'd just bandage you up and take you to hospital

Because you've got special techniques for a snake bite.

You just don't panic.

Which is nearly impossible not to happen.

But, yeah, snake bite is a very big consideration

with our first aid training here.

There's special techniques to bandage the limb

where you get bitten.

But that's just a snake skin, so you've got no problem there.

He's not here. Maybe he's here somewhere, probably,

or he's long gone, you know?

Yeah. Do you know what? I'll hold it in.

There's another one up there, you'll be all right.

I'll wait till we get back. Hugh can go and clear the area for you.

Go for a ride around that ant-bed up there, Hugh.

Is it safe to hold that skin?

Yeah. I'm not really up for it, but... So they shed their skin.

Yeah. Seriously, it's only skin. Yeah.

Go on, you're all right. I'm all right. It's OK. I trust you.

Here. I'm not sure because I'm so...

I'm not so sure. Stace, grab the skin.

No, I can't, actually, on this one occasion.

Would have been a brown. It still might have the poison in it.

No, that can't be. His head's not here.

It's like paper. I'm going for a wee. OK.

Are you going? Yeah. OK.

He's cleared that ant bed up there for you.

Nothing up at that one, up there. Oh, which one? That one, there?

That one, there. Yeah, you've cleared that.

You've cleared that for me, haven't you, Hugh?

I'm going for a wee. I'll be straight back.

OK. If I don't return in three or four minutes,

you know what's happened. We'll ring somebody.

Now to crack on and get back to the muster.

And the real adventure begins with Alex on his bike.

Right, you're all set to go.

What do we need to be mindful of out there?

We're just going to be on the tail here, at the moment,

getting them off the trough. Mainly bulls fighting.

That's a big thing, especially on the bikes.

And then weaners running around. They can be a bit flighty.

OK, cool.

This is as close to the action as you can get.

A weaner is a calf

that has stopped drinking milk and has started grazing.

Kind of like the cow equivalent of a toddler.

And if they're anything like my toddler,

a large part of the day will be spent chasing them around.

It's an intricate and well-oiled machine,

and everyone has their part to play.

You ever been hurt? Oh, you can get hurt.

I've seen a lot of people hurt themselves, but I haven't yet.

Touch wood, but, yeah... Fingers crossed.

It's not just about keeping the people safe.

The team also prioritises the safety of the cattle.

We've got to make sure that none of

the cows get separated from the herd.

The risks are huge and could lead to their deaths.

Have you ever had a bad day at work? Like, what could go wrong?

What's difficult? Oh, a lot can go wrong.

Some days nothing goes right.

It's quite the journey.

And for the babies, they need a little help.

I think they're catching the little ones

so that they don't have to walk all the way.

What's going on, Stace?

So with the tiny ones, it's too far for them.

Is that right, Alex? That's it, yeah.

They just get tired and then, yeah, they can't walk much further,

so we pick them up and get a bit of a taxi ride back to the yards.

There you go. They love it. He's all right, isn't he?

He's not too bad, yeah.

He just won't keep up with the mob when we get going.

Oh, OK. And the hot days, they'll always knock up a lot

quicker than all the bigger animals, so... Got you.

That's just what we've got to keep an eye out for.

I have a pretty exciting job, but this is something else.

SHE LAUGHS

Look at that. What a pro!

The best in the business. I don't know about that.

Still a lot to learn.

Yeah, I've never done anything like this before.

Good fun, eh? Yeah.

I have had the time of my life, but I am so exhausted.

I have been at this since 5:00 this morning.

It's, like, high paced,

it's exciting, it's dynamic, it's amazing.

It's all of those things.

But it is... I have never worked this hard.

They are powerhouses, this lot.

It's dirty, it's dusty.

But, you know, underneath that is a multimillion dollar operation,

so there's plenty at stake.

The sunrise here is something else.

Warrawagine station

is this massive cattle station on the edge of the great sandy desert,

in the hottest part of the entire country of Australia.

