Life on a Banana Farm - Part 1
First things first, apologies for the complete radio silence over the past 5 months – shocking, I know! I’d like to make my excuses and claim I’ve been stuck on a banana farm in the middle of nowhere, with no form of communication with the outside world. But that would be a lie. Apart from the banana farm part, that is all true. From February to May I was living and working in far north Queensland to complete my second year visa regional work. It was an experience, that's for sure.
Let’s rewind back to January. I was enjoying a 2 week holiday in the Sydney sun with very little clue about what to expect from farming. I had no idea where to go, what type of farming to do, what type of accommodation I’d need or how much I should expect to get paid. The list goes on. I’d done minimal research before coming to Australia (quelle surprise) and only knew a few basic things about regional work, these being:
1. I needed to work for 88 days or 3 consecutive months on a farm
2. The farm had to be in a specified region of Australia
3. It was going to be hard work
So, with this limited amount of information under my belt I set about finding out more about farming. The internet wasn’t too helpful, Google threw up some recommendations and job sites as well as what was currently in season, but that was about it. Luckily most of the people in my hostel had already completed their farm work and gave endless tips and recommendations as well as a few horror stories. I eventually ended up with a contact name and number for a working hostel in Innisfail, a small town south of Cairns. After a quick phone call and assurance that my 2 friends and I would be guaranteed accommodation and work within a week of arrival, we booked our flight to Cairns.
Our choice of working hostel was Backpackers Shack, ran by a local guy called Nick. I honestly couldn’t recommend The Shack more and my 3 months spent at the hostel were awesome. Innisfail is a popular destination for travellers wanting to complete their farm work and there are several hostels in the town; Budget Backpackers, Walkabout and Codge Lodge. There’s a friendly rivalry between the hostels and I know I’m biased but The Shack was by far the best. Farm hostels aren’t cheap and all the hostels in Innisfail are around the same price. I paid $200 a week for an 8 bed dorm and weekly travel to and from the farm. The Shack rooms were pretty decent. We had a locker each, big shower/ toilet room and a walk in closet. You become SO close with your roomies (shout out to 105) and everyone else in the hostel. As cringe as it sounds, you really do become one big family.
The kitchen area was usually about 1000 degrees and could have been bigger but it was usually pretty clean. To be honest I rarely cooked at the hostel, it was too much of an ordeal and I couldn't cope with the heat and 150 people competing for the facilities. Praise the Lord there was a Maccies and Subway right across the road. This wasn't too good for my bank balance or waistline though. The social areas upstairs consisted of a couple of sofas, a TV, Xbox and laptop which was loaded with an impressive selection of films. The outside area is basically a car park with a couple of metal benches and where we spent 90% of our time partying.
Innisfail is your typical small town and there really isn’t that much to do there. There’s a large Coles, McDonalds, Subway, Kmart, Target, Dominos and a great local Indian where I pretty much spent most of my time and money. There’s also an outdoor swimming pool that’s only $3 entry and a huge park with a smaller swimming pool and BBQ areas. There's even a race track with meetings every couple of months which was always a great day out! The nightlife in Innisfail is nonexistent; there are a couple of bars and one nightclub - the one and only Rumours where everyone spends their Friday night. Other than that drinking at the hostel is your only other option, and we did A LOT of that. We did also escape to Cairns for a couple of weekends, and it was amazing to leave the farming bubble and enter normality for a few days. There are also loads of beautiful sights to see within a half hour drive of Innisfail. You've got Etty Bay, a lovely secluded beach with a small cafe and swimming area (watch out for crocks and stingers)! Josephine Falls is a short drive from the hostel and is a great place to go for a swim and check out the awesome falls. Babinda Boulders is good for a day trip; bring food for a barbie and go exploring down the river.
Innsifail and The Shack are a great place to go for your farming. Nick is amazing at getting people work; usually he'll get you a job withing the week. The town itself isn't amazing - but that's regional work for you. You're going to end up somewhere in the middle of nowhere and Innisfail is probably the best of a bad bunch! Be warned though, the heat and humidity up there is insane. Yes, I was there in summer (probably not the best idea), but that's the best season to be there as you're guaranteed more days work. While you'll usually get work all year round, the season definitely slows down around April time for a couple of months - so best to avoid arriving during these times.
Hostel life was the best and most enjoyable part of farm work. You live with a huge group of like-minded people, who are all in the same shitty situation and it really brings you all together. Farm life is like living in a little bubble, you feel so removed from reality and the real world, it's such a surreal situation. Less than a month before I moved to the farm I was working and living in London, enjoying the normal life of a 26 year old. Fast forward a few weeks and I was sleeping in a room with 9 people and farming bananas for a living. But it's the best decision I've ever made!
