WHAT NEXT?
The cherry season finished and we can finally take a breath. No more cherries! They’re all picked, packed, and sold. Now the question is: What next?
WORKING ON A CHERRY FARM
I’ve talked about what it’s like to work a cherry season in a previous post. This time I want to give you a little bit of a reflection of what it was like to work on a farm from the very beginning of the season to the very end.
To start with, I have to say that it was pretty intense. The season lasted about 4 weeks. Thanks to Christmas and New Years, we had 5 days off total in those 4 weeks. Not gonna lie, we were desperate for time off at times. When you’re working 10-12 hours a day, every day, it’s nice to get some time to recharge.
Charlie and I started working on the farm before the cherry season started doing fruit and veg deliveries. Thanks to the fact that we had time to get to know our boss as well as could speak English it made us kind of supervisors. So we were in charge when our boss Michael wasn’t there.
How did our days look like? Every day was a little different. We still did fruit and veg deliveries 3 mornings a week and the rest was either picking or packing cherries. It depended on which varieties were ripe and needed picking. Even though picking probably earned the most money because you get paid per bucket, it was nice to do different things and stay out of the sun on stinking hot days. No-one’s picking, or in fact doing anything, with much productivity when it’s 40°C, right?
What kept us going? There were definitely times when we just felt exhausted. However, I think we managed to get through the way we did because of how we approached it. The main priorities were: sleep, proper good quality food, drinking enough water and in my case yoga. So many things like my business had to go quiet for a bit because I would simply crash if I tried to do it all.
When you’re in a hard season (or frankly any season), it’s important to set intention and priorities for that period. It will not only help you get things done, but it will also give you peace of mind not to feel guilty.
WHAT NEXT?
Our original plan was to stay in this area for 2 months to give us time to look for jobs. The cherry season played perfectly into our plan. Now the question is what next?
As we’re in Australia mainly to make money, we want something that will be well paid. At the moment, we’re looking into hospitality jobs in the mining industry.
As there might be a few weeks transition, we’ll still do fruit and veg deliveries 3 times a week. And as of this week, we started to work on another farm packing apples two days a week. Once you’re in one place and are willing to work hard, contacts will always help you.
I am so excited to get more rest and get into a normal routine. And play with puppies.
If you missed the previous post from my year in Australia, you can find them all here.
Any specific questions about life in Australia, drop me a message on Instagram @makeityouradventure
With Love
V
