What Now? Cooking for a Helicopter Company

 Yes, you read it right and it does sound cool, I know.  Especially if you're into helicopters, which I am.  

How did I get this job?  I was cooking on a cattle station last year, I met some of the pilots during the year when they came mustering at my station, asked them about their base and the company and decided 'I want to work for them next year' - and as so often happens in my life, the planets aligned and the cooks position became vacant - I was going to cook for Heli Muster. 

Our season runs parallel to the Territory cattle season which makes sense, given the majority of our flying somehow involves a cattle station - from mustering (predominantly) to fire fighting and all the other jobs that come along the way.  I don't always ask where a pilot is going or has been, or what they did - I don't often see them as they come and go but also, I appreciate just how many stations there are in the NT or just over the border into WA, they all sort of roll into one after a while. 

My 2021 season started very early in March after a break in Darwin, then a house sit in Katherine followed by 6 weeks cooking at Manbulloo station just outside of Katherine.  I flew out to HM in one of our fixed wings, landed and was like 'oh yeah, straight back to the heat and the flies. Here we go again!' 

We're based at VRD station and as you enter the property you'll see helicopters and a hangar immediately on the left hand side.  The runway is on the right hand side, there's a hangar on that also.  The kitchen is right next to the main heli hangar, and that main hangar also has offices and workshop storage.  

The bulk of us are housed on 'the back row' which, according to my apple watch, is 200 metres from the main kitchen.  There was a few old bikes lying around that are free to use, so I resurrected myself a pretty decent mountain bike to use as my chosen mode of transport.  

The majority of houses on the back row are identical 2 bedroom set ups, each with its own yard, kitchen, laundry and lounge room.  Completely unheard of on a station but VRD itself, although I don't know all the history, has an old hospital on its grounds (and two or three cemeteries) and I believe our houses once accommodated workers for the local surrounds.  

I have good wifi, kettle bells, yoga mats (plus all the props) which is all I need to feel at home.  Christmas lights and the odd picture here and there and my house is complete.  I have a good view from the kitchen windows too, of who is coming and going down this neck of the woods and what they may be up to.  

There seems to be a growing trend on cattle stations to forego breakfast in favour of a decent  smoko instead - which I think makes sense, and it's what happens at HM.  My day starts whenever I need it to to get my smoko sorted for 9.30am, but pilots and engineers will start moving around between 5 and 6am.  Not unlike myself. In winter I love an early morning decent walk, when its hotter I do more movement in my house, in the air con away from the flies.

My kitchens about the size of a shipping container - one end of it has a tv and 3 comfy chairs, the other end is working kitchen area.  Its a good, user friendly space to work in, and I have a store room at my end of the kitchen.  There is a sliding door at the television end and my end has a regular door, both of which open out onto a large deck space where the tables and seating are.  On the left end of deck (the kitchen end) is a the cold room, the other end has the barbecue.  It's a good set up with everything so close by.  

Food deliveries come by road train once a fortnight which is fairly standard practice for the outback.  The benefit of working for a helicopter company and with having an office in Katherine, and 3 fixed wing pilots is, if I ever need anything outside of an order, it doesn't take long for it to get delivered!  It will wing its way out to be on first available flight.  

So what do we eat?  Similar to a cattle station, our predominant protein is beef - when we need a new animal (a killer) one or two choppers will go to get an animal and then reappear a couple of hours later laden with beef cuts.  We hang it in the cool room and then process it after a week or so. 

This time around, Im cooking differently - my smoko's are usually a choice of at least 5 different options, including smoothies, smoothie bowls, vegetarian options and always some form of egg dish - anything else can be the likes of quiches, spanakopita, crepes, wraps (done any which way) and pies.  Lunches are left overs, or if we are low on those I will create something, it could be a pasta dish, sushi or steak sandwiches.. Generally with dinner, I will do two protein options - they might both be beef but I will have two different styles / flavours, always vegetable choices and one or two starches.  

As the temperatures get up into the 40s again, people are eating less during the day, and when its cold (that term is almost laughable when winter stays in double digits in the NT) they'll eat lunch. 

My weeks are regular - Monday to Friday, half a day Saturday and Sunday off.  No way do i miss the cattle station days of weeks on at a time, 4-5am starts etc.. those can be some long days. 

So, this is how my pandemic life is going!  Big change for me to not be living out of a suitcase in some country Iv never been to.  For now though, I am grateful to have a job, the job that I wanted, a roof over my head, to be working with nice people and to have my double vaxxed health.  

Stay safe peeps! 

Covid and my swift exit from India

Hey hey again,
From my room in the Northern Territory, Australia.  I have the air con on low, yes, i still use it in winter, and can hear a flurry of bird activity outside - from screeching cockatoos to the crowing crows.  Theres a slight breeze and some high level cloud, and aside from that, a whole lot of space and quiet! 

