Cherry King. STAY FAR AWAY.

I worked here in Oct - Nov 2011 as a cherry picker. I was recruited by a Korean man named Inho who works for one of the many labour hire agencies that recruit for the farm. Cherries have a repution for being a good money maker for pickers in Australia; that is, if you go somewhere OTHER than Hillston, NSW. Several backpackers showed up at this farm disappointed as they werent making anywhere near what they believed they would. I don't know much about the pay or circumstances elsewhere, but I heard that Cherry King  is one of the worst contracts for cherry picking in the country. From my experience, I'd definitely agree. I'm a considerably fast picker (one of the fastest in my group for the time I was there) given my previous farmwork experience on an apple orchard, and that my grandparents own cherry and apple trees at home. However, my earnings every day fell far below minimum wage. The least I ever earned was $56 and the most was $120. This was pretty tight considering the rent was $100/week and we were charged $5/day for a bus to take us from our accomodation in town to the farm which was about 20km away. After taxes and living expenses added up, I felt lucky just to put aside a couple hundred dollars from my stay here (which I cut short due to the poor working conditions.) However, I was lucky as all the housemates I lived with were only earning a fraction of what I was. If you're not extremely quick, it'll probably COST you to work here rather than you actually earning anything.

Of course there was the odd extremely fast picker in each group, who could pick 3 or 4 times faster than even the average picker. At that rate, they often earned about minumum wage. However, this was rare. Another thing that I never understood was how the same size "lugs" we picked every day were set a different price each day, based on how the manager felt. Sometimes he'd say we'd be paid $15 for 1 lug, other days it was $12 or as low as $10. It irked a lot of people and several left early.

DO NOT come to pick cherries here, it will be the most disappointing farmwork experience you'll have. Photos to come.

Australia Zoo

The Australia Zoo is a 100-acre zoo located in the state of Queensland on the Sunshine coast of Australia. It is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin. It was first opened in the 1970s by Steve's parents.

I've been to a few zoos around the world, and my friends and I reached the consensus that we generally liked the vibe of this one. The animals seemed to have plenty of room, appeared happy and well-fed/taken care of. They don't seem "caged" at all, most of the attractions tend to be walk-through enclosures and the animals seemed almost free to walk as far as they wanted for the most part.


They also have an animal rescue and rehabilitation centre which visitors can visit after zoo areas for a couple dollars extra. The cost to enter the zoo, as of 2011 is $59.99 AUD per adult.

There are shows that feature elephants and crocodiles. We watched a crocodile deomonstration where a man lured a croc out of the water with a fish and then fed him. He also made the croc jump from the water later by holding a fish well above the water's surface. Some interesting demos were done with birds, tigers and elephants as well. The staff all seemed not only knowledgeable, but genuinely interested in their animals and educating people about them.
We had our photos taken with a very tired looking kuala bear for $15 each, and I felt sorry for how many hands he must get placed into every day. I can only hope he gets to change shifts with another kuala when he gets tired. They also had a free-roaming kangaroo enclosure where you can pay a few dollars for food to feed them. We walked through the enclosure to pet and get photos with them, but opted out of attempting to feed them since none of them looked hungry.

All in all, what I liked about this zoo was that it sends a very clear message of the importance of environmental protection to prevent extinction of these animals, and education on how to act should you ever encounter these animals in the wild. A very good day. Well recommended.

The Job Shop

I never personally secured work with The Job Shop, located in Perth, but two of my close friends have. This is not a job placement agency, but a job source; you give them your CV and info about what kind of job you want/where you're willing to work and they will forward your info to any matching employers. The more flexible you are, the more likely you are to find work through them fast. Most of their featured jobs are restaurants, cafes, au pair work, bar, farmwork and roadhouses (gas/petrol stations in the outback or middle of nowhere.)

Although I never found a job through them, I was impressed with their service when I visited the office a few times looking for work. Although the receptionists weren't particularly friendly, they have very good memories. One lady told me that my resume was 'too professional' for the kind of work I'd be looking for in Australia and advised me to modify it to feature more relevent experience to what I was looking for (restaurant/bar and cafe work.) The next day when I returned, she remembered me right away and had already viewed my modified resume since I had submitted it by email. She forwarded it to a cafe owner who was to call me within a few days. If I didn't hear from them by then, I was to return to the Job Shop where they would continue looking for other opportunities for me.

I never did hear from the cafe, but luckily by then I'd already found a job. :) Be sure to apply online to The Job Shop before visiting their office.

Crocosaurus Cove

Crocosaurus Cove is a crocodile zoo, aquarium, museum and information centre located right downtown in Darwin, Australia. They have crocodile feeding times, opportunities to hold a baby croc and feed baby crocodiles included in park admission, and for extra there's the 'cage of death' where you're in a glass box that is lowered into the crodocile tank with live crocs.

