Ben Olschewsky admits that a remote Indigenous community was not where he expected to end up.
Far from his home country of Germany, Ben was hit hard by the endless red dirt when he arrived in Alpurrurulam, on the Northern Territory-Queensland border.
He only came for four weeks. That was 14 years ago.
Since then, he's become the community's go-to tradie, a housing project officer, maintains solar panels and occasionally even steps in as the firefighter.
But the self-confessed introvert — a label disputed by others in the community — confesses not everyone agrees with his bold move.
"[My family] think I'm an idiot, they think I'm nuts," he says.
"But I can't imagine where I could replicate this – getting up in the morning and having a purpose that you're actually contributing to something."
Ben's journey is a 'bit of a long story'
Alpurrurulam, or Lake Nash, as it's commonly known, is around 360 kilometres from the nearest city, Mount Isa.
The Indigenous community, with a population of 400, is only accessible by choppy dirt roads, which locals gleefully traverse in small busted up sedans.
It has one small general store, a school and a church.
How Ben wound up in the middle of outback Australia from Germany is a "bit of a long story".
Originally from Göttingen, his family moved to south-east Queensland when he was 10 years old.
In 2010, he was in northern NSW when he got a call asking him to come out to the remote community to help with building maintenance.
"I came for four weeks to give them a hand and well, here we are," he says.
His origin story has earned him the cheeky moniker of 'Ben German' in the community, despite barely a hint of an accent.
"No one can pronounce my last name," he admits.
Since moving to the community, Ben has taken on just about every job available – from delivering public housing, to maintaining the local solar power farm and contract mustering.
When bush or house fires break out, he's also the local fire brigade.
"Car fires are probably the most common, I think we've only had two this year. Last year, I lost count," he says.
He says it's the locals and way of life that's kept him hooked.
"I've fallen in love with the place, with the country, it's a beautiful community," he says.
The lonesome cowboy
In early 2023, disaster struck when Alpurrurulam and nearby Lake Nash Station were cut off by flood waters after the Georgina River peaked.
The station's homestead and buildings were submerged in muddy water.
The community was largely spared, but dirt highways which connect the region became impassable.
It would be four months before the flood waters would subside.
"It was hard to wrap your head around the volume of water coming down towards us," Ben recalls.
Curious about the extent of the flooding, Ben flew his drone down the dirt road between the cattle station and the community to see what the fuss was about.
He captured an iconic shot — a lone cowboy cutting through muddy waters on horseback.
"That was when I saw Shadrach Campbell, he's the cowboy," he says.
Loading...Despite being well prepared, the community's food supplies quickly dwindled, and emergency services were slow to act.
The situation repeated itself in early 2024, when the Georgina River peaked yet again.
It was a challenging time for the community but Ben looks back on the isolation with a particular fondness.
"You put the handbrake on, you can concentrate on other things — you spend time with the dogs or catching up on sleep," he says.
People come, people go
Although Ben loves spending time with his pup Abby, he admits it can sometimes get lonely in a remote community.
"Early on, there was such a social environment … we'd go down to the river for a swim or to Camooweal on a Sunday for a burger," he says.
Like with many communities, not everyone sticks around long term.
"People come, people go, those sorts of things change," he says.
So, does he have any plans on leaving?
"It's hard to say," Ben says.
"If the elders one day tell me I'm not welcome, I'll leave.
"Until then, I'll stay for a while yet."