Not so long after writing our last post we received the dreaded call from the job agency telling us they had found us mango picking jobs ....... we were called at 4pm and had to leave at 6am the following morning. However, we had to go and see the agency, buy hats, shirts, suncream, bug repellent all before 5pm so it was a frantic rush to begin with.

We were out in the middle of no-where picking, packing and de-sapping mangoes. Most mornings at 7am (when we started work) it was 24 degrees and 82% humidity! Fantastic. The weather reached up to 37 on some days but the average was about 34 so very hot and sweaty. We were working for a Greek family and doing 9-10 hours a day for 12 days straight. The free beer after a hard days work helped to ease the pain a little.

We were lucky enough not to be attacked by mango sap burns too often, though we did have a nice brown nicotine like staining on our hands for the first few days. Kate escaped the dreaded mango rash which causes unlucky people to get very swollen faces and a rash all over their bodies that itches like nothing and spreads over your body in 24 hours. Nasty. I got a tiny bit which seems to have increased now we've left, great!

Ever heard of Berry Springs? Well that's where the farm was, although you may hear of it soon as we intend to initiate a soap opera based on the farm...... so many dramas that I need not bore you with but just think..... too many cooks spoiling the broth and [un]happy families, who regret planting the first mango tree 18 years ago!!! Also I didn't know it was possible to fit 20 swear words into every sentence! Drama indeed. EastEnders would be cheery in comparison! We have put some mango orientated photos on the blog, they actually look nice and as if we are enjoying ourselves! Funny that, it was so dirty, dusty and a lot of hard work. Kate has new skin on her hands, and I can move my hands again after getting temporary arthritis each morning from opening and closing them repeatedly for picking and collecting mangoes.

We didn't get to the point where we never want to see a mango again. Lucky because a few accidently slipped into our bags! They are absolutely delicious and juicy especially as they were fresh from the tree.

That's the work out of the way, now for the accommodation! We were staying at the 'Lakes Resort' caravan site at Berry Springs, it's got 3 stars from somewhere but I'm not sure they'd get 1 from us. A bonus was that our room/shed/prison cell did have air conditioning that worked and no bed bugs, luxury indeed. Also the kitchen consisted of 1 pan, one hot plate, a broken microwave, a slow BBQ, a broken toaster and a warm smelly fridge. Fantastic. Thankfully there were 8 of us thrown onto the Lakes Resort together and 2 girls had a campervan packed full of equipment that they kindly let us use. So we all mucked in and cooked gourmet meals for 8 which worked out well.

Now we've left though we can say that we're fully qualified mango pickers and we did enjoy ourselves. I think it's an experience that we won't forget(!) and definately served a purpose, it's a good way to earn a fast buck and keep your outgoings down. Saying all that I think we've picked our last mango, ever!

We're back in Darwin and Kates parents arrive in a few hours, so we are looking forward to that and have lots of exciting things planned for the next couple of weeks.

Take it easy

Rich and Kate