Hard work, hot, a lot of fun and like nothing she's ever experienced before.
That's what Annabel Dalzell is expecting as she swaps the classroom for the dust and wilds of a sprawling million acre North Queensland station.
In March the newly-graduated Tamworth teenager will make the almost 2000 kilometre trek to work as a jackeroo at Millungera Station for the year.
Situated about 144 kilometres north east of Cloncurry and 197 kilometres south of Croydon, and spanning over 4000 square km, it's a world far removed from the one she has known all her life, but is something the 18-year-old has long wanted to do.
"It's going to be so much fun and so different," she said.
One of nine girls and six boys starting up there, much of the work will revolve around the close to 40,000 head of cattle the station runs.
On the countdown - she "can't wait to get up there" - one of the first things she will be packing in her bag will be her prized new belt buckle.
In November, Dalzell was crowned the Australian Bushmen's and Campdraft Association (ABCRA) Encouragement Rider of the Year.
Part of her prize was a buckle brandishing her Australian champion status.
Her first, but hopefully not last, national title, she went into the finals held at North Star in the number one spot but not safe, with Barraba's Lincoln Brown only six-and-a-half points behind.
"I was nervous," she said.
"All I wanted was this buckle and no-one to overtake me."
Coming out and producing a round-winning first run, with Brown unfortunately stumbling it gave her an unassailable lead. Not that she really had any idea, she was oblivious until later after the second run.
It capped off a great year in the saddle with Dalzell part of the Poole Family Perpetual Shield and Clifton Sporting Cup-winning Calrossy teams at the annual North West Equestrian Expo at Coonabarabran in June.
"That was a highlight of my year honestly," she said.
Individually also winning the barrel race for her age division, it was the perfect swansong; not only her school equestrian career but also her partnership with beloved horse Cruise. She sold him after the expo to another young Calrossy student.
"He was my heart horse," Dalzell said.
"There's nothing else like him to be honest so it was pretty special."
She can still remember the day she got him. She was about 10 at the time.
"As soon as mum saw him on Facebook, she said she knew he was the one and dad pulled us out of school and we drove down (to where he was) and we saw him that day," she said.
Initially her parents had been reluctant for her and older brother Hunter to get involved in the horse scene.
The story goes that like many a young girl she really wanted a horse and some family friends "decided to kind of trick mum and dad" and gave her a horse.
He was probably one of the worst horses she said she's ever ridden, but she fell in love with him and the rest as they say is history.
Around a decade on, between her and Hunter they have "10 horses, trucks, floats, foals, everything".
"Mum and dad always blame them but I think they're happy in the end," she joked, adding that they could still be riding motorbikes.
She got into campdrafting about six years ago after she was given the choice of getting a new jumping saddle or a stock saddle. She chose the latter.