Its central on the main street of Darwin and only $29 to get in (in 2011.) The cage of death is an extra $70, but keep in mind that the crocs may not be as interested in you as you'd hope they'd be. I had the vision of them swimming up and trying to bite through the glass, giving us the thrill/scare of our lives but instead they just sat there underwater and ignored us. It probably depends on the time of day and how hungry they are. Still, I dont regret doing it, how many people can say they've swam with real crocodiles right? ;) Just dont have your hopes up. You can also watch other people doing the cage of death which can be entertaining too.

One thing I found slightly ironic about the place was how they seem to promote wellbeing and humane treatment of crocodiles, but they sell crocodile skins and souvenirs made from crocodile parts in the souvenir shop. :/ A little odd...

Give yourself at least a few hours to see the whole place and all it has to offer. Staff were friendly and helpful and I learned quite a bit here about the wildlife. They had other sea creatures besides crocs, such as exotic fish, snakes and frogs and it was very interesting to look through.Great for kids, a date or with friends. The wildlife here seems happy and to be treated well/humanely (an important factor to always consider when visiting animals in captivity.)

Traveller's Autobarn

Another vehicle rental company, perfect for roadtrips in Australia. We rented a 5 seater volkswagon with plenty of storage space in the back. It came with everything they promised; no more or less. There was cuttlery, plates, bowls, cooking supplies, a gas stove, tent, cooler, chairs and a table. We bought blow up air mattresses, a pump, and some blankets to make the trip a little more comfortable.

We were able to plug our ipods/mp3 players into the radio to listen to our own music, and the car was spotless when we picked it up. Two and a half weeks later when we dropped it off, they told us we'd messed it up too much and directed us to a nearby car cleaner to have it cleaned out for the next renters. (I don't blame them, as we were pretty messy.)

It cost close to $900 AUD for the 2.5 week rental from Cairns to Sydney. It cost roughly $450 in fuel. Split 3 ways, it wasn't too bad. The more people you travel with, the more cost effective.

Check the Traveller's Autobarn website for more details and to rent!

Wicked Campers

Wicked Campers is an affordable vechile rental agency in Australia and international. My only experience with them has been in Australia. I rented a two seater 4WD Campervan (which means you can sleep in the back in the van ) it comes with mattresses, ample storage space, a cooler to store food, shelves, utensils, plates and a gas stove to cook food on. Keep in mind that the campers do NOT come with bedding; pillows or blankets. Also expect to spend extra on accomodation; caravan parks tend to range from $20-$40 per night depending on a number of variables.

Our camper's gas tank was on empty when we picked it up; according to the receptionists, they're all to be dropped off empty and picked up empty. She gave us directions to the nearest gas/petrol station. We found that a little strange.I was also a little disappointed about our CD player being broken, so we couldnt listen to our music during the trip as we'd hoped. Other than that, we were faily pleased with our rental.

Like most other vehicle rental companies, a one-way fee is applied. We rented for 6 days from Perth and were told the furthest we were allowed to drive was Monkey Mia. It cost us a little over $600 AUD. The timing and distance turned out to be accurate. Check their website for more info.

You can get discounts through Wicked, if its you're birthday, if you're homosexual and if you happen to smoke weed. I never looked into any of these, but you can always try. :)

Go Work About

Go Work About is an employment agency siutated in Perth for backpackers wishing to find jobs in Australia. They recruit travellers for jobs primarily in fruit-picking, hospitality and barwork. Their office is in Fremantle, a suburb of Perth. A 30 min train ride from the city centre will bring you there for roughly $3, although you're probably better off to call them in advance as what they'll say to you in person won't be much different over the phone. Save time and only go to their office if they invite you to a meeting. Keep in mind that Go Work About is for jobs in Western Australia ONLY.

You can register for work with them online, find contact info and apply for jobs on their website, found here: http://goworkabout.com/

Go Work About offers a unique feature which many job agencies do not, and that is to secure work for backpackers overseas before their arrival in Australia. You pay a lot of money for this service and I will be the first to admitt its over-priced. I knew I wouldn't be arriving in Australia rich and didn't want to worry about the hassle of supporting myself while trying to secure a decent-paying job, so I paid Go Work About roughly $500 USD to guarantee me a job at Casuarina Valley Orchard prior to my arrival in Australia. With this came other convenient services, a mail forwarding service, and they set up my bank account and tax file number for me (which I later found out is quite easy to do on your own.) It was a lot of money, but I was paying for security and security is what I got.

The work at Casuarina did not turn out to be all Go Work About painted it to be, but I still saved money there and that was my goal. In addition, I met many great friends who I travelled with around Australia. Farms are a great place to meet friends in Australia because you're all so secluded from civilization and sharing a similar passion: travel.

Go Work About also found me an outback country pub, working at a tavern in Karratha, WA. I had a great time there and am generally satisfied with the service Go Work About offers to backpackers.

