Diary of A Drover
I recently completed the Outback Queensland Cattle Drive, and shared my journey each day on Linkedin. I had such a fantastic response, so I thought I’d pull together my diaries from the road into one spot, for your reading pleasure!
Day 1.
We drove into Aramac camp and I felt something unexpected.
I was suddenly terrified!
I guess that's kind of the point. There's a hell of a lot of unknowns between here and Ifracombe. And we are well and truly out of the comfort zone.
We watched 1,400 head of cattle come in at dusk. The whole town fed us slow-cooked everything at the bowls club. And the night sky was next-level.
Somewhere between the wet wipe shower, 3-degree swag temps, and the company of people who just get on with it, my brain - which usually runs at approximately 1,000 tabs open - went a little quiet! Maybe there's something in this...
5:30am alarm is on. Ange and I have already taken our "tough" drover photos (truly committing to the bit). Let's go!
Day 2:
Day 1 of riding nearly broke me.
Day 2 was hard and magic and occasionally, very funny.
We spent a chunk of time learning how to turn 1,400 cattle when they overshoot the gate (which they did, often, and we got the hang of it… eventually).
I keep noticing how what we're doing directly maps to how the best teams work:
🐄 Take the break. After five hours of riding, the cattle rest. We rest. In the dirt, in the grass, in a chair if you're lucky. This isn’t optional, it’s part of the work!
🐄 Don't force it. Things happen when they're ready to happen. Urgency may get herds moving, but doesn't do much for strategic direction.
🐄 Community makes the journey magic. The town barista met us on the road in her horse float coffee van... I had a flat white, on horseback, while driving cattle. Now that’s hospitality!
The elements are relentless - wind, heat and cold, somehow all at once. Up in the dark, ride all day, camp at dusk, eat, sleep. Repeat. But it's all worth it.
Today I learnt that one cow makes 2,500 meals! And last year, this drive raised $300,000 for small towns and the people who need it most. When things get hard, these are the facts I hold onto. (Also the coffee. Definitely the coffee!)
Day 3:
I've finally cracked the code! Know your routine and stop fighting the unknowns - it makes all the difference.
Today was genuinely beautiful! I've always wanted to ride horses cross-country like this. Galloping through golden grass and rolling hills under painterly skies.
🤠 I've got a need for speed.
🐴 Teddy, my black pony gelding, has other plans.
Teddy's the kinda guy that likes his workdays easy: Take it slow, eat some grass, maybe catch up on some goss with all his pony pals. But racing through the scrub after stray cattle, which is absolutely the best part of this whole thing? Respectfully... Neigh. 🙅♀️ 🐴
We did 10kms today. Fun fact: droving law sets 10km as the minimum daily distance. It's about stewardship. Move too quickly and we tire the herd. But move too slowly and the cattle strip the grassland bare.
💡 Progress is a delicate balance!
Something to contemplate in my swag tonight, with the flap open and the stars shining overhead. Hopefully, I won't be visited by another grasshopper. One flew into my open swag last night. Much screaming ensued.
We sleep in our clothes now.
To everyone commenting, thank you! I'm frantically sending these updates in between stolen moments of two-bar reception. I'll catch you all soon!
Day 4:
4 km progress and lots of sitting around. Mostly just feeding and watering the cattle, and finally a space to breathe (without packing down the swag!).
What keeps striking me is how organic everything is.
No fixed plan. No calendar to execute against. Where we camp, what time we finish, what route we take - all of it read in the moment. What's the land saying? What's the weather doing? What are the animals telling us?
Everything’s down to context. Nobody performs certainty they don't have. A real lesson in sense making.
Speaking of sensing. Teddy (my famously relaxed steed) sensed danger today, and got completely spooked by a cow sprinting towards him. He bolted right into the middle of the 1,400-head of cattle, and scattered the entire herd. The opposite of our one job. Hilarious.
The people continue to be my favourite part: campfire conversations with the head drover's wife about a life so different from mine, a rotating cast of local characters including a well-respected horseman who just showed up at the showgrounds to mentor the young blokes caring for the horses. That kind of relaxed mentorship is just how it works out here.
I've also been spending a lot of time just sitting on an esky, a little away from the fire, thinking. All this space, and sometimes what you need most is to find a quiet corner of it.
Tomorrow’s our final day. I don't want it to end. My body has a different opinion. Ouch! 🤠
Day 5:
So, we didn't make Ilfracombe! Surprisingly - it’s no real drama.
Two days of circling while we waited on the rain meant a route change to Barcaldine to make up time.
In the corporate world, those two lost days would be a whole thing. Out here, nobody batted an eyelid. The end goal is getting the cattle to the yards. Decisions get made on a just-in-time basis, and everyone stays focused on what's important.
Small things I learned today:
🤠 Business in a country town happens at the post office or the pub.
🐄 Our two-hour lunch breaks aren't timed by people, they're timed by the cattle. Once they've drunk, rested, and gotten back up off the ground, it's time to move.
🦘 Kangaroos can clean jump over cattle. Two came up out of the grass and cleared the herd. Twice. They scattered like fireworks. Quite something on an otherwise flat, quiet afternoon.
We called it day around 5pm after 14kms. Not a clean thing left in my bag, saddle sick, and pretty happy to get off the horse. Got taken to the showgrounds for a proper shower, which was heaven!
I've been thinking about what this experience has been for me, beyond the drive itself.
I speak a lot about vertical development - the kind of growth that shifts how you see the world, not just what you know. This needs three things.
🔥 A heat experience: something genuinely difficult that generates real edge emotions.
👥 A cohort: people in it with you, different from you.
💭 And reflective practice: turning experience into insight.
Five days as a drover, and seven days in the elements - we’ve ticked all three!
I’ll be sharing more on this in the coming days, I’m sure.
🥳 🙌 So ready for civilisation. And so glad I did it. Cheers to everyone who came along for the journey!
About the Drive:
The Drive is supporting Queenslanders who go hungry every week. BeefBank and the Outback Queensland Cattle Drive are working toward 300,000 meals for Australians doing it tough, with an eventual goal of one million meals a year.Want to help out?
Support the drive: https://outbackcattledrive.au/
Donate to BeefBank: https://beefbank.org/
