Day 39 - Christmas Creek Resort
Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 08:43AM You gotta be kidding me! This place is not a minesite, it is a resort! Ness & I are constantly amazed at the effort that has gone into this place to make it comfortable for the workers. As recent as 5 – 10 years ago Mine camps were very basic! You got a tiny room with a single bed & no bathroom! You had to walk to the shower & toilet blocks in the freezing cold, boiling hot, rain, wind. There was no TV & if there was the reception was crap. And the meals were the same day in day out as it was difficult to get fresh food!
How things have changed, mining companies have realised “Happy staff = Good morale & production” so they sure have put the effort into making a Mining Camp “Comfy”.
Here are some figures that we found out during the week.
- Cost to build this camp - $100 Million (Yes you read right)
- Cost to run this camp $40 Million per year
- Number of people here at any one time – up to 1800, but expanding to 2500 in the next 12 months
- Amount of food delivered per week 120 tonnes!
Each employee has their own room, with its own ensuite, they use it for the whole time they are on site. When they go off site there are locker rooms that they can store all of their gear & clothing until they return. Each room has air conditioning, a king single bed & all linen & towels are supplied & laundered. There is a fridge, a desk & each room has an internet access point & a phone that people can call in on. Oh and did I tell you about the TV? A large flat screen TV with foxtel & a movie channel with all the latest movies (I have watched 3 movies this week!) Lucky James!!
Yesterday Ness went for a tour through the mess kitchen & she talked to the camp manager, she found out that the Head Chef used to work in a 5 star restaurant, last night there was a curry on the menu, he said that they used 150kg of meat in that curry! (That’s a big curry!) and the night before Roast Beef was on the menu and they used 300kg of beef!
Each night there is a choice of 5 main courses & all the veggies that you can imagine available freshly cooked! Oh and have I mentioned the desert choices, cakes, muffins, biscuits, and always a hot desert as well! It is unbelievable! They bake everything here on site even the bread rolls!!
There is a resort style swimming pool & a lap pool for the healthy, an awesome Gym complete with a full time Healthy Lifestyle Co-ordinator that can design an exercise program for you.
If the mining boom is ever over they could open this place as a resort & charge people to stay here.
I got offered a job here! During one of my training sessions I was telling the group that after my accident I couldn’t go back to working on a mine site & my career opportunities were limited. This guy came up to me at the end & said “Mate if you are interested in a job on this site I can arrange one for you” I had to tell him I was happy doing what I do…. But it’s good to know I have a backup!
Annie is the talk of the camp! There are very few remote Mine Sites that allow a child on site, we are getting as many pictures as possible to remind her when she gets older. Guys walk past me saying, What the… a baby on site!!
Julia Gillard pisses me off…. Nothing to do with the blog….just a random thought that I wanted to share!
Tony Abbott is not much better….even though I sat next to him (across the aisle) on a plane one day!
Reader’s Comments & Birthday Message
My mate Jack is 5 today, Happy Birthday Jack. I hope your leg is getting better. When we get home & you get home from your trip to England we will have to have some lunch at our house or in your favourite park.
Alan commented on the blog, welcome aboard Alan.
Georgia (my sister) also made her first appearance….How am I going for spelling Georgy? (She is assistant principal at Menindee school) do I get an A+.
Kirsten suggested that Annie, Edward & Jack start a band called the Crunching Teeth! Eeeeewwwwww! I’m screwing my face up as I type!
Annie’s Blog
Ok I think I am the princess, or the Dalai Lamb, or the queen of the world….. Because there are so many people that stop Mum or Dad to talk to me. Am I really special? There must have been a hundred million people talk to me today (I think that is a big number… but I’ll know when I get older) and they go all funny and say “Awwwww isn’t she cuuuuuute” and start making stupid noises! Who is the baby here? Me or them????
Edward’s mum came up with a name for the band that him, Jack & I will start, the Crunching Teeth, but my Dad thought of other names. He said The Dribbling Boogers, The Runny Poo’s or the Nappy Rash Kids?....surely someone can come up with better names? Send them through to us.
I got dressed up in my safety gear today, I have got Pink safety boots. Check out the photos that Mum puts up. And a special High Visability cest made by my Nan.
I have to go to bed now coz I’m going to have to meet another hundred million people tomorrow!
Good night from
AnniInAVan…..XXXX
Reader Comments (6)
Wow - sounds like a great Resort - I want a full commentary on the daily SMORGASBOARD - is it like that for 3 meals a day or just Dinner Service?
Great work Annie - sounds like you have those big tough miners eating out of your hands.
Ness - you are looking great and James - you just kick back and enjoy those movies - perhaps you could call Room Service for some hot buttered popcorn.
Maybe Jack and Grace could come and stay at the mine site too !
Book me a room please, just tell them I'm the nanny
I LOVE THE NAME CRUNCHING TEETH!!!! My mum has some funny dance moves we could add cause every time I crunch my teeth she does this funny shudder thing! Its pretty funny, nearly as funny as the faces she pulls when we play peek a boo!!
Guess what....I went to the snow today! It was ace... my nose went really red and my nose had this clear stuff pouring out, Mum said she had to wipe it or it would turn into an icicle.
Can you ask you mum where you get a special High Visability "cest"??? My mum thought that was funny
xx Jack Jack
Christmas Creek.... Sounds like Christmas dinner every day there!!!
I love Foxtel too James but I'm stingy and won't pay for the movie channels!
How did the caravan repairs go? My in laws are travelling and there caravan's back axel broke and they are now holed up in a cabin in Katherine whilst they get their van fixed. They go some pretty rough places!
One trip my father in law had to wince the van through this flood plain and as no one was around he stripped off to his jocks and hitched up the van to winch and whilst he was winching a helicopter hovers over head and asks if he needs a hand!! They were from a near by station. Only my in laws could manage that!!
Enjoy your stay in the luxury of the million dollar mine site
xx T
ps we went to the snow today it was 1 degree at the top of Lake Mountain and it started to snow or sleet while we were there!
Did you crunch the numbers James? 120 tonnes of food a week for 1800 people works out to 9.5kg per person per day! Now that's some appetite. How much is thrown away one might ask?