South Australia is the wine capital of the country. This means there are lots of grapes to be picked throughout the state! Also, South Australia is unique in that the entirety of the state is classified as a rural area. This means you can complete your 88 days doing construction work in the city of Adelaide!
Finding the best area to do your farm work in South Australia
To obtain your second-year visa you have to complete your 88 days agricultural work in a rural area. Here are some of the areas South Australia has to offer.
Adelaide
The biggest city in South Australia, Adelaide is counted as a rural postcode on the government website. This means you can do things like construction work here and it will count towards your 88 days. These is perfect for those who don’t want to leave the city life behind but still want to complete their days.
Pinnaroo
Despite South Australia being the driest of the states, the Murray River does enter from the east, providing a number of farms for backpackers. Pinnaroo is often the location of choice. Peak season is between November and March, with the most common crops being apples, cherries, citrus, grapes, pears, stone Fruit, and vegetables.
Once you have some idea of where you would like to call home for the next few months, your next task will be finding a farm to employ you. This can be a daunting task but also one that can be done while doing something you love, scrolling down Facebook! South Australia has a host of great backpacker groups that employers post jobs on, or you can post your own advert that highlights yourself and your availability. Some of the best Facebook groups in South Australia for finding agricultural work are:
facebook/farmjobssa
facebook/Farmstay-Australia-Camping-Accommodation
facebook/Adelaide-Backpackers-Jobs
facebook/Adelaide-Backpackers-Jobs
Working Hostels
Often regarded as the easiest way to find farm work when speaking to people who have done it, Working Hostels are a great way to get a job and transport to work sorted. There is certainly no shortage of working hostels in South Australia. Simply Google working hostel in whichever town takes your pick and give them a call to see if they have any space. This can often be a more expensive option, but when getting your work found for you and your transport to the farm provided, it can work out to be a small price to pay.
Gumtree
Forever Australia’s go to site for finding casual work, Gumtree is also a leader in advertising for farm work. It is especially popular with the smaller farms that are looking to recruit people for picking jobs. Although, we must warn you to always be wary when searching through Gumtree, as anyone can post on Gumtree and scams are not exactly uncommon.
Gumtree allows you to search for current job vacancies in any area, or let you post your own availability advertisement to attract prospective farmers. On here you can post your availability, contact details, current location, experience and any other relevant information you feel would attract farmers to hiring you.
By Paraic Walker
