#417visa

We read on many travel blogs and Facebook travel groups ‘Australia Backpackers’ (i highly recommend you join it if you're planning to travel Australia)  that most travellers & backpackers wish they had completed their second-year visa work in their first few months in Australia. For those who don't know - if you're on a working holiday visa 417 in Australia, the government awards you a second year visa if you complete 88 days, or three months of rural work. This work can include farming, harvest work, mining and fishing etc. Most backpackers & travellers we have come across opt for farming/harvest work as this is the most accessible, and doesn't necessarily require any particular skills or qualifications (although some might come in handy, e.g. forklift license, construction, cattle farming etc).

So, with this in mind, Adam and I decided to apply for farming jobs. We applied to every job vacancy on Gumtree and backpacker websites that proposed work in rural areas, and of course paid a decent wage. We waited over two weeks and heard nothing, we had a few calls from agencies who offered work but wanted money up front for hostels costs etc. Some travellers have told us that they have stopped in a hostel for weeks before finding any work, thus having to pay the hostel for accommodation. There is work out there without having to go down this route. 

In the meantime we bought a car (Honda CRV '98), which we love and has taken us over 12,000 kms in two months without fail (touch wood). We bought some camping gear to travel around with tent, stove, chairs etc. We decided to travel Australia by camping quite early on as we compared how costly staying in hostels might be to camping. So, with a lack of job offers coming through our door, we decided to head to Torquay in South Australia to try out our camping gear and see some surfers in action.

Torquay was very cold, cloudy and to some extent rather romantic. For the most part of the first day we sent setting up our two-man tent. In hind sight we realised how stupid we were to think that our two man tent would be comfortable enough to pop-up and sleep in, let alone pop-up and live in. We took a long stroll around Torquay beach and did the really British past-time of eating fish and chips on the beach, except we did this while watching some surfers. The cold nights drew in fast and we soon realised that we were amateurs at camping.  The second day we explored the town and by five o'clock it was dark. I flicked on my mobile data and received a gumtree reply from a woman named Sue! Finally we had a job offer, and it was only 1,332 kms away in New South  Wales....