The Annual Roadtrip to Mike’s Farm for 2007

My fifth escape with mates from school to one of the guy’s family hobby farm. It’s always good to get away and burn massive piles of dead wood, eat plenty of meat and drink a few beers with mates. Didn’t shoot quite as much as in other years, not really sure why either. Oh well, still pulled off a few classic farm shots.

The Drive Up

Roadtrip vehicle of choice: my Volkswagen Golf TDI

Since I’m living in Newcastle (well, for two more days at the time of writing), I had the opportunity to take one of two routes to Ilford – either down to Sydney and then the same as everyone else, or around the Wollemi National Park and via Mudgee. Since I’ve never done it, I took the latter. The day was extremely misty and I left around 11am from Newcastle. Essentially you head out via towns such as Maitland and Branxton on the New England Highway before turning off towards Denman and Merriwa along the Golden Highway. Outside of Cassilas you throw a left and go down Ulan Road (also known as Roadkill Highway) and you’ll then end up at Mudgee. Ilford is just 45 minutes away to the south, and the whole journey took me about 4.5 hours driving time.

After a cup of coffee and a bite to eat, plus the obligatory shopping for the masses, I headed south along the Castlereagh Highway to Ilford and stopped in at a lovely little winery – Logan Wines. I had seen some shots of the winery in the Mudgee Wine Guide and thought it a bit more of a quirky location than most of the other cellar doors in the area so pulled in. Stunning building and awesome vista is what you get as you sample their bottles of wines.

The Farm = Fire + Meat + Beer

The fuel for Bonfire v2007.1 of the trip

Arriving first at the farm, and once I found the hidden key, I started unloading the random assortment of food bought at Mudgee before I saw a cloud of dust approaching as Stu tried to sideswipe me before getting out of the car and cursing about his choice of transport. Apparently his folks car hadn’t lived up to his might Mazda 323 (1970 vintage). Before long we’d got everything inside, lit the first of many fires and setup his new toy – an XBOX Media Centre, complete with all your favourite NES, SNES, Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, N64 and more games – enabling us to relive our childhood quarter life crises style.

Duncan arrives at the Farm

Before long Sunny had rocked up and a three player game of the SNES classic Mario Party ensued, causing the cooking of the traditional first night Bolognese to be delayed. The remained of the team for day one – Mike D, Charles, Alistair and Duncan – turned up around 11pm and the evening’s poker tournament began (needless to say I was $5 down rather quickly). Dinner was finally head and people sporadically headed to bed for sleep.

Charles directs the construction of Bonfire v2007.1

Duncan not so impressed with Charles’ construction plans for Bonfire v2007.1

The next day saw firewood collecting get under way relatively early, as we strove to beat the fires of previous years, and Richard pulled up in the Mr Computer Mobile Help Desk car. By dusk we had the first bonfire of the weekend lit and on its way to rejoin the short term carbon cycle.

Beers by Bonfire v2007.1

That night the last of the attendees for 2007 arrived with Tom at the wheel and Foster, Mash and Drew holding on for dear life all the way from Sydney (and looking like they’d most certainly need a beer). In true farm tradition, for Tom that is, the man went on to perform his customary salute to the Dean Farm – a streak in and around the property, this time eschewing the slippers in favour of socks.

Stu, Duncan and Richard discuss tactics

The day had also seen our first “in person” match of Diplomacy.

Construction of Bonfire v2007.2RC

Saturday saw another day of firewood collection, and the planning of the biggest bonfire to date – Bonfire v2007.2RC. Unlike previous years, we decided first to bury a wide trunk like piece of wood in the ground to act as a center focus, and then build the log cabin around it. This year the chainsaw was also utilised to notch the major pieces in the log cabin to prevent them rolling off. To give you some perspective on the size of this pile of firewood, see below for the traditional farm photo.

Doesn’t quite show just how big it is from this angle

We were on the fenceline for a while

Mini-whirley-whirelies were created by the suction due to the heat and small wind gusts

The Drive Home

Unlike the drive up, the drive home was without fog or mist, but the sky filled with cloud. Just one shot from the way back.

Can’t quite recall where this was taken – near Mudgee I think

The Farm Crew for 2007

Definitely a fun and longstanding tradition – number six this year for the trips, and my fifth personally.

Farm Crew for 2007: Back Row (left to right) Foster, Richard, Stu, Sunny; Middle Row (left to right) Mike D, Duncan, Drew; Bottom Row (left to right) Mash, Tom, Me (Joel), Charles, Alistair.

More photos, as always, are available at flickr.

Mike’s Farm Roadtrip – 2006

Well, it’s that time of year again. Well, actually it’s a month later than last year due to the Mike D + Shehadie World Tour, but that has simply amplified the anticipation. The annual trip to Mike’s farm is on once again and I leave tomorrow. Heading out from Newcastle I’ve been faced with two options for traveling – either head to Sydney and then out to the little town of Ilford where we will be for the next few days, or head north west and go via Mudgee and the Hunter. With a day to drive it I’ll be taking the scenic inland route, and hopefully scoring some photos along the way – after all, I’m never anywhere without a camera.

Thought I’d post a few of my favourite shots from previous trips – this being the fifth year I’ve attended, but the sixth annual trip.

Those on the rollcall for this year’s trip include: Mike (obviously), Me, Stu, Charles, Alistair, Richard, Foster, Duncan, Tom, Mash, Sunny (?), Drew (?).

2006

Those present (left to right): Alistair, Seb, Charles, Foster, Stu, Ben, Sunny, Duncan, Shehadie, Tom, Me (Joel), Mash, Mike.

2005

Those present (left to right): Tom, Mike, Me (Joel), Nick, Shehadie, Charles, Seb, Jesse, Sunny, Drew, Stu, Richard.

2004

Those present (left to right): Tom, Sunny, Richard, Alistair, Charles, Mike, Duncan, Stu, Seb, Foster, Drew, Me.

2003

Those present for the walk to Mt Ilford (left to right): Me (Joel), Stu, Charles, Mike, Alistair, Duncan.