The community of Lake Nash on the Northern Territory-Queensland border has been cut off by flood waters for the last two years. It’s only been in recent months that water has receded and the once dusty landscape has sprung back to life. The revival is inspiring school leavers to venture from the city to the outback in search of red dirt and adventure.
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00:00As sunrise breaks, ringers are saddling up for another long day.
00:10With 1.2 million hectares and 65,000 cattle, this property on the Northern Territory-Queensland
00:18border is a long way from just about anywhere.
00:21I remember driving out here for the first time and it's just flat for as far as the
00:26eye could see.
00:27Felt like you're looking at the end of the world a little bit.
00:32This is Lake Nash, one of the country's largest cattle stations, and for this group of adventurous
00:39school leavers, it's a transformative experience.
00:42Everyone who comes up here leaves a different person.
00:46I'm unrecognisable from the person I turned up, as in the person I am today.
00:51And you see each other every second of the day.
00:53You wake up, you shower with them, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, and you're working with
00:58them too.
00:59It's just crazy.
01:03On today's list of chores mustering thousands of cattle for transport.
01:09It's not just by land.
01:10In this vast expanse, a bird's eye view gives some perspective.
01:17Eighteen months ago, this station looked completely different.
01:20A wall of water just coming straight for us, and we spent a lot of effort getting everything
01:26onto higher ground, making sure all our crew were safe.
01:31Heavy rain caused the once dry Georgina River to flow and then peak.
01:36Floodwaters swept through the station and surrounding landscape.
01:41It was surreal.
01:42It just came up so slowly, every hour, just a bit higher and a bit higher.
01:47Staff were evacuated to higher ground, but the station and nearby Aboriginal community
01:53were cut off by road for nearly four months.
01:57Another flood this year left the station and community isolated once again.
02:01I definitely felt like it was a little bit isolating.
02:05First couple of months of being here and just like not having that access to a big town
02:11even though it's a few hours away.
02:14The floodwaters have now receded, leaving a transformed terrain teeming with life.
02:21It's almost become normal to see it so green and to have the river still where you water
02:26ski on it and some years you can't put the boat in at all and this year we've been skiing
02:30on it for months.
02:31After two strong wet seasons, this dusty landscape has completely transformed.
02:37The cattle are fat, there's good feed in the paddocks, staff have a spring in their step.
02:43But as anyone who lives on the land knows, the next big dry could be right around the corner.
02:50As the sun sets, ringers are winding down, ready to face whatever tomorrow throws at them.
02:57There's a bit of light at the end of the tunnel starting to come through.
03:00I think we're going to be ok.