DROVER Bill Little is grateful the grass is greener on the other side of the border.
He is leading the first of 18,000 cattle from Roma, Queensland, in what has been coined Brinkworth’s Great Cattle Drive.
“We’re pretty happy (in NSW). We’ve got on to better feed – clover seed, thistle and grass,” he said.
“We’re down the track a bit, but we’ve still got a big mob of cattle back in Queensland.
“In Queensland it’s nothing but dry straw.”
He said they had had a few tough days here and there.
“Now the cattle are acting like they’ve died and gone to heaven.”
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Mr Little and the lead mob of 1200 head of South Australian pastoralist Tom Brinkworth’s epic droving operation are heading to “Uardry” near Hay.
They set out in June and crossed the border to Mungindi almost two weeks ago. They expect to reach Moree sale yards today.
The mob is averaging eight to 10 kilometres a day.
“It’s a big average – realistically it’s eight kilometres,” Mr Little said.
The drove along crown land travelling stock routes takes a lot of planning. After Moree Mr Little is still unsure which way they are headed.
“We haven’t worked out the route yet,” he said.
“When we get to Moree we’ll have a look.”
Mr Little said he was being advised by North West Livestock Health and Pest Authority (LHPA) senior ranger Gerard O’Connor.
“We’ll go wherever they let us.”
State regulations mean the two big mobs still in Queensland are being split into four smaller mobs at the border for the NSW leg of the journey. Two other mobs are moving from Mungindi to Moree.
“If they reduce our numbers too much it won’t be worth our while paying drovers. It’ll be pretty hard to survive,” Mr Little said.
He relies heavily on his rotation of 25 dogs.
“I work two to three dogs for an hour or two then they relay in the truck a few kilometres up the road to rest,” he said.
A big challenge to the dogs is 1080 wild dog bait, although he said he’d been lucky so far. Mr Little’s group also has 25 horses on the go. The drover from Roma said it was somewhat strange droving on this side of the border.
“Droving in NSW is a fair bit different. There are smaller routes and the system of working is different,” he said.
But he doesn’t want to go slow. He’s still a long way from “Uardry”.
“We’ll give it a fair shake to make it home for Christmas,” Mr Little said.
And with two small children along for the ride, Christmas is important. Mr Little’s partner Alonna Youngman organises the large camp. Their daughter Cardea, 4, and son William, 2, are getting the experience of a lifetime.
While stocking up on 10 days worth of supplies in Moree, Mr Little shared his thoughts of life on the drove.
“You see how solid your relationship is going, droving - everyone gets tired.”
They family has been a long time on the long paddock after coming off the back of another mob in Queensland.
His tip for making it to Hay in one piece: “When the cows are sleeping, you’ve got to be sleeping.”