I’ve been in Queensland for a week now and have been working every day since Sunday – it has flown by. The priority is to get all my farm days done as soon as possible, f.o. to Bali then Melbourne. The money is good, more than what I was earning in England but not as much as Melbourne. I’m just saving the $$$ for Bali and Tokyo, with some to help me settle in Melbourne too.
To be honest, the work in itself is alright, but bending down every time I move is the worst of it. I planted over 2000 watermelon plants yesterday over nine hours and everything just hurts. I’ve had an impressive blood blister on the web of my thumb from sweeping so much, and am currently sporting sunburn on my lower back from where my tshirt comes up from bending down.
I’ve settled into the hostel well; even managed to get a decent bed. It’s pretty average for an Australian hostel: the doors to my room don’t shut properly, the bathroom door fell off and the kitchen has some form of infestation. To be honest, I’m tired of hostels and can’t wait to be able to go to sleep and wake up when I decide – they hoover the rooms at 8.30am and people play ping pong as though it’s life or death right outside the door at 10pm.
Also, this hostel loves to threaten you with a $200 fine if you break a rule – if you are caught with a glass bottle, for instance. There’s a sign on the entrance gate saying ‘trespassers will be prosecuted’ – I’ll have to resist writing ‘and fined $200’ underneath when I’m finished here.
There are 82 days of work left to go. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I’ll write again and my back, legs, knees and what’s left of my sanity are in tact.