[Ning77]

Hi

I'm in my last year of school and planning on taking a gap year after my A2s.
I've decided that I would ideally like to work on a farm/cattle station in the Australian outback for a bit. I've been looking at the program offered by RealGap, but have heard some bad things about them. I've spoken to someone who took that course, but it would be good to hear from others, particularly those who booked independently or with other companies.

Anyone who can shed some light on the best way to go about this would be very helpful.

Thanks

[Origami Bullets]

(Original post by Ning77)
Hi

I'm in my last year of school and planning on taking a gap year after my A2s.
I've decided that I would ideally like to work on a farm/cattle station in the Australian outback for a bit. I've been looking at the program offered by RealGap, but have heard some bad things about them. I've spoken to someone who took that course, but it would be good to hear from others, particularly those who booked independently or with other companies.

Anyone who can shed some light on the best way to go about this would be very helpful.

Thanks

I wrote a FAQ in general about working in Australia, so start by reading that http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/show....php?t=1868026

Personally I wouldn't advise going via RealGap - they tend to be vastly overpriced for what they are.

For fruit / veg picking, you don't need any experience, but the work is backbreaking and generally not a lot of fun. The only reason people do it is to get their second year visa (3 months work on a farm = another 12 month WHV )

For cattle / livestock based work, I gather experience is generally something that they like. For livestock experience, you can try volunteering at a city farm (one with cattle, ideally speaking!) and/or you could try getting a job as a farm hand to fund your travels (hey, it's different from the standard bar work people do!) I've worked with livestock (in the UK) before, and absolutely loved it - but don't forget that it is nothing other than hard, dirty work.

They can also prefer it if you have some kind of DIY / fencing experience, and a full driving licence will invariably be necessary.

If you want to have a look for paid farm work, then try seek.com.au and gumtree.com.au

If you want to try volunteering in return for bed & board on a farm, then try helpx.net, workaway.info and WWOOF - this can also be a great way to get experience

[Origami Bullets]

PS I'm going to copy this over to the FAQ so it's there for other people to read

[nicholas87]

where do you want to go in australia?