Kyogle’s newest vet Simon Wake lives in an idyllic setting.
He shares his 80ha property near the Border Ranges with his schoolteacher wife Sally, daughter Lucy, dogs Arthur and Millie, 10 chickens and 18 Speckled Park cattle.
Photo: Susanna Freymark
Sitting by a huge dam where koalas hide in the trees, Simon’s Land Rover is parked under the gums nearby, ready for the next callout.
The Land Rover is equipped with everything a mobile vet needs to deal with most animals including microchipping.
Simon has been a vet for 25 years. He grew up on a farm at Kingaroy in Queensland and at high school knew he wanted to be a vet.
“I liked solving problems, that’s my challenge. Every single day is different, it’s never the same,” he said about being a vet.
He has helped a camel calve in Rockhampton when the travelling zoo came to town and has worked for eight years in the UK. He enjoys doing surgery on animals and as a mobile vet can see many animals at the same time.
His first job in the area was a callout to a steer with lantana poisoning.
“It looked like it had sunburn,” he said.
The steer survived the poisoning.
The family moved from an inner-city unit in Brisbane to live the country life with their menagerie.
A blow-up rainbow unicorn sits in the above ground pool where six-year-old Lucy swims – the colours a striking contrast to all the green.
“We wanted to slow down,” Simon said of their decision to move.
“We fell in love with this outlook.”
Simon and Sally plan to set aside a portion of their land for a rainforest “up the back”.
Simon is available for callout 9am-5pm during the week with extended hours to 8pm on Thursday. He takes after hours calls for emergencies.
Call Simon on 6698 2200.
This article appeared in the Richmond River Independent, 3 February 2021.