Let’s rewind back to January. I was enjoying a 2 week holiday in the Sydney sun with very little clue about what to expect from farming. I had no idea where to go, what type of farming to do, what type of accommodation I’d need or how much I should expect to get paid. The list goes on. I’d done minimal research before coming to Australia (quelle surprise) and only knew a few basic things about regional work, these being:
1. I needed to work for 88 days or 3 consecutive months on a farm
2. The farm had to be in a specified region of Australia
3. It was going to be hard work
So, with this limited amount of information under my belt I set about finding out more about farming. The internet wasn’t too helpful, Google threw up some recommendations and job sites as well as what was currently in season, but that was about it. Luckily most of the people in my hostel had already completed their farm work and gave endless tips and recommendations as well as a few horror stories. I eventually ended up with a contact name and number for a working hostel in Innisfail, a small town south of Cairns. After a quick phone call and assurance that my 2 friends and I would be guaranteed accommodation and work within a week of arrival, we booked our flight to Cairns.
Our choice of working hostel was Backpackers Shack, ran by a local guy called Nick. I honestly couldn’t recommend The Shack more and my 3 months spent at the hostel were awesome. Innisfail is a popular destination for travellers wanting to complete their farm work and there are several hostels in the town; Budget Backpackers, Walkabout and Codge Lodge. There’s a friendly rivalry between the hostels and I know I’m biased but The Shack was by far the best. Farm hostels aren’t cheap and all the hostels in Innisfail are around the same price. I paid $200 a week for an 8 bed dorm and weekly travel to and from the farm. The Shack rooms were pretty decent. We had a locker each, big shower/ toilet room and a walk in closet. You become SO close with your roomies (shout out to 105) and everyone else in the hostel. As cringe as it sounds, you really do become one big family.
The kitchen area was usually about 1000 degrees and could have been bigger but it was usually pretty clean. To be honest I rarely cooked at the hostel, it was too much of an ordeal and I couldn't cope with the heat and 150 people competing for the facilities. Praise the Lord there was a Maccies and Subway right across the road. This wasn't too good for my bank balance or waistline though. The social areas upstairs consisted of a couple of sofas, a TV, Xbox and laptop which was loaded with an impressive selection of films. The outside area is basically a car park with a couple of metal benches and where we spent 90% of our time partying.
Innisfail is your typical small town and there really isn’t that much to do there. There’s a large Coles, McDonalds, Subway, Kmart, Target, Dominos and a great local Indian where I pretty much spent most of my time and money. There’s also an outdoor swimming pool that’s only $3 entry and a huge park with a smaller swimming pool and BBQ areas. There's even a race track with meetings every couple of months which was always a great day out! The nightlife in Innisfail is nonexistent; there are a couple of bars and one nightclub - the one and only Rumours where everyone spends their Friday night. Other than that drinking at the hostel is your only other option, and we did A LOT of that. We did also escape to Cairns for a couple of weekends, and it was amazing to leave the farming bubble and enter normality for a few days. There are also loads of beautiful sights to see within a half hour drive of Innisfail. You've got Etty Bay, a lovely secluded beach with a small cafe and swimming area (watch out for crocks and stingers)! Josephine Falls is a short drive from the hostel and is a great place to go for a swim and check out the awesome falls. Babinda Boulders is good for a day trip; bring food for a barbie and go exploring down the river.
Innsifail and The Shack are a great place to go for your farming. Nick is amazing at getting people work; usually he'll get you a job withing the week. The town itself isn't amazing - but that's regional work for you. You're going to end up somewhere in the middle of nowhere and Innisfail is probably the best of a bad bunch! Be warned though, the heat and humidity up there is insane. Yes, I was there in summer (probably not the best idea), but that's the best season to be there as you're guaranteed more days work. While you'll usually get work all year round, the season definitely slows down around April time for a couple of months - so best to avoid arriving during these times.
Hostel life was the best and most enjoyable part of farm work. You live with a huge group of like-minded people, who are all in the same shitty situation and it really brings you all together. Farm life is like living in a little bubble, you feel so removed from reality and the real world, it's such a surreal situation. Less than a month before I moved to the farm I was working and living in London, enjoying the normal life of a 26 year old. Fast forward a few weeks and I was sleeping in a room with 9 people and farming bananas for a living. But it's the best decision I've ever made!
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