Waking up to this - such a treat.

A million miles away from the Mersey, which I also love.

But this is very special.

I'm feeling revved up.

I think today's going to be another full-on day.

So today I am pregnancy testing.

So Lux is going to show me the ropes.

He's going to look after me.

But, yeah, we need to determine who's pregnant, who's not.

I have obviously never had my hands...

...up a cow before, but you have to try these things.

When in Rome!

Lux! How are you? Stacey, I'm well. Welcome to our yard.

I won't greet you. OK. I won't give you a hug.

No. OK. Maybe later. We're fairly busy today.

We're going to introduce you to

the world of preg-testing and how we draft cattle. Fantastic.

How many have you tested so far? I've done about 150 this morning.

Yeah, yeah.

I'd like you to put this on because you're going

to get a little bit dirty,

and we don't want your good clothes to get dirty, OK?

I suspect you're right. OK. Let me... I'll throw this on.

I'll come back. Go and put your shirt on and come back.

And we'll get you started, eh? OK. Right, I'll just be a minute.

The pace doesn't slow down.

It's just a different sort of hectic.

And as you can see, it's busy and it's fast. Yeah.

I'm not squeamish. I don't mind all of that.

I'm sort of slightly worried about the kickback and hurting them.

No, you've just got to be... No, you won't hurt them.

No? You won't hurt them, OK?

Righto, come on up. Come right up here so you get the feel, OK?

So I just cup my hand, slide in.

As you can see, it gets a little bit pushy, but it's OK.

This is such an intense process,

but Lux is a pro and makes it look easy.

So she's six months.

And you know that because of the position of the calf?

Yeah, position and the feel of the little baby, yeah.

She seems calm enough. Yeah.

Once you do that, they do tend to calm down a little bit, yeah.

Hold the tail. Yeah.

All I can say is be careful what you wish for.

When they said to me, "Do you want to come to Australia?

"Meet the real Aussies." You know? "See what life is like day-to-day."

"That sounds amazing. Sign me up."

"All right. We'll send you to a cattle station."

"See how you manage."

And then we're keeping some out here to put...

Turning off. Just hang on.

Lux is going to get through a few more cows before I have a go,

so it's a chance

for me to get to know some of the other workers, like Asha.

She's fairly new here, and she's a city girl, like me.

Morning. Hi, how are you going? How are you?

Good, thank you. How are you? Yes, spot on.

Got me in a good time. How are you getting on?

Yeah, not bad. It's a lot of moving parts.

A lot of things to think about, both forward and back.

Are you going to learn how to preg test?

Potentially. I'm not sure.

I don't know yet whether they want to teach me,

but I'm sure I'd be happy to learn.

You'd be game?

Yeah. Have you done it yet? No, no. Lux, he wanted me to watch.

He wants me to sort of shadow for a couple of hours,

and then he's going to talk me through...

That'll be interesting. ...action by action.

I mean, you're from Melbourne? Yeah.

I've never been to Melbourne, but when I imagine it,

I think a bit of brunch, luxe shops, the coast.

You couldn't be further from home.

Oh, 100%.

Like, very out of my comfort zone.

A lot of new things coming here. Because you've never done

anything like this before? No, not at all.

So a lot of people have some kind of knowledge.

But I just came here

completely blind and there's a lot to learn.

And I'm always running around a bit like a headless chicken.

But that's all right. You're in good company. I am, yeah.

We'll look after each other. Exactly. What made you come here?

I didn't really like uni, so...

I didn't like my course that I was doing, at least.

I just thought, "I don't really have anything to lose,

"so I might just give it a shot."

That's it, isn't it? You don't know unless you try. Exactly.

Stace, you're on. Babe, I'll see you in a bit.

Just roll your sleeve up.

Well, I guess it's time to take my own advice.

You never know if you don't give it a try.

Lux is accredited and has been doing this for over 40 years.

