17th - 23rd Nov 2016: Farmwork in the Esperance area

The farmer named John Starr picked me up at a train station. He looked really old. I heard from him that he's 78 years old but still going strong. According to him, it's because he still works and stays mentally fit (our politicians shouldn't hear that). However, during small talk on the drive, he made a good impression and I found the fact of an old man navigating through the Australian bush with an iPhone quite funny. Since the drive took 8 hours, I also got to drive on the left-hand side of the road while he took a nap. The adjustment was actually easier than expected. And the landscape was truly amazing. Endless wheat fields and meadows, with eucalyptus trees lining the roadsides and a small town every 100 km. That was the Australian bush, just as you imagine it.

After an 8-hour drive, we arrived at the farm, which was 20 km away from Esperance. The house looked really worn out. And when I saw my accommodation barrack, I immediately thought, 'Shit, I can't stay here for 5 weeks.' It was really tough. The bedroom floor was concrete, the bed sheets were dirty, and there were about 50 spiders and their webs spread out over a 10 sqm² room. The farmer's house wasn't much better. It made me realize how spoiled we actually are.

Another person working on the farm was a permanent employee who (according to his story) was abandoned in the bush by his girlfriend. She gave him a 'here, you got what you always wanted' and drove off. His name is Amhain and he's from Ireland. The first two days were really tough in terms of adjusting. Admittedly, the work itself was really cool and there was really nothing wrong with the two farmers. But the accommodation was really tough. So I continued to search for jobs, which was relatively successful. A winery in Albany, which even had Prince Charles as a guest, can accommodate me. However, only in a week and a half. So I'm going to spend the full 6 days on this farm, and as another interim solution, a German family in the town of Denmark is planned for half a week. Both places only require 4 hours of work per night. Currently, it's upwards of 8 hours, which is clearly too much for just accommodation and food. It's really encouraging how quickly solutions can be found here. You never really know what the next days might bring, and if it gets shitty, there's always a way out. So 'no worries', as the Australians say.

One morning, there was a fight between John and Amhain because the latter had a few beers on Sunday and didn't get up until 9. After the fight, John took Amhain's homemade machete from the room and locked it in the gun cabinet. His explanation was that he felt safer that way. That was another reason to quickly leave this place. Well, regardless, the two of them loved each other again after fifteen minutes. To prevent myself from getting sunstroke, John gave me a work cap. It wasn't until I saw the following photo that I noticed it was embroidered with a red star. Apparently, John is a fan of communism.

But the stay also had its highlights. For example, there was one Saturday night when we drank a few dark beers. Amhain taught me some Australian customs. For example, how to say 'you're right' in German. From school, I still know 'I agree' or 'that's right'. In the bush, you just say 'fucken A'. The emphasis is on the '-en'. Then he explained to me that in Australia, everything gets a nickname. Not just people and animals, but also things. For example, the farm vehicles have the corresponding nickname from 'Bob the Builder'. But since his tractor wasn't called Rumpel, we noticed that the names are clearly different in the respective languages. Thus, a philosophical discussion began on the topic: Differences in character names in 'Bob the Builder' between German and English. It was wonderful. So a few beers can really lift the mood. By the way, in English, Rumpel is called Travis.

One afternoon, a guy came to buy meat from us. And somehow, he looked really familiar to me. The build of his body, his face, the double chin... I knew this person from somewhere. When he started laughing during a coffee break in the kitchen, it slowly dawned on me. Jabba the Hutt apparently wasn't strangled by Princess Leia, but settled down on the south coast of Western Australia after the defeat of the Empire. If I had a good reason to take a photo, the proof would be uploaded here. But it looked no different than this:

Another afternoon, John took a trip to the town of Esperance. I got to look around while he went shopping. The place had its own charm. The remoteness was somehow noticeable, but Esperance definitely didn't give the impression of being backwards. In addition, everything was well-maintained and really beautifully laid out. Add to that the breathtaking coasts consisting of a mix of blue shining sea, sandy beaches, green-clad cliffs, and small islands. We went to the coast for dinner during the sunset. It was wonderful. Some travel guides claim that the most beautiful coasts in the whole country can be found on the south coast of Western Australia. And even though I've only seen the beach in Perth so far, I would say, 'Fucken A!!!'

While working on setting up metal beams, I had my first encounter with a seriously poisonous creature and almost came into contact with a redback spider. A bite from it leads to 12 hours of paralysis and seizures. If things go really wrong, it could even be fatal. However, John crushed the spider, along with two more redbacks, with the nonchalance of Michael 'Crocodile' Dundee.

After 6 days, I was really glad to continue traveling to Albany by bus. Even though the journey takes 10 hours, it's still more comfortable than spending a night in those 'sleeping rooms'. Experiencing this wild west life was really an interesting experience. However, not one that you want to do for a long time.