WWOOFers

No, it's not an axe murderer, it's .....
David Nelson, WWOOFer extraordinaire

 

WWOOFer is an acronym for Willing Workers On Organic Farms. (But most are not necessarily organic).

 

A number of host properties can be visited by members who exchange work (from 4 – 6 hours a day, but sometimes less) for food and accommodation, enabling both parties to help each other out. As emphasized, exchange is the key word, and the spirit of the whole enterprise.

 

Host properties are located all over Australia (as well as other countries) and cater especially to people from overseas who want to learn about Australia without being restricted to the usual tourist destinations, improve their English, and learn about the Australian way of life. However, there are some Australians who like to WWOOF in their own country as well.

 

The work varies from one host to the next.

 

This interview with David Nelson gives a taste for what it is like for a WWOOFer.

 

LH: How did you hear about it all?

 

DN: I learned about it in February 2011, from a friend in Sydney who stayed at a place that had WWOOFers. I liked the idea and was looking for something different to do. I joined the Australian branch of WWOOF, and from Sydney went up to Maleny in Queensland (about an hour from Brisbane), and hinterland Sunshine Coast.

 

LH: For your first experience, what did you do?

 

DN: I cut down trees, weeded, moved grass, did some whipper-snipping on a 50 acre property.

 

LH: From this first experience you’ve been all over Australia, from Maleny to Far North Queensland, and around Australia from Cooktown, back down south to Sydney, and then to various parts of Victoria, South Australia, across the Nullarbor to Albany, Western Australia and then up to Broome, Katherine in the Northern Territory, Darwin, Tennant Creek and across through Mt Isa to Kuranda and Cairns.

 

LH: In all these travels what were the sort of jobs you were asked to do?

 

DN: A variety of jobs from helping at Diane Cilento’s ‘Karnak’ property where I helped set up the preparations and stage for the Karnak Playhouse Opera, to another property where I helped to build stockyards for sheep and cattle. I’ve also built nursery beds, worked on an olive orchard farm, done cattle mustering, fencing and house renovations.

 

I’ve worked on a small quarter of an acre block in a country town to cattle mustering and fencing and helping to process cattle for export at Emu Creek cattle station, a 310,000 acre property in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. I also worked as a ‘stripper’ (not the Burlesque type) at a caravan park, where I ‘stripped’ beds.

 

LH: What are the positives of life on the move as a WWOOFer?

 

DN: I’ve met lots of interesting people, many of whom have become friends. I like the variety of work and traveling all over Australia. You’re not just a tourist - you

become part of the community. I’ve also learned different things like learning to play lawn bowls, sailing. I like to play golf so take my golf clubs with me and play whenever I can.

 

I also like to follow the warm weather, never having a cold winter; to see amazing land formations such as the lava tubes in Far North Queensland, the Twelve Apostles in Victoria, and the Great Australian Bight. The country has huge variations in climate and geography, from tropical rainforests to the Central Desert. The other thing I have realized is just how big Australia is. Many towns are 500 – 700 kms apart.

 

LH: What are the negatives?

 

DN: Some jobs are a bit boring – e.g. constant weeding and endless painting.

 

LH: You’ve been WWOOFing now for two years David, do you want to keep on at it?

 

DN: I plan on doing it as long as I am having fun. I don’t have any plans for stopping yet.

 

LH: Thanks David and bon voyage!

 

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IF WWOOFing INTERESTS YOU, you CAN FIND out more through:

 

wwoof.com.au and wwoof@wwoof.com.au