Strawberry Fields Forever...

After a small omg-what-on-earth-am-I-doing-next moment and some frantic Googling.. I decided to stay in Tassie to complete some farmwork. To qualify for a 2nd Year Visa, applicants are required to complete 88days of Regional Work. This is how I ended up contacting Little Devil Backpackers. I was assured they would find me a job, and it wasn't a terrible price so I vowed to give it a go for a month.

Huonville was a 40min overpriced bus ride from Hobart. I tried so so hard to stay awake, but we all know what happens when I'm on public transport. I was shaken awake by the bus driver himself at my stop and shuffled off the bus rather red in the face, apologising profusely to everyone in sight.

I booked into a 4-bed dorm and paid my weeks rent. David informed me of a minibus leaving for the strawberry farm the next day at 6am. I met the lovely girls in my room; Ivy, Nene and Chihiro, and they got me organised for the morning. This involved writing out my picking number, 3333, over and over again.

The following morning I was awake at 5.30am, drinking tea and eating toast. I had my numbers packed in my bag, along with a drink and a raincoat. I really didnt know what to expect. DM Jennings was a 30min drive away, in Cygnet. I actually managed to stay awake the whole journey. There were two farms to alternate between at the start; Rifle Range and Downhams.

On arrival I was directed to Sam, our supervisor. There was myself and another girl on our first day and so we were shown the ropes. It was pretty simple, pick the ripe strawberries and put them in the tray. Once the strawberries reached the line, this tray could be collected and that 5kg earned you a whopping $5...

Rather than ramble on and on about the trials and tribulations of each shift, I thought I'd follow the structure of my 'Working in Sydney' blog.

Pros
• Therapeutic: It's amazing how satisfying it can be to complete a mindless task. Now I'm not saying this was the case everyday, but it was great sometimes to be able to just turn the brain off and enjoy the repetitive action.
• Early Shifts: I have always loved an early start to the morning, and finishing by lunchtime most days gave me time to enjoy a walk or a swim in the early evening. It also meant getting to the remote first at the hostel and watching what I wanted to on Netflix!
• Weeding Opportunities: Once we'd become known with Sam, and he knew we were willing to work extra, he offered weeding shifts. These would be no longer than 2hrs, but were hourly paid so totally worth it.. even if they hurt the back even more than picking.
• Free Strawberries: Whenever I have  mentioned that I'd been picking strawberries, I've been immediately asked; "Do you get to eat them?" The answer is yes, but I restricted myself to one or two a day.. didn't want to eat my wages!

Cons
• Bad Posture: As much as I would try to bend from the knees, or reduce the amount I bent over the plants.. I would compromise my back for efficiency. And even when I tried to mix it up, by squatting or kneeling, another part of my body would protest. This resulted in an achey lower back, dodgy knees and, on some days, calves that just didn't want to play.
• Bad Pay: We were basically slaves. I mean $5 a tray? Seriously?! On some days that would equate to $10/hr, on most $5/hr. When the "Big Farm" was finally ready, each tray was $7, but this was basically because the strawberries were so sparse it could take up to 2hrs to fill one!
• Shift Patterns: My first week or two were a nightmare. I was told that 6hrs work would count as a day towards my visa. We did not work over 4hrs for a while, pair this with multiple days off in a week and it looked like I'd never get any days. Contrasting completely to this, March saw several 8hr days. So unpredictable, I could never plan my evenings.
• Inconsistent Information: Seeing as 90% of the workers on the farm were working to gain a 2nd Year Visa, you'd hope the supervisors/office/boss would know and provide accurate info. This was not the case. Everyone would receive different advice regarding days and their length etc etc. I had been counting hours instead of days, as was told they would eventually be divided by 6 to get my days.. this wasn't the case.
• Boredom: It was boring, I'm not going to lie. My playlist did help (thanks for your suggestions) but on the days I forgot my music/ran out of juice, I really struggled!
• Lack of Motivation: This is primarily my fault. But still, a combination of all of the above made it so difficult to return shift after shift. I often found myself sitting in the middle of a row, staring into space and wondering what my life had come to.

Overall, picking strawberries was definitely an experience. And hey, I earned myself a whole 16 days. Only 72 to go!! On a positive note, I have been promised that any future farmwork will seem easy in comparison!

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