About 700 head of cattle are being grazed along the roadsides in the high country.
Bombala drover, Kerry Girvan, has been tasked with managing the consortium of local cattle from Omeo and Benambra as they are herded along the road and down laneways.
Farmers are thankful their stock are getting a feed, while the East Gippsland Shire is spared the cost of slashing roadsides.
Benambra based councillor, Ben Buckley, says having the cattle graze on the roadside is doing a real service for the community.
“It’s helping keep fuel loads down,” Cr Buckley said.
Ms Girvan is presently grazing the cattle around Benambra and has set up her camp at Hinnomunjie.
At night she hotwires off a laneway to keep the cattle confined. “Water is the biggest issue, but I’m managing,” she told the Advertiser. Recently, she was invited to graze the cattle in a paddock overnight opposite the Benambra pub so a local could keep his grass down. “A bloke wanted me to use the paddock so the cows would eat it out, it saved him having it slashed and there was a dam there as well so the cows could have a drink, so I thought that was a pretty good deal,” Ms Girvan said.
Ms Girvan, who is largely mustering the cattle on horseback, admits to getting a few strange looks.
“I think they’re surprised to see someone on horseback, especially a woman, looking after cows on the side of the road,” she laughs.
Ms Girvan usually sleeps out with the cattle but was offered a small caravan to sleep in. “Someone lent me a bush caravan, it’s pretty rough actually, all the paint is peeling off, but it’s not too bad. “Some of the locals have invited me over for a meal or a shower, but I usually have a wash in the river; that was bloody cold I’ll tell ya,” Ms Girvan said.
She’s already been a month in the area droving cattle and expects the job will take her through until mid December.
However, she says life on the road isn’t all that bad.
“It’s a breeze really, there’s no traffic around here, so that’s a plus.”
Sadly, she lost one of her dogs.
He was tied up and when I returned later that day he was dead, there was blood everywhere, but I’m not sure what happened to him.
“He was a good dog too,” she laments.
While she was told none of her young consignment were expected to calve, she woke up on Tuesday morning to a new calf.
“I’ll let it rest for a few days with its mother before taking it on the road,” Ms Girvan said.
IMAGE: A herd of local stock graze a paddock in Benambra last week. The 700 head of cattle have been mustered around the area to trim down the roadside grasses and local laneways by Bombala drover, Kerry Girvan, with her horse, Jake, and Bindi the dog.
