Townsville and Working in Ayr.

We arrived in Townsville looking to get some work either in the City or the surrounding farmlands. We stayed in the city for a week and that was probably long enough. It is alright for a night or two as a change and a bit of partying but there is not much else going on. We stayed in a hostel called Globetrotters and I would advise that you dont stay there. The staff are not cool and the food they serve for dinner is not worth even the $4 that it costs. We did meet one cool fellow called Pete. He talked some garbage and despite promising to take us on a road trip round Townsville we never went. Apart from that he was a good guy and had some great phrases of his own. He also explained that he could get us a job on a prawn boat earning serious cash. It sounded dangerous but a lot of fun but how true Pete is to his word is debatable so we never took him up on the offer. During our week we worked 2 shifts as glassers (glass collectors) in a nightclub called Consortium with a German called Felix who sounded exactly like Schwarzenneger. Was good fun despite the job being dull. The Saturday night was Fetish and Fantasies night and everybody was dressed up, and in some cases not dressed much at all. We climbed Castle Rock which is the second largest Red stone rock in Aus. I went to the museum and had fun playing in the kids science zone, also got to fire a cannon. We didn't head over to magnetic island as despite its beautiful beaches there is not much else there. We decided that the job in the nightclub was not going to pay us enough or give us enough hours to merit continuing with it and so we decided to head down to the Burdekin district where there are plenty of farms looking for workers. We settled in Ayr and in a working hostel called Delta. It was not exactly the cleanest but what do you expect. We were told we may have to wait a week for work but on the first morning we were both woken in the early hours and told that there was work for us if we wanted. I was sent off to pick pumpkins and Mike to pick Capsicums (green peppers to normal people). We ended up staying in Ayr for 4 weeks and in that time I picked pumpkins, capsicums and mangoes. I also did a bit of weeding for a day. That was boring. It wasn't too tough either. Getting up at 5 every morning was hard to get used to but as everybody else was going to bed at 9 then it was easy to get enough sleep. The best job I had was helping a family pick pumpkins on the patch of land at the front of their house. We were treated like Kings by the man and his wife. We got a break at 10 and got cakes and juice. Then lunch was for an hour and we had it made for us. Another break in the afternoon for more cakes and then a BBQ for dinner. All this whilst getting paid more than at most other farms. A great deal. The easiest job though is picking the mangoes although you do have to be careful for the sap. It burns the skin and is extremely painful if you get some in your eye. I was actually quite good at it and quite enjoyed it. I got to drive the cherry picker and became pretty good at it and rally around the farm on a quadbike. They were a good farm as well. The most difficult picking was definitely the peppers. Constantly bent over walking behind the tractor is not good for your back. We made a few friends at the hostel, but we were ready to go after the 4 weeks. We did consider getting our 2nd year but I would rather work in NZ if I come back to this part of the world. Ayr itself is not much to write about, probably like the Ayr back home. Its quiet, too quiet for me but we did discover cheap Tuesdays at the Eagle Boys pizza and that proved to be a great find, helping with Wednesdays breakfasts and lunches. It was a good experience and I feel I have learnt quite a lot in the short space of time. But it is now time to get back to having fun and exploring the rest of this massive country.