Skydive Jurien Bay

Jurien Bay is located 2 hours north of Perth and 20 minutes away from the Pinnacles. Its one of the only (possibly the only) place in Western Australia where you can skydive, so its more pricey than doing it on the east coast. Its very easy to find, just follow signs for it right off the Indian Ocean Drive, the main highway leading north of Perth. Check official website for more info and prices here :http://www.skydivejurienbay.com/
We had an amazing experience here. It was my first time skydiving, so I was slightly nervous. The view was nothing short of spectacular with the turquoise water coastline. One unique feature was that we got to land on the sandy white beach which is something I learned many other places don't do. We paid extra for the photo and video package, which I HIGHLY recommend to anyone. Skyidiving is not something most people do often, and the video footage at this place is well put together with music and the view is gorgeous, something you'll want to show off to all your friends. We paid for the most expensive package to jump from 14,000 ft, another thing we're glad we did. If you're going to go, go all the way. :)

The staff was friendly, and my instructor cracked a lot of jokes which eased the tension for me since I was a little nervous. All in all a great day, I'd recommend this to anyone!

Monkey Mia

Monkey Mia isn't a beach town, like we thought, but a resort that you drive right into from the road leading to it. You have a choice between renting a room there, camping or staying in your campervan. It cost us roughly $30/night to park our campervan there. View other info regarding prices at the resort here:http://www.monkeymia.com.au/

The dolphin interaction happens 3 times a day, the first starting at roughly 7am and the last one ending around noon. Make sure you wake up early to get out there because they never do the interactions after 12 even if the dolphins were to show up late. They are quite strict about this.

The "interaction" isn't as intimate as the posters lead some to believe, so don't get your hopes up! No one is allowed to touch the dolphins and only a few people from each crowd (normally children) will be chosen to give a few fish to them, and even then there is no padding or touching allowed. this is because dolphins over the years have contracted colds and other viruses from the hundreds of hands that used to touch them daily. So nowadays people stand there and enjoy the beauty of the signt of dolphins right at the beach's shore, only a few feet away, which is something that you may only see once in a lifetime.

The lady giving the demo during the feeding was well-spoken and very imformative.

After the dolphin sighting, there are other activities such as kayaking (costs about $15/hour - the guy gave us a deal for $30 for 2 for the whole day) swimming, suntanning on the beach and enjoying the restaurants/bars and eateries on the resort.

One day would be enough for most people to spend at Monkey Mia, two at the most. All in all, a great visit and well worth the trip.

Kalbarri National Park

Located on Western Australia's mid north coast, Kalbarri National Park is known for its spectacular scenery and red rock gorges that were cut from the landscape by the mighty Murchison River. It is roughly a 7 hour drive north of Perth. There are several caravan parks located in the town of Kalbarri which provides you easy and convenient access to the beach, town and entire park. Due to our time contraint, we only spent a single night in Kalbarri and saw the majority of what the park had to offer; cliffs, a wildflower centre, amazing rock formations and views over hills and the sea.

I regret very much to have missed "Nature's Window" the site the park is most famous for and its feature photo in most travel brochures. It was rainy the day we arrived and the only way to view Nature's Window is through driving; they close it when the weather is bad to avoid accidents. For this reason, I would recommend more than just one night in the Kalbarri town to avoid any disapppointment and feeling 'rushed' to see everything. If I could do it again, I would spend more time taking in the beauty of this wonderful place. There are tours offered through Kalbarri, but you can also drive/hike yourself.


Read more about what you can see here at: http://www.kalbarri.org.au

The Pink Lake, Western Australia

The Pink Lake is a salt lake in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It lies about 3 kilometres (2 mi) west of Esperance and is bounded to the East by the South Coast Highway. If you come at the right time of day, this massive lake will be a very clear pink in colour, and surely one of the most amazing things you will have seen on Australia's west coast. There are several turn offs to it from the main road where you could picnic, suntan, enjoy the view and take photos. This is not so much of an attraction, but an off-the beaten path treasure that most travellers never get the chance to see.

We saw this beautiful lake out of sheer luck from driving from Geraldtown towards the Kalbarri national park on a roadtrip. We made the appropriate turn off after seeing signs from the main highway, and to our fascination, we were there at the perfect time of day (mid afternoon) and the lake was sporting this amazing colour.

The Pinnacles, Western Australia

The Pinnacles are limestone formations contained within Nambung National Park, near the town of Cervantes, Western Australia. Theys are located in Nambung national park, a 2.5 hour drive north of Perth on the Indian Ocean Road. It can take anywhere from an hour to 3 hours to get through the entire park, depending on how thouroughly you want to explore the rocks, take pictures with them, etc. These rocks were almost unknown to Australians until the 1960s, and now they receive about 250,000 visitors every year. Cost to get in is about $6/person (we paid $11 for a vehicle with 2 people.) There is a museum to look through and learn from ahead of time, as well as a gift shop that serves snacks and refreshments. Guided tours of the Pinnacles are available from several agencies, or you can visit them on your own which is what we did.
We went towards the end of the day, close to sunset and the park was fairly empty. The pinnacles are beautiful and well worth a visit!