For the past two months, my boyfriend and I have been working on an Australian farm in order to extend our Working Holiday Visa. The only way you can renew it is by completing 88 days of regional work.
I’ve heard many horror stories about working on Australian farms, especially about fruit picking or working hostels (you can read an example of an awful story here). That’s why we completely ignored those options and went for a more traditional job: station hand.
We were looking for a place that could take both of us and, after some researches, we got hired. We don’t have the same job position, as my boyfriend is the real cowboy working with sheep, while I’m a regular housewife cooking for the crew.
Our farm is the second-largest Australian sheep station (bigger than Melbourne!), located in South-Australia. We had to drive five whole days in the Australian outback before reaching the place!
Many people have been asking me what is like to live in remote areas in Australia, so I thought this post would answer those questions!
There’s a whole lot of nothing
Australia drastically changed my idea of farm life. I imagined this place to be cute and green, to be chilling in my hammock most days, and a short ride away from the city.
Well, no. I am literally surrounded by red dirt and some small trees. The property is so big, they even have an airport! The closest “village” is about 3 hours drive from the farm (which is 5 hours for us, as we don’t have a 4-wheel-drive) while the first normal-size city is more than a day far away.
As mentioned above, it took us almost one week to arrive here and, after crossing the South-Australian border, the view was pretty much the same, all day, every day.
Wifi is now a luxury
You won’t expect to have reception in the desert, right? Not even the closest village has wifi, let alone signal!
I only have wifi at home, while in the kitchen it’s not working. This isn’t necessarily a bad point, as I can focus on working without being interrupted and, anyway, I got used to it.
The crew communicates with each other through radio and, when there’s no signal for radio too, they have a special device they can use (for emergencies only!) for locating themselves.
The very last thing you want is to get lost in the desert, as it’s home to dangerous wildlife and crazy weather conditions.
Groceries are on demand
We are so cut off from the outside world, that it would be impossible to go to the supermarket when needed, not even once a month!
We get our groceries delivered every week, every fortnight, or even every three months (depending on what we order).
There’s a huge storage room where we keep three/four months worth of food!
The same thing goes for post and deliveries. The poor postman has to drive over 80km of dirt road to drop some packages.
Showers are fun
Everywhere I go, it seems people always ask about showers. Whether it’s showering in a van, or on a remote farm.
Here, there’s a pump system that keeps water running. However, for taking a hot shower, I have to light up the boiler at least one hour before shower time, so it can get hot.
Since I’m cooking all day and therefore not leaving the farm, I’m the one in charge of lighting up the boiler for everyone. Every day at 4.00 pm I have to place some wood under this old fashioned boiler and light it up with some diesel.
How old school is that?!
It’s hard work
To be honest, I feel lucky. I spend 10+ hours standing in the kitchen while I’m cooking and, even though it’s hard, it’s not nearly as hard work as what my boyfriend is doing.
He leaves at 7 am and come back home at 5.30 pm, completely covered in dirt and exhausted. He and the crew have to build fences, move sheep around, fix machines, and so much more. The work is literally endless!
The desert is not a safe place
One of the most famous myths about Australia is that everything is trying to kill you.
From saltwater crocodiles to deadly jellyfishes, snakes, spiders, sharks, Australia has them all. I would add that even the weather can kill, especially when temperatures can reach up to 52 degrees (!!!) in summer.
Being in a rural place, like an Australian farm, can be a bit dangerous, as we are literally living in snakes and spiders’ own habitat. Just imagine my happiness when I found a poisonous spider on my first day of farm work while cleaning my room!
Here you can find a list of the top 30 most dangerous animals in Australia!
This can be freedom
People that work on an Australian farm are used to be outdoors all the time. They drive trucks, motorbikes, quads, cars, sometimes they ride horses. Everything they’ll need, they have it. I’m sure this means freedom to them, as they don’t have to follow society’s rules, and they don’t have to fit into a system.
They can watch fireworks whenever they want because they have the freedom to light them up at night. Children don’t have bicycles, but small motorbikes instead. Dogs are always free and they can run all day long.
If this is what freedom looks like to you, then this is the right place for you.
You’ll never see as many stars
Australia is spoiling us to breathtaking views by day, and amazing stars by night. The most incredible thing is that this is now part of our daily life. Every sunset is better than the previous, and each sunrise leaves us speechless.
The Australian outback is the perfect place for admiring night skies, far away from light pollution and artificial lights. We use the Sky View App to find stars and constellations, learning something new every day.
Overall, it’s a positive challenge. I’m living something that no tourist would ever experience and I’m truly immersing myself in the real Australian culture. I always talk about slow travel and its benefits, and this is the ultimate slow travel experience!
Would you ever live like this?!
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