He teaches this to the newbies, and now it's my time to learn.

This is an essential and normal part of cattle farming here.

And with Lux supervising, it's time to give it a go -

slowly and carefully.

It'll just balloon up on you, OK?

Now, this cow here, she's about seven months in calf, OK?

Now, come in here with me. Right up in here with me.

OK? You're all right. You're OK. I'll protect you, all right,

if she kicks. OK. Now, run your hand across the back, like that.

And then just cup your hand. Push your hand in, right? Yeah.

And when you put your hand in, you go in. Don't go straight.

Go in about that far and then start to go down.

And as you start to curve down,

you start doing that and you'll feel just

all these hard things there, and it's the baby, all right?

But if you don't feel, don't stress, OK?

So pick the tail up with that hand.

Put your hand under, cup it in and just move with her

if she moves, don't pull out and don't be...

You're all right. In you go. Push in, push in. Oh, my...

Now, start patting and go down

and you'll feel the little baby in there.

You'll just feel the head and... You feel that?

Oh, my God!

How's that?

It's difficult to sort of articulate.

I'll try and be as descriptive as possible.

It's like, um...

I can feel the whole calf, I can feel...

I think that would be the head. Would that...? Yeah.

I can feel the head.

Keep feeling around, you'll feel the little leg or the foot.

I can feel... I think that's the spine.

Incredible. Actually, this is beautiful.

And do you know what? The whole morning I've been really thinking,

"Oh, this is going to be messy and I'm going to be clumsy

"and there's pressure to get it right."

This is wonderful.

That's wild, no? Little baby.

I'm being so dramatic. But this is life, you know?

This is, like, such a privilege. It is.

And it's quite emotional when you do it the first time -

to feel that there's a little baby in there with the mama,

and she's about to be a mummy-to-be.

Yeah, yeah. Wow. You feel that? Incredible.

And she's calm. Yeah, she's calm. Good little cow.

Seven months, yeah. Will I come out?

Come out and step out. Step out.

Oh! P7.

I can't believe it. How was that? You have to do it.

Really? You have to try. What did it feel like? It's beautiful.

I know, I sound, like, really woo-woo. It's actually beautiful.

Like, you go in, you have to, like,

go past the pelvis and get right down.

But it's, like, you can feel it's a baby. A baby!

Yeah. Mega.

That's actually been a real highlight for me.

Oh, that's gorgeous. Yeah. Are you getting teary?

Give me another one. Oh, yeah. Wow.

I don't want to, like, bombard you with the cliches.

To be, like, stood in an Australian field

and say, "Oh, I've just had such a moment."

But that was actually beautiful.

Like, life is so precious and so, like,

to be able to feel it is wonderful.

But the day's not over yet,

and I'm here to work and help out the team.

These cows are for breeding, so Lux needs to know

what the rate of pregnancy is.

Righto, Stacey, you're going to do this one yourself.

Yeah, I'm in.

I don't think there's a baby in there.

No, there's no baby in there. No? No, baby.

Purple tag - went empty.

Lay it in. There you go. Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I think he's a bit lower. Yeah, cos he's five months.

So he's sitting right on the bottom of the abdominal cavity.

Yeah. You have to go further down. Yeah, real deep.

Right, P5.

I don't want to hear I'm not a good sport.

You're gonna do this one. Pick the tail up.

Hand in. Hand across. Yeah, I'm in.

I don't know what she is, this one, so it's your call.

I think she's fine. I'll see what do you think.

You come out. I'll take her.

P5. Yeah? Is she P5? Look at that!

Five months. I called it.

Get me a cabin ready, Lux.

Get me a cabin ready. I'm staying.

This is my favourite thing I've done so far. Here?

Out of the chopper, the mustering, the motorbikes.

You get in, you get intimate here, right? Yeah.

That's it. That's how you do it.

You go in, feel over. You got him, there?

Yes. P6!

