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21 August 2018

Leahton Park Texas Longhorns #HogsAbroad in Australia

On day six after departing from Magnetic Island, we made our way to Leahton Park near Charters Towers. Upon arrival we were greeted by Michael and Linda Bethel before sitting down to ask questions and learn about how the Bethels got started raising Texas longhorns.

Next, Linda led us over to the Longhorn “love shack” were she showed us their pair of bison and described the process that she goes through to perform artificial insemination. Michael also described the logistics involved when handling their longhorn cattle.

Then, we dug into an excellent barbecue lunch that was prepared for us with Billy tea and damper, which are a traditional kind of tea and bread that was commonly consumed by Australian cattle drovers.

After our meal, we headed out into the pasture to look at the longhorns as well as buffalo, Scottish Highland cattle, and the African Watusi cross cattle. We were also able to see their beloved steer JR who at one time held the record for the longest horned beast in the world at about three meters.

Finally we stepped into Michael's saddle and gift shop before saying farewell and making our way to Hidden Valley cabins.


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