The morning round with Kamadenu and Nandini

The day at the centre doesn’t start with a bell. It starts with buckets. Soon after first light, whoever is on the morning round sets off across the property with feed, fresh water and a list of names that, in truth, nobody needs any more.

First stop is always Kamadenu and her calf, Nandini. Kamadenu is patient in the way only a cow can be. Nandini is not. She has firm views on the order in which things should happen, and the order usually begins with her.

Everyone gets a visit

Then the birds. The peacocks announce the round to the whole valley whether it needs announcing or not. The guineafowl travel as a committee. The hens and roosters have their own opinions about breakfast, and the galahs and parrots drop in from the karri trees to see if anything has been left out for them.

The kangaroos aren’t ours, of course. They live here the way the trees do, and they keep a polite distance while the round goes past.

Nobody hurries a cow. After a few mornings, most people stop trying to hurry themselves.

Why guests come along

Guests staying in the chalets are welcome to join, and many do. There’s nothing to learn and nothing to perform: you carry a bucket, you wait while Nandini decides, you notice the frost on the grass and the river below. Many people tell us it’s the part of their stay they remember most.

It’s also simply care. Every animal here depends on the people who turn up each morning, and on the friends of the centre who help pay for their feed, their shelter and the vet when they need one.