Once Lux and the crew have preg-tested the cows

and given them a health check,

they'll be ready to head back out tomorrow to graze.

We'll be giving them a lift in a cattle truck.

So that's me finished with the pregnancy testing.

I'm done, Lux.

Pardon? I'm gonna go.

I'll make tracks. Yeah, so take this off.

I'll take this off you. Yeah, yeah.

You've got a bit of muck on you, but that's what it's about.

That's what it's about.

There's a tap just outside the gate there

if you want to wash yourself up. Brilliant.

OK? Lux, thank you so much. There you go.

That was incredible.

I loved it! I loved it!

Anzac Day is one of the most significant days

and cultural events on the Australian and New Zealand calendar.

Welcome to the Anzac Day dawn service.

We gather here today

to pay our respects on this day of reflection.

It started as a commemoration of soldiers

who fought for Australia and New Zealand in World War One

during a failed campaign at Gallipoli in Turkey.

These days, it's a day of remembrance.

Together with millions across Australia and New Zealand,

we pause to honour the courage and sacrifice of the original Anzacs

who landed in Gallipoli in 1915,

and every service man and woman who has followed in their footsteps.

Anzac Day serves to remember those who did not return.

Those who returned carrying invisible wounds.

And that we are here to ensure their legacy of mateship,

sacrifice and service is never forgotten.

Why is it important for you to sort of

recognise this in such a formal way?

Um... I think it's just, we owe a lot to history.

You know what I mean?

And those people that really sacrificed - we owe a lot.

Our freedom is for that, you know...

I think we just... we can't forget that.

Anzac Day is a public holiday for most Aussies, but not this crew.

After a barbecue brekkie and some Anzac bikkies,

it's time to crack on,

there's plenty of work to do. Thank you. You're very welcome.

I'd love one of your Anzacs. Thank you very much.

I'm really feeling part of the team, and my first job for the day

is helping 15-year-old Jack in this monster of a truck.

Those cows we mustered yesterday are getting that promised lift.

Jack, how's your morning been? Really good, thank you.

How about yours? Spot on.

We're gonna go in the truck.

So we've got 12 pens of cattle now.

So we're going to both go in the truck and then drive them home.

Sounds good. Well, I'll follow you, Jack.

You're in charge. Righto.

They call it a road train,

and judging by the length of this thing, the name makes sense.

The size of this vehicle is nuts. JACK LAUGHS

A lot bigger than any car.

How long have you been driving this?

Um, since I was about 12 or 13, I learned. No way!

Yeah, I was pretty young, yeah.

We'll unload, and then I'll come back out this afternoon

and get another load, probably, yeah.

Jack, you're 15 years old. Yeah.

Your work ethic is unbelievable. Thank you.

What do you imagine doing when you're older?

Flying helicopters and working on cattle stations again.

The choppers are cool, right? Yeah, they're very fun.

I'm already doing my license now.

When I turn 18, I can do the flight test.

What a way to spend your 18th birthday.

Yeah, I know. It's going to be very fun.

Up in the clouds - happy 18th! Yeah.

And you go to boarding school? Yeah, in Toowoomba.

How do you get to school?

Um, well, we drive to Port Hedland,

and then fly from Port Hedland to Perth,

and then Perth to Brisbane.

So it's a couple of hours in the car to the airport... Yep.

...then two flights... Yeah.

And then... ..and then a couple of hours once you've landed?

Yep. Another about an hour and a half to a two-hour drive

back to Toowoomba, yeah.

It is a pretty big day when we do it,

because I'll go back to school on Monday, so, yeah.

Oh, you're going back this Monday? Yep.

And then how long before you're able to come back home? Eight weeks.

And then I'll come back home and do another three-week holiday.

It's kind of mad that your holidays are essentially

you working from 5 until 5 every day.

Yeah... That's what I think about.

It's always just work and that's pretty much it, yeah.

But you don't mind that? No, I don't really mind it.

I'd still rather work every day, yeah.

