Chapter 51
Kate and Russell were in their hired ute driving out to Kinsella's to start checking out the property. They were almost there when a water tanker passed them on the road going the opposite direction.
"Wow! I know there is a drought going on, but I didn't realize that things were so bad that farmers were having to pay to tank water in. That's extremely costly. Let's make it a point to get out to Kinsella's section of the creek and their dam as one of our first stops. I want to see what their water levels are." said Kate.
"Will we be able to get there with the ute or do we need horses?" asked Russell.
"The last time I was here, it would be easy in the ute, but it's been fifteen years, so the property could be really overgrown at this point. I guess we'll just have to check it out. My surprise is ruined, so if we need to borrow horses, we can just go ask at Drovers or Killarney." said Kate as she admitted defeat on her big surprise.
As they pulled up to Kinsella's gate, they stopped. There was a large, steel security gate across the drive. It was padlocked across it and had multiple chains that were cemented into the ground. There was barbed wire added to the fencing around the gate and signs that read "Private Property. No Trespassing. Violators will be prosecuted."
"It definitely wasn't like this when I worked here," said Kate.
"Well, the current owners certainly aren't friendly." Russell said "I don't reckon it's a wise plan to cut all of those chains and just drive in. That is a serious gate. It makes me wonder what other security measures they have taken. There could be security cameras around, too." said Russell.
"I think you're right. It wasn't like this before. Country folk do tend to take trespassing seriously, but this is more extreme than anything I've seen. It's especially odd because I was told that the owner was abroad. Even the real estate company in charge of the listing is out of New South Wales. If the owner is so worried about their property, why don't they have a caretaker living on site or at least a local real estate agent who can look in on the place occasionally?" asked Kate.
Kate got out of the ute and walked around a bit on the outside of the gate. She noticed that there were fresh tire tracks crossing the gate and the tires that matched them would have to be huge. They looked like they would go with a giant truck or road equipment. Kate thought about what type of trucks might have gone through here recently. Tires that size would be on the type of truck that could hold one hundred head of cattle or more, or on the type of water tanker truck that they passed on their way out here, Kate realized.
She climbed back in the ute.
"There are giant tire tracks that look fresh crossing that gate, the type of tracks that would go on the tanker trucks we passed on our way here. Something is definitely not adding up. I would like to continue down this road to see what else is down here. It's not an area I explored much when I lived here." said Kate.
"Okay. We can drive this road a bit more. It looks like it runs parallel to Kinsella's border here. We can see if the barbed wire continues." agreed Russell.
Kate and Russell continued their drive for a few kilometers. The barbed wire and "No Trespassing" signs continued the whole way. Eventually, the road ended at a small sign that read "Auxiliary Parking, Nanjemup National Park." From there, there was only a walking trail.
"Okay, so there isn't much past here. I think it might be worthwhile to check out that walking trail, but I think it would be best done on horseback. The doctor said it was okay for me to ride for the next few months." She paused and turned to Russell, " Are you going to be okay on a horse? You haven't ridden much lately either."
"Baby, you always seem to forget that I'm a country boy. Just because we have spent our entire lives together in Adelaide doesn't mean I lived there all my life. I'm from Rockhampton, Queensland. Just because my parents were teachers and we lived in town doesn't mean most of my friends' parents weren't farmers on cattle stations. You've seen me ride. I'll be fine, just probably sore." said Russell.
"You're right. I don't mean to doubt you. You rode all over Drovers the last time we visited Jodi and Tess. I haven't ridden much lately either. I'll probably be pretty sore with you. Plus, I've never ridden with two passengers on board. Let's head over to Drovers. My big surprise wouldn't have worked with all the security at Kinsella's anyway, even if I hadn't run into Jodi. I'd like to set things right with her after that debacle at the clinic, she left me a message that sounded worried. I didn't mean to make her worry, I just didn't know what to say when I saw her."