Farm work in Adelaide in October

eightyfish

Okay so as things stand I'm landing with my gf in Sydney on October 4th. We have a weeks accommodation booked in Manly to have a bit of a relax/sort out tax numbers etc. After that we want to start farm-based work immediately and continue doing this and travelling for about 4 months, hopefully getting 3 months of solid work in for the 2nd visa.

Looking at the 2010 harvest guide, it seems parts of Western Australia around Adelaide have a high demand for harvesters at this time of year. So our rough plan is to get the train to Adelaide (24 hours) and try to find work.

I'm wondering - how easy may it be to just turn up and "find work" in, for example, Adelaide Hills? Would owning a car and having own transport be essential? Basically I'm trying to find out if anyone's done this....

Thanks again ANZ boardsies.

Tigerandahalf

The Adelaide Hills is a wine region so there would be a fair degree of work there I'd imagine at different times of the year...pruning, picking and other general work. I would say you would need a car. There may be public transport in certain areas but I wouldn't say it would be regular.

seipeal1

Hi,
Firstly, just a small thing. Adelaide is in South Australia, not western Australia. You will definitely need a car to get around. Although Adelaide has a similar population to Dublin, it is much more spread out and it's hinterland is huge

The best times of year for harvesting are February to August and October to February

Crop and region:

Citrus (Riverland)
Dried fruits (February to April; in Riverland)
Grapes (February to April in the Barossa Valley and Southern Vales) Brussels sprouts (February to August in Adelaide Hills)
Strawberries (October to February in Adelaide Hills)

The Adelaide Hills are pretty spread out and start about 10k from the city center. I live in the center of Adelaide and work in the Barossa Valley. It is about 1 hours journey to the edges of it and the region extends for some 200Km's from there.

The Riverland has good work for travellers pretty well all year - half of all South Australia's grapes are grown here, along with citrus, olives and other garden crops. Local farmers and orchards are always looking for help with fruit picking and pruning vines. Jobs can be organised through the hostels, and usually include pick up and return. The nearest point to Adelaide is probably Murray Bridge, about 70K out.

Let me know if you need any more info.

eightyfish

seipeal1 wrote: »

Adelaide is in South Australia, not western Australia.

Sorry, that's what I meant.

seipeal1 wrote: »

Let me know if you need any more info.

Thanks for that, very helpful! I'll do a bit of Googleing.