Day 293 We have not done a blog in a while as time and internet were hard to come by. So now that work is over, here is how the last three weeks unfolded.

80 Hours Of...

Wow, the hours just keep on adding up. After the sixty-six last week we were blessed with 80 this week!! Not sure how we feel about this, on one hand its going to be one hell of a payday. On the other hand we did nothing else this week but work. We had a 14 and 15 hour day and that doesn't leave much time for even having a beer after work. The mangoes have taken their toll on a few people. Mango rash has claimed a lot of people. It's not contagious but spreads fast if you itch it. The long hours have also cost workers as some have left not wanting to work this much, and lets be honest the work isn't by any means glorious. Our block lost Naomi as she completed what regional work she needed for her second visa and did not stay a minute longer then she had to. I also got a new partner at work as Jay-Jay decided to throw in the towel as well. The new guy is Italian and currently battling mango rash. He just came over from a farm where he was picking the mangoes which makes him more susceptible to the rash. the rash is caused by the mango's sap. When the mango gets broken off its stem the sap can shoot out up to a meter from the stem. Mango picking has got to be one of the worst jobs according to every person that we have met that has done it. Luckily we didn't have to pick 'em!!
For our day off we were pretty busy. We started the day off with a load of laundry that was well overdue. Since we slept in by the time laundry was done it was lunch. After eating we met Jay-Jay and Ennisa at the Katherine Hot Springs. The water flowing in this hot spring is the same (not literally) as the hot spring in Mataranka that we swam in on our way up to Darwin months ago. The water is a nice aqua blue but not super warm. After the swim we headed to town to catch the new Bond flick "Skyfall". The movie was pretty good but I personally was worried for the last hour as it seemed like this was going to be the last one of the franchise. Luckily the last two minutes of the movie proved me wrong and the world returned to its axis. After the scare at the cinema we went to dinner with most of the 1020 block.

Rashes & The Rise...

Another long week brought more casualties and a visitor to the packing shed. After Jay-Jay calling it quits I needed a new partner. They sent up an Italian party animal by the name Emanuel. Not a bad worker but he had a wicked case of mango rash. He had a few pretty significant scars below the knees. I think mostly because he could not stop picking at it. On Tuesday he got sent back down as Kota a supervisor from the packing line replaced him. Jenn got the privilege of working next to Emanuel for a while and decided that his wounds were smelling of infection. Indeed by Wednesday he was in the hospital and has been not seen since. Rumour has it they he had minor surgery to clean it out for him. Turns out he had gangrene from the infection.
This week Kota and I premiered Wrap Man. He has been in the making for just over a week now, made completely from crap found up in the mezzanine. His body resembles a snowman as it is three balls of plastic wrap, hence his name. His eyes are cardboard from the boxes I throw down the chute 12 hours a day, while his eyebrows are black plastic from who knows where. He wears his WM emblem proudly as he looks over the packers from his post. I definitely got one of the better jobs in the place. We had a massive storm the other day and we got off work early as the loading docks flooded. There was over four inches of water covering most of the concrete pad. The rain was a short preview of apparently whats to come as the wet season approaches. We took the extra hour we got and went to McDonalds with Pree and Pete for a family meal "snack". On Friday we took Pete to town as he wanted to see mangoes no more. He brought all his stuff with him and we went straight from work. After dropping him off we headed to Woolies. I stayed in the van while Jenn and Pree ran in, and witnessed an odd string of events. So...as I'm sitting there a small old car pulls into the spot in front of me. One of the heaviest men I seen in a while gets out of the driver side, while his complete opposite, one of the scrawniest men gets out of the passenger seat. They didn't even have a chance to close their doors as an older couple walk up. The lady opens the back door and gets in. The scrawny guy shrugs and him and his buddy walk off. The woman then tries to close the car door only to have the man get in the way and block it. As they are arguing like that for a bit, the driver side door opens and a 10 year old-ish boy hops out. What?! Where did this kid come from, I thought. Was he under the driver or something?! Anyways he runs off. The old couple are still fight at this time but now she has gotten out of the car and was pushing the old man and knocking stuff out of his hand. She takes out a cell phone and threatens to call "someone". His reply is to deny doing anything wrong and pointing to a Band-Aid on his neck and claiming "you stabbed me!" they walk behind the van and I lose sight of them. A minute later the two guys driving the beat up old car walk back, get in and drive off like none of this even happened. Hmmm, I wonder if they knew the old couple or the mystery boy.
Once back at the block it was time to celebrate Dave's birthday. We kicked it off by sitting back and having Manuela and Sebastiano cook us all some real Italian pasta. Delicious! The music and drinks flowed well into the night. The Saturday was our first one off, so we headed into town to check out the market. It was by far the smallest we have encountered with only about 15 vendors. While there we took in Lucas and Stella as they were part of a drum circle performing. We also ran into Julia and Chris. Small world as we have not seen them since working with them for a few days on the strawberry farm back in March.

...And The Fall

This week started out as all the others, with a nice and long first day. On the second day we had a gruesome discovery. Someone came up to the mez the night before and assaulted then kidnapped Wrap Man!! We investigated the matter to the fullest, narrowed the suspect list but never made an arrest. Just couldn't get the evidence to fit completely. On Wednesday the rumors started, about when we would finish the season. For the longest time it looked like it would be the last day, as the last few shifts were shorter than the previous ones. At the end of the shift however we were told there will be another day. Thursday was much of the same. The number of mangoes also started to decline, which resulted in work declining and us having free time on our hands to goof around (see pics). Nevertheless we were back there Friday for the official last day, during which Kota and I got in some soccer and baseball! The longest shift of the week was followed by a BBQ hosted by our employers. When it was all said and done we did the same thing we have been doing all week and hitting the pool at the homestead. We then followed that up with a season closing party. A sign was put up at work so everyone knew and almost the whole pack shed showed up. We had drinks and at one point around midnight or so a bunch of us went for a second swim. We went to bed after 3 am and left some real die hards still drinking away.
Saturday morning we got up surprisingly early. We wasted no time and started on cleaning out the van. The ordeal took about three hours. The red dust from the desert roads really gets in through every hole or crack, filling every nook and cranny and coating all surfaces in a nice layer of dust. Once it was cleaned to our satisfaction we loaded it up with everything from the room and headed back up to Darwin. It is amazing what a month and some rain can do. The drive was actually green. Lush grass covered the previously arid dry and burnt landscape. Some regions even held water creating an almost wetland like scene waiting for the arrival of the seasonal wildlife. The only reminders of the desert that was here mere weeks ago were the thousands of termite mounds scattered all over.