So I left Cairns over a week ago, to try and get onto what is known as the Harvest Trail. Basically, backpackers like myself can earn a fair bit of cash and fill up their days by picking and packaging fruit at the farms throughout the country. With it being winter, there isn't much to be picked apart from Bananas. Luckily, Cairns is just 100 odd miles North of Banana county, Cardwell Shire. The towns that form this county are farming towns, one of them seemed to promise some work so I headed on a 2 hour coach to the town of Tully.
Tully, what is there to say about this place? Well, nothing. Actually that's not entirely fair, there's the boot (see above), and the sugar factory. The Boot is about 2 stories high and you can walk to the top of it. I don't know of it's purpose. The Factory ensures that there is always a rancid, caramel type smell in the air. There's 3 hostels and 1 high street. The town's income is from the banana and sugar cane fields that surround it. I have been here 10 days now and am still waiting to get a spot on a farm. It's the quietest part of the year, and it's so wet that things aren't growing properly. Ah yes, I forgot to mention, Tully is the wettest part of Australia. Something to do with the mountains. Not only that, but this is the wettest year since the records started about 5000 years ago, typical. Still, I'm from England, I'm used to the rain, that's not the main problem.
The problem is, whilst waiting for work (it'll usually take around a week to get placed) there is simply nothing to do. Luckily theres a second hand bookstore which I am making my mission to empty of all it's stock. I think I'm on my 8th book in 10 days, thank God for Stephen King and Dean Koontz.
So not much too report, save an embarrassing incident where I slipped over in the bar and kicked the 'caution wet floor' sign across the room. See that guy on the sign? That was me. I had to pick up the sign with 6-7 people watching me whilst trying to retain my dignity. Impossible. Nobody can look cool whilst picking something up, everyone knows that.
Just recently the Carnival has come into town. It travels up and down the east coast and backpackers use it as a means to earn money, gain free travel and accommodation. I spoke to one guy who's job it was to scare people on the Ghost Train. His job consisted entirely of wearing a mask and screaming at little kids as they came past. Apparently it was fun, for about 2 hours. He quit. It was nice to know he helped put together the biggest ride at the carnival as well, without having a clue what he was doing. Very comforting. I've been told that if I'm still unemployed I could walk into a job at the show, it would also provide me with free travel to my next location, Brisbane. However, I'm not convinced being a carnie is my thing, I'll definitely check out the show though, it opens this weekend. I doubt I'll be going on any of the rides though.
The fact that the Carnival is in town has meant that Tully is quite vibrant at the moment. I came out this afternoon and saw about 5 people on the high street, by the weekend the number may well double.
It's not all that bad though, the hostel is a decent one and playing cards, reading books, listening to music and watching TV are things that don't require a busy town in order to be achieved. When I see people return to the hostel covered in dirt after a day's work, for some reason I envy them. I feel like I'm on the dole and their earning their crust. I want to try the whole fruit picking thing not just for a bit of extra cash, but for the experience, and because in the day time the hostel is mostly empty and there is nothing to do. I'll no doubt make a post next week saying how I survived one day out in the fields, hated it and resumed my unemployment, but at least I'll have tried something new.
By the start of september I need to be in Brisbane for a flight to New Zealand which will provide the next leg of my adventure.