Iv been back in Australia since the start of April, after making a hasty exit from India, and to be honest, I think I underestimated just how badly this was going to pan out for the world in general.  Here we are now in July, and theres no sign of a let up or recovery - health wise or economically.  People are asking, demanding, when will we go back to normal - when the truth is, we're here! This is the new normal, of fist bumps and masks, social distancing guiding us in activities outside the home - and of course, in travel, both domestic and international, which for me, an active, passionate traveller, is the scariest part.  What about my future plans? What about the Americas I haven't visited yet, and on it goes.  The flip side is, Im grateful - grateful I got out of India and came to a secure job, one that doesn't rely on tourism or that is not affected by social distancing.  In my remote bubble, I work,  practise yoga, exercise, read, cook, create and keep an eye on the news.  My new normal is starting to feel very normal. 

When I made the kinda hasty decision to leave Rishikesh, there was my Australian job offer involved too - I had been waiting desperately to hear from a possible job opening on the island of Svalbaard, and when that came through as a negative, because of potential virus impact (boy did it ever impact!) I said yes to Australia.   

I have a one room place I use in India, which is common for accommodation, but had acquired a few more things than I realised, so felt the need to start packing.  A friend who was studying yoga there at the time, messaged me to say health officials were at her ashram temperature testing, an Indian friend confirmed they were going through ashrams and accommodations in that whole area testing.. ohhh ok, so this was getting real.  I met an Aussie mate for coffee and told him how it was looking, oh and that by this time, my brother was messaging me from NYC telling me to get out of India asap - that he was going to do the same from USA.  So I decided to leave, took a couple more days to pack, and my mate ummed and ahhed but finally decided he would leave too, about ten days earlier than he was booked for.  I didnt book a flight out of Delhi though, I wanted to wait til I was actually IN Delhi because I know how hectic the taxi there can be for starters... so the night before we were going to leave, I went to book us into a hotel for a night in Delhi but was told we'd need to have certificates saying we didnt have CV, and there was only one hospital in Rishikesh doing those and it took four days for results, and my brother was still pushing me to get out... air bnb!  I messaged a host Id used previously and she told me she wasnt taking bookings because.... CV..  ugh! Ok, this is getting real now, really real!  Anyway, I did manage to find place in Delhi and it was not too far from the airport - score!  So the next day, we would taxi to Delhi - a trip of250km that has taken 10 hours before, you can never estimate an arrival time!   With final packing done, sort a taxi - theyre a dime a dozen, and with friends, I can get a good rate... n0 taxis.. WHAT! Omg!  But wait, a friend called the brother of a friend.. we got a taxi, and it was only 2 hours late - see why you dont book a flight for the same day! 

So we had one night in Delhi, at a great place with lovely hosts and left on our separate flights, mine was ten hours earlier than my mates - I landed in Darwin with 8 hours to spare before mandatory 14 day quarantine, meanwhile, my mate wasnt so lucky, he just missed the cut-off and had to quarantine at home in Queensland.  My new job wanted me to do two weeks in Darwin, and they paid for that, and I basically sat and watched the world close down via tv and the internet.  I cant believe how lucky I had been to get out of India and back to Australia when I did! 

Fast-forward to August 31st and now its looking unlikely that I will get to NZ for christmas at all, Australia is still locked down for all outward travel, with inbound passenger numbers and flights capped, and only certain airports receiving, oh and Melbourne is still on level 4 alert, I mean....  Sometimes I get hopeful, and other times I realise the futility of dreams about travel in the near future.  

As I write, the Tour de France is underway, and I haven't even watched the first stage - I did see a headline though stating people believe as soon as a French rider is in yellow, the Tour will end.  Its also the only large sporting event on, anywhere.  

I splashed out and got myself an apple watch during winter.  And took the bait to sign up for some of these virtual challenges that seem to be the in thing now - walking / running / cycling etc set distances and tracking it all with a device.  And its been great!  Winters in the outback offer respite from both heat and flies, and Iv seen shooting stars, amazing moons and plenty of sunrises.  And now, the medals for my efforts are starting to arrive in the mail.  An average day at work can get me up to 9km, and my morning walks were up to 12km - its been a lot quicker churning through the distances than I imagine.  I am still feeling a bit of the covid curse - weight gain, but I keep on keeping on, and am getting more and more into my groove again.  It seems to be one of the biggest side-effects, on and alcohol consumption, which also includes me but only here and there, it will never be a large part of my life!  

I ended up stopping searching for updates on India and how its going during the pandemic - so much conflicting information, even from friends that are still there!   Like anywhere else, no tourists incoming, state borders have only just reopened, masks are mandatory etc etc.  A large number of the yoga schools in Rishikesh jumped into offered YTT courses online, but of course, the knock-on effect lockdowns and job losses is less income.. a never ending circle, that is what it is.