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gemfyreAlas, Pat leaves us tomorrow evening. He had 5 messages left on his satellite phone when he checked this morning. His mother has terminal cancer, so he's hopping on a plane to Melbourne to be with her. He may be back sometime before we leave, he's leaving his car here and either coming back to drive it around again or getting someone else to drive it to him.
When I came up here I had a pretty naive outlook on how it would be. I thought I'd do some cleaning and upkeep, some paperwork, some research and lots of showing people the birds. I didn't realise that the BBO was run by a committee or what that committee was like. This commitee consists of various self-appointed people from all over Australia (about 4 live in Broome) with an interest in the BBO - or so they say.
Ricki and Chris have both threatened to quit multiple times due to actions (or moreso inaction) from the committee. Now even I'm ready to pack up and leave if their latest plan comes to fruition.
The most obvious problem is the cars. And old Hi-Ace bus and a Landcruiser. These vehicles have given us nothing but trouble. The Landcruiser (Troupie) has broken down multiple times during tours (and our guests, God bless 'em have often been the ones to help get the bloody thing going again). The bus has been rattled to pieces on the awfully corrugated road that leads to the Obs. For a while there a terminal would bounce of the battery and would need to be reconnected whenever you wanted to start the bus. The battery also had a habit of draining flat overnight (a car problem, not a battery problem, it continued once the battery was replaced. Turns out it was probably the CB radio draining it). So often you'd get in ready to carry out an often urgent chore and bus wouldn't start, and the troupie was elsewhere being used or fixed. Again, a guest helped out once by giving another guest a lift instead of us. It also caused us to miss a medical, putting back recieving our F endorsements for another precious week. The tyre blew out during a tour causing Chris to refuse to drive it again (he has reneged since), he was infuriated someone (on the committee) had cut corners and gotten a retread for the tyre. The tyre on the troupie also shredded, and we discovered the cheap-ass bottle jacks in the cars were totally inappropriate for changing tyres on heavy 4WDs on an unsealed surface. One time BOTH cars were out of commission so Ricki used her ute, and smashed that up avoiding a wallaby. The committee is refusing to even give her a little help covering costs of repair.
Apparently the money is there to buy new cars, but the committee continues to hem and haw about the type of car, the price, what sponsorship deals could be struck etc. etc. Meanwhile we can barely run the buisness with two half broken down cars and the committee continues to complain about our expenses fixing them (and various other broken down things at the observatory). They complain they are going broke, one woman is even implying she wants the BBO shut down and an interpretive centre opened in Broome town instead.
The implication now is that we're not to drive into town so often. This is what is set to have me quitting. If I cannot have a car on my day off to drive away from this place for a day, then I will simply go crazy and have to leave. If I stay I will grow to hate the place, and the environment is really lovely, I couldn't stand not being able to stand it.
Another committe member seems be hell bent on getting Ricki fired. He's an absolute wader guru and to Chris and I seemed a pretty decent guy, then we learned what comments he'd made about us behind our backs. He expects this place to Cable Beach Club, which it will never be, is never meant to be and certainly won't be if the committee is refusing to spend any money on improving the place.
It doesn't help much that Ricki tends to go into minor histrionics whenever a committee member puts her down (which is often). Chris and I have to then cajole her into staying. She really is a brilliant woman and if only she could get the cash to make her dreams real, this bird observatory would be world class.
Ah well. 6 months left up here, hopefully things don't go downhill too much. This place is still magnificent. And the guests that visit have generally been very, very cool people. This place deserves so much more.
When I came up here I had a pretty naive outlook on how it would be. I thought I'd do some cleaning and upkeep, some paperwork, some research and lots of showing people the birds. I didn't realise that the BBO was run by a committee or what that committee was like. This commitee consists of various self-appointed people from all over Australia (about 4 live in Broome) with an interest in the BBO - or so they say.
Ricki and Chris have both threatened to quit multiple times due to actions (or moreso inaction) from the committee. Now even I'm ready to pack up and leave if their latest plan comes to fruition.
The most obvious problem is the cars. And old Hi-Ace bus and a Landcruiser. These vehicles have given us nothing but trouble. The Landcruiser (Troupie) has broken down multiple times during tours (and our guests, God bless 'em have often been the ones to help get the bloody thing going again). The bus has been rattled to pieces on the awfully corrugated road that leads to the Obs. For a while there a terminal would bounce of the battery and would need to be reconnected whenever you wanted to start the bus. The battery also had a habit of draining flat overnight (a car problem, not a battery problem, it continued once the battery was replaced. Turns out it was probably the CB radio draining it). So often you'd get in ready to carry out an often urgent chore and bus wouldn't start, and the troupie was elsewhere being used or fixed. Again, a guest helped out once by giving another guest a lift instead of us. It also caused us to miss a medical, putting back recieving our F endorsements for another precious week. The tyre blew out during a tour causing Chris to refuse to drive it again (he has reneged since), he was infuriated someone (on the committee) had cut corners and gotten a retread for the tyre. The tyre on the troupie also shredded, and we discovered the cheap-ass bottle jacks in the cars were totally inappropriate for changing tyres on heavy 4WDs on an unsealed surface. One time BOTH cars were out of commission so Ricki used her ute, and smashed that up avoiding a wallaby. The committee is refusing to even give her a little help covering costs of repair.
Apparently the money is there to buy new cars, but the committee continues to hem and haw about the type of car, the price, what sponsorship deals could be struck etc. etc. Meanwhile we can barely run the buisness with two half broken down cars and the committee continues to complain about our expenses fixing them (and various other broken down things at the observatory). They complain they are going broke, one woman is even implying she wants the BBO shut down and an interpretive centre opened in Broome town instead.
The implication now is that we're not to drive into town so often. This is what is set to have me quitting. If I cannot have a car on my day off to drive away from this place for a day, then I will simply go crazy and have to leave. If I stay I will grow to hate the place, and the environment is really lovely, I couldn't stand not being able to stand it.
Another committe member seems be hell bent on getting Ricki fired. He's an absolute wader guru and to Chris and I seemed a pretty decent guy, then we learned what comments he'd made about us behind our backs. He expects this place to Cable Beach Club, which it will never be, is never meant to be and certainly won't be if the committee is refusing to spend any money on improving the place.
It doesn't help much that Ricki tends to go into minor histrionics whenever a committee member puts her down (which is often). Chris and I have to then cajole her into staying. She really is a brilliant woman and if only she could get the cash to make her dreams real, this bird observatory would be world class.
Ah well. 6 months left up here, hopefully things don't go downhill too much. This place is still magnificent. And the guests that visit have generally been very, very cool people. This place deserves so much more.
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no subject
Date: 2005-05-06 02:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-06 05:09 pm (UTC)but that is pretty much what the committee seem to want to do anything involving spending money.
They know how much it costs to fix the cars continually, an expense that wont just go away. They should know how much it will cost to replace them. They should also know who would be willing to help them out with sponsorship like thing with vehicles. and what vehicles are actually appropriate.
They seem to know nothing about running a business though.
*hugs*
If you did quit it would save me a few hundred dollars though, which is a good thing for me i guess. Oh and I'd get you back here alot sooner too!
But I want you to be happy and get through the work too, because I know you love it.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-06 11:38 pm (UTC)