Found Job in Bundaberg

There are many backpackers around Bundaberg and Childers, and it is the hostels that arrange jobs to them. Paying super expensive rental and transport to work up to $200 each week, some may only get to work 4-5 days a week. Earning enough to cover the rental and food.

In Bundaberg came good news, we had a job after staying one night in this bloody hostel. We called to Bundaberg Work&Dive Hostel and the PIC Ian said there are work available. We were just not used to so many people staying together, using the kitchen and bathroom. Even though the room is a 4 bed dorm, the noise it could make is unimaginable. The lights going on and off (us squeezing tight on a single bed), the banging of doors, the squeeky bed sound and the noise of people laughing & chatting outside.

It just makes Angie so furious. We had to get up at 4.30am the next morning, but we reckon we only had 4 hours of sleep. We've never like hostel! Not when we have tried camping. The privacy we get, the clean kitchen and toilets in caravan parks. Aaaarghh... and the hostels is damn expensive! $22 a night per person which we end up using only one bed because there were none available!

So our first day of work is a complete LOSS! Picking tomatoes. Never ever pick tomatoes if it's the first day of harvest. $10.50 is what we get (Peter got $12) for four hours of bending. FRUITLESS! And not counting the petrol we had to pay. The damage of the yucky mud on our jeans and shoes! OMG! That's it. We are not staying in this hostel no more. Back to looking for job again!!!

Thinking back, we were so lucky in Tasmania, having found a job the next day we arrive there. And the pay, compared to tomato picking is so much better. And to think back our life in Madura (the outback roadhouse), we can sy we are in HEAVEN. LOL.

After one night stay in the hostel, we moved back to the Finemore Holiday paying $25 for powered site for 2 person instead of $44 for 2 in the hostel. It was raining heavily that day (almost 24 hrs), at night we felt our legs getting wet even in the sleeping bag. OMG, the rain had got into our tent. Ohhh.. we had to lay a sleeping bag to absorb the water and sleep through the night. The next day, we had to blow dry all our stuff and shift our tent to the concrete slab. 

A friendly neighbour at the park gave us a bag of yabbies he caught at the lakes. They looked like little lobsters. A technique to peel the yabbies shell according to our neighbour is to put them in boiling water for 40seconds then in cold water immediately. This makes them easier to peel. Maybe we dipped them in hot water for too long that it is tasteless when we cook them in sweet n sour sauce =.= We cook their shells too, and use the extract to make chawanmushi, which is SUPER GOOD =)

The weather has been getting colder at night than it's supposed to be, resulting in the crops dropping early. So there weren't any jobs in Bundaberg and surrounding places like Childers and Bauple. Most farmers say there will be no farm work for another two weeks. So we decided not to use much money during this period and we came across HELPX which is an online listing for farmers/ homestays to invite volunteer helpers to stay with them in exchange of food and accomodation. It's something like WWOOFing but we can register HELPX as a couple, so only paying one time registration fee of AUD$30 for 2 years international membership. While the 12 month WWOOF membership costs AUD$65 per person and only for Australia hosts. HELPX has coverage in New Zealand too. But WWOOF has basic insurance cover for volunteers and their hosts are organic farms only. A trick from other backpackers is that you can sell the WWOOF book (which costs $65) to other people when you're done with it. 

There are quite a lot of hosts in HELPX and we decide to become members. So only upon signing up that you are able to see the hosts' contact number or email. And we manage to get a reply from one of the two hosts we contacted. So the very next day, we will be in a farm!

FARM LIFE ~~~