I was looking into possibly doing fruit picking in the next couple of months
and was wondering past or current harvest workers opinions on the worst
and best fruit to pick. Also is there any particular areas/farms/vineyards that
you guys would recommend?
There's huge spiders in banana trees! You may think spiders don't bother you...but when they come crawling out of a bunch of fruit that you're holding its hard not to be a little panicked Small fruit (eg. strawberries, raspberries) is the worst if you're being paid by weight, not by an hourly wage. I think my worst experience would have been in an apricot cannery - flicking the stones out of the middle of the fruit with my fingers for 8hrs a day!!
I picked tomatoes in Bowen queensland, really easy to find work, i just stayed at one of the local hostels and they took us to the farm every morning and picked us up every night... the farmer i worked for was a bit rough, made you work really hard and treated you like you were sub human.. (that may have just been bad luck but look out for a huge farmer called Neville!) However i was desperate for cash at the time so we had to put up with it.
The season was during Oct- feb or thereabouts, i remember being paid about AUD$11 an hour but transport to the farm was free and i think we got a discount on our hostel fare (about $13 per night i think) This was all a long time ago so the rates have probably gone up.
the work was either picking in the fields or sorting in the sheds... picking was harder, especially as it was freezing in the mornings and boiling hot by 9 in the morning... also very early mornings.. 5 o'clock or thereabouts.
Hope this is useful
abi
Thanks for the info, gents! I am likely heading to South Australia or Victoria for fruit picking work in the next couple of weeks. I heard the best way to get a job is to just show up on the farm itself. Definitely plan on staying away from the smaller fruit though!
Hi All - I have to get an extension on my visa - im in london flying to melbounre feb3. Im on my first whv now and had to pop home - anyway i have until may 31 left of my current visa!
I have left it far to late i realise and now im panicking as i have only done 4 days work volunteering which counts apparently.
Please can anyone give me any pointers i just keep hearing horror stories about people going to hostels and just getting ripped off. Im thinking of heading to Mildura or somewhere in victoria. I dont drive so im limited.. i would go anywhere really.. can anyone help me !! thanks!!
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