• Shiraz grapes I picked in South Australia - common grapes in the McLaren Vale region
by Lisa Fischer
Here is my story about working as a grape picker and tree lopper while backpacking in Australia.
I’m Lisa Fischer, and I was a backpacker from Austria in Australia. I arrived at the end of September 2022. For ten months I travelled and worked all over Australia. I had opportunities to get to know different work environments and meet lots of interesting people.
In the first few weeks after my arrival I had a rather difficult time. I experienced a culture shock and simply had no clue how things are done in down under. In Austria I was born and raised on the countryside in a village with 2.000 inhabitants, so living in Sydney was very different than everything I was used to.
A very positive cultural difference I noticed early on is the openness and friendliness of the Aussies. In Austria or Europe in general it is common to not talk to strangers and that people appear rather angry and closed up. But in Australia people seem to live by the sentence, ”Don’t worry“ and don’t take life too seriously which I really admire.
A big goal for me in the beginning was to find a job and a longterm place to live, so I would be settled for the next few months. The easiest way to do so is to browse a lot through Facebook, hand in your CVs personally and to talk to many other backpackers or people in general.
I was not really picky and applied for every suitable job I could find. Most important for me was the experience and the pay. After three weeks I had two job offers, one as a waitress in a cute café and one as a decorator at a Christmas Company. I chose the last one because it was unusual and something new. And with that mindset I chose all my following jobs as well. I never was picky and tried to have an open mindset and give different occupations a try. That’s how I was able to always find a job rather quickly and make many different experiences.
A very pleasant change to Austria was the hourly rate. In Australia I earned in my jobs between 25 to 30 AUSD per hour which is sometimes a third more than I made back home. But it’s important to mention the higher living expenses in Australia and especially Sydney. Nevertheless I was able to save up more money in a shorter period of time than I could have done in Austria.
Tree Lopping was my sixth and final job in Australia.
Before that I had worked as a labourer for a commercial Christmas decoration company, as a waitress and servant at festivals and as a housekeeper for AirBnbs. I did some grape picking for two different companies in New South Wales and in South Australia.
• My bucket with Shiraz grapes and in-between are my orange snips
Out of all these jobs I especially remember my time in a village called McLaren Vale in South Australia where I worked at a vineyard. My task was simply to cut the grapes from the vines and to put them in a bucket. The challenging part was the piece rate. So I did not receive money for every hour that I worked but for every bucket that I filled with grapes.
• A beautiful morning between the vines
One bucket had room for about 10 kg of grapes and brought me around 1,50 to 4,50 AUSD (depending on the kind of grape and the conditions of the picking).
• A crew of 40 people on their way to start picking
The working pace was extremely fast and the exposure to the sun’s heat very exhausting. Each day after work I was mentally and physically completely drained. And even though I once was able to fill up 65 buckets - which means I picked 650 kg of grapes in one day - I kept struggling to cover my daily costs with my pay. This was hands down the hardest job that I have ever done and the lowest paid.
• The Token System: for every full bucket you will get a token, those will be counted at the end of the day and your pay will be calculated
Fortunately my experience with tree lopping was more pleasant and less stressful.
• My boss is cutting a 20 metre tall gum tree with the help of a cherry picker
My first day at work started with my boss explaining to me the different tools and teaching me the basic knowledge about tree lopping. The most important objects were three chain saws in different sizes, one pole saw, a big wood chipper and a ladder. I was informed about the most common tree kinds and how to handle them safely. For example a date palm has sharp and toxic spices at the frond base so you have to grab every piece with extreme care.
• After cutting and trimming we tidy up all the leaves and wood chips with the blower
Our job was to trim trees or to completely cut them down. What we did depended on the condition of the tree and the opinion of the owner.
Sometimes the tree was sick or already dead and it became a hazard to the public or the surrounding buildings. Gum trees (a very common native Australian tree) especially can become dangerous because they grow fast and tall and some types of tree branches tend to break easily.
• the cut down tree will be chopped into smaller bits so it can be used as firewood or it will be sent through the wood chipper
Some customers just wanted the tree to be removed so they got space for a new shed or a bigger terrace. I did not understand why someone wants less green in their garden. But the Queensland Government will apparently change the law on that topic, so native trees can only be trimmed or removed with the approval of a licensed expert. This will make the job for tree loppers more complicated but Earth and nature will definitely benefit from it - for example, trees cool streets, houses and cities.
• Before
• A few seconds later
A typical work day started around 8:30 a.m. and ended between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Depending on the size of the project we either spent a few hours, one whole day or even multiple days at one address.
My duties were to assist my boss and to carry the cut down branches and logs to the chipper. The wood chipper is a big machine with sharp blades which cuts the wood into small bits and pieces. At the end of the day we drove all the wood chips to people who want to use the mulch for gardening.
• A sick tree which was already hollow in the middle and therefore a huge hazard
I enjoyed working as a wood lopper because I was outside all day and got to know more about the Australian nature. The clients were really friendly and thankful so the work was frequently paused for a good chat and laugh.
Lisa Fischer