Up ahead, I spy Lux waiting by the side of the road,

which makes me think he's got something planned for me.

Actually you are going to drive now. I think...

STACEY LAUGHS

I think he's gonna say that.

And, do you know what, I can't say no.

Because... No, you've gotta go for it.

...I have to go for it.

Jack, this is gonna be...

It's gonna be fun. ..interesting.

You're gonna like it.

Oh, OK.

You ready? I'm ready, I guess.

Come on then.

Lux! Stacey!

What have you got in store for me now?

Another piece of the puzzle, eh?

You've done the helicopter, we've preg-tested cows -

I reckon it's time for a road train.

What do you reckon?

You know me, Lux, I'm game.

I'll try - I'm a rubbish driver.

I am particularly useless.

Don't tell me that. I learnt with the stick.

So, I... Well, we've got a big stick in there.

Yeah, but Jack just told me there's, like, 18 gears.

Yeah, but you're only going to use one or two.

Fine. OK? All right, let's try. Righto.

On his private roads, and with Lux by my side for safety,

I'm allowed to give it a go.

Hold on, ladies.

Foot on the clutch as far in as you can. Yeah.

Now just nice and gentle.

And we're going to put this forward here.

Feel that? Yep.

Slowly put your foot on the accelerator a little bit.

OK, let's go.

Now? A bit more rev, just a bit more rev up.

A bit more rev up.

Good work - we're away.

Oh, my word.

Lux! You're driving a road train, girl.

Jeez! You wouldn't have dreamt you'd be doing this

when you came to Australia,

that you were going to do this, would you? Lux...

I have done a million things over here

that I never in my wildest dreams imagined I'd do.

I know! The pregnancy testing, the chopper...

...driving 300 cattle through the Australian bush.

Yeah! It's been amazing.

What a way to make a living, Lux. Yeah.

What a way to live.

I have had the most remarkable few days. Yeah.

You have. And I'm now driving...

I've seen it when you first started with me,

with the helicopter to now, you're really...

You've relaxed and you're embracing our life.

Yeah. You know that. I really am.

Oh... No, you're all right, they're not...

You're not going fast enough. No, no, no.

Uh, I just need them to get out of the way.

They're cattle! No, no, no, they're not going to worry you.

You keep going. Don't stop because we want to keep going.

They're not going to run into you. They're OK.

LUX LAUGHS

Out the way.

Good girls. Now don't overspeed.

I can't believe I'm doing this, can you?

Oh, I can. After our first day with you,

I knew we were going to...

Once I... Once you got in the helicopter and you relaxed,

I knew we could get you to do anything.

STACEY LAUGHS

If you hadn't have embraced the helicopter,

there's no way any of this would have flown. Yeah.

I've had a brilliant time, Lux. Superb.

I can't thank you enough. I hope you don't forget about us.

Absolutely not.

Look! I can't believe this.

You'll tell your partner, and show him all these videos -

he won't believe it. He will be absolutely blown away.

Put that on my resume.

Put that on my CV.

Yeah. That's right, "I'm a road train driver,

"helicopter pilot, road train driver...

That's it! "..and a preg-tester."

Ah! Woo! I'm doing it!

That's me done.

It's wild because I have had such an ace time.

I have, like, thoroughly enjoyed myself here.

But I feel like I've been here a long time.

I feel like I've done so much, learnt so much...

There's loads of different characters, you know.

Yeah, I feel ready...

...ready to go home.

But it's been chef's kiss.

It's been wonderful.

You know, Lux is such a character,

and I wanted to see the world through his eyes for a bit.

But it became more than that.

How many British girls can say

they've worked on a cattle station in Australia?

I've flown a chopper, driven a road train,

preg-tested cows, and met some of the most incredible Aussies.

It's been a hell of an experience

and I'll be talking about it for years.

Oh, my God, no!

LAUGHTER Did you see that?!

Not too bad actually.

Oh, my...

Is that it?

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