MOST of the crew who headed north on the sharing the load hay drive have now returned, having had an “awesome” and “highly emotional” weekend in the New South Wales western plains.
Organiser Cindy Boyd described the trip as “absolutely brilliant”.
“It was an awesome weekend, it was so good,” she said.
The trip was also “highly emotional”, she said.
“Because it really is pretty tough up there.”
Niall resident Kat Robinson, who was also on board, said the landscape around Collie “looked like sand”.
“It was like trying to graze sheep and cattle from sand,” she said.
“There was no growth, no nutrients, no nothing in the soil.
“They are really struggling. We thought we were dry.
“You’ve got to see it to believe it.”
Ms Robinson said the sheep could smell the hay as soon as the trucks drove up and some of them rushed towards it.
Despite the extreme circumstances, the farming families that welcomed the travellers were “in good spirits, lovely people, very humble and grateful,” Ms Robinson said.
Thirteen trucks travelled to Collie with drivers and participants from the Mystic Park, Goschen, Kerang and Lalbert areas, among others.
The drivers of the trucks were welcomed in and sat down to talk to the property owners they were delivering hay to over morning tea.
“A few of the farmers are keen to come down and visit the Mystic Park Hotel and connect with their drivers,” Ms Robinson said.
“Those sort of bonds were made.”
She said the community around Collie is a young one, made up of couples aged from their 20s to 40s with young kids.
Ms Boyd said when the trucks unloaded 300 small bales of vetch for the Warren Pony Club, “there were kids for miles, loading up their little trailers”.
“They were really excited to be seeing the hay.”
Also being distributed were pamper packs containing toiletries and sunscreen that had been provided by the Lake Boga senior citizens and supermarket vouchers bought with funds raised at the Mystic Park Hotel and by the 1st Kerang Cub Scouts.
On Saturday there was a big night at the Collie pub.
“We all came back to the pub and they put on some music for us and we just partied on,” Ms Boyd said.
Among the highlights of the evening was a humorous Sharing the Load song and a speech on behalf of the Collie community by farmer Frances Wilson.
Ms Robinson said the Collie community thought it was “very Australian” of them to come up and offer support.
“‘Thanks, mate. It’s very Australian of you’ – I heard that on numerous occasions,” she said.
Ms Boyd said the weekend was the best time she had had in a long while.
“We went up there with a purpose and people were so appreciative and so grateful,” she said.
“It was great to have done something positive and to also have a fantastic time.”
