Date achieved:
Friday 28th July 2023
Where?
Churchill Island, Victoria, Australia
Why is this experience on the Challenge List?
When I was younger I remember my Grandmother telling me stories of how her Dad would milk the cow. The two cats would sit nearby in the hopes that he would squirt some into their mouths. I wanted the opportunity to do what they did and experience what it was like to have to work for that glass of milk rather than buying it from the shops.
Description:
For years I have been looking for a place to milk a cow, without much success. Then due to COVID they stopped the milking of the cows as they couldn't sanitise the cow. It was becoming impossible to find somewhere to milk a cow, I even travelled up the entire East Coast going into every information centre and asking if they knew of anywhere but I still couldn't find anywhere.
On the morning of Friday 28th July, my boyfriend said to get in the car and start driving and he was to direct the way. We drove for two hours with me trying to guess the eintire way of where we are going or what we might be doing. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure it out...
When we arrived at Churchill Island there was a sign with all the activities listed for the day and one of them included cow milking at 2:10pm. I couldnt believe he had finally found somewhere to milk a cow, as I had spent so long looking for somewhere, anywhere to do it without any luck and he finally found somewhere.
We waited till 2:10pm and I got to milk 'Butter', along with a few other travellers. It was an odd feeling as the milk coming out was warm. This challenge was meant to be something for me to experience to connect with my Grandmothers childhood, it wasn't meant to be difficult to complete. I am grateful to have people willing to help me with my Challenge List and seeing that it gets completed!
Would I do it again?
Yes I would do it again, I am curious to see how long it would take to say fill up a cup as I was there for about 30 seconds milking Butter and only a few millilitres came out.
Highlight:
The surprise of not knowing that, that day I was actually going to tick something off my Challenge List made it even more special.
Also we got to meet Butter the cow for about 15 minutes before I got to milk her.
Cost:
Further information:
Churchill Island is regarded as 'Victorias secret Island' and there is plenty to do there in regards to farm life, they have blacksmithing, cow milking, sheep shearing, working dogs, whip cracking. They even have a farmers market there once a month. If you would like to find out more about how you can get involved, check it out here.