Week 9: Hot Days, Hostel Nights & Unexpected Fights 🥵 🌙 🎧 🥊
11th-17th December 2017
Monday - a fairly standard day, really. The weather was hot again ☀️, and we had a new lad in our team who had just joined the hostel – Tim. Over the course of the day, you could tell he had a good work ethic: just got on with it, compared to the Chilean lads I worked with the previous week. I later found out that two of the three Chilean guys had changed farms, which was a bit of a blessing, because they’d started to get a bit irritating 😅. Tim talks football ⚽, so the afternoon went by quicker with some good chats in between putting bunches on the trailers.
Tuesday - probably the fastest day I’ve had at Wadda. It flew by – just one of those days where everyone stays focused 💪. We knew we had about 20 trailers to complete before lunch and another 10–12 after, but we just kept going between water breaks 🚜💦. Gigi, an Italian guy, joined our farm. His endurance was impressive – running to the cutters, walking fast with bunches, stacking efficiently – and all the while telling us how to cook the perfect pasta 🍝. He’s a chef and used to work at Carluccio’s in London. A really nice guy – one of those faces you’ve seen around the hostel but couldn’t quite place. Turns out he was the DJ a couple of Fridays back with his decks and speaker 🎧. He’s been learning house DJing for six months and brought all his (seriously good) kit brand new in Melbourne. After work, I somehow still had energy left, and with the sun setting 🌅, it was the perfect evening for a kick-about with some of the lads ⚽.
Wednesday - got off to a dodgy start 🤒. I felt sick getting up, and by the time we got to work and into the paddocks, I just felt weak – like I was coming down with something. My arms felt heavy and I was sweating more than anyone else, even early in the morning. I asked for some painkillers at work, which helped the nausea, but after completing five trailers, I felt my hamstring go while walking with bunches on my shoulder 🦵. I tried pushing through, but my leg wasn’t having it – it felt like a rubber band twanging behind my knee with every incline. I told the boys I’d have to stick to stacking for the rest of the day. They – Tim, Gigi and Phil – smashed it 👏.
Back at the hostel, I opened the dorm to find Samya packing with Danielle. It was their last day. We had their leaving photo 📸 – our usual send-off for someone finishing farm work – but……after they left, the room felt stress-free 😌. The atmosphere totally chilled out. We secretly celebrated by ordering a curry 🍛. They were strange girls – didn’t really want anything to do with the rest of us unless they needed something like milk, bread, or my bloody charging lead, which Samya nearly walked off with in her suitcase until I asked for it back ⚡😅. I was nervous she’d claim it was hers and make a fuss, but I got it back – result! We played loud music 🎶 to celebrate and now, with just lads in the room, it felt like a new chapter. They left loads behind – I had the best, cleanest shower since arriving 🚿 using Samya’s top-tier shampoo and conditioner. I also nabbed a snorkel mask 🥽, some leftover ciders 🍻, and thanks to me and Colin’s organisation, the pantry now looks way better than it did before 🧹.
Thursday – an overall BLOODY EXHAUSTING, FRUSTRATING DAY 😤 – and yes, it deserves capitals also! The morning actually wasn’t too bad – we nailed 22 trailers and my hamstring held up fine. But lunch flew by – felt like 20 minutes, tops. There’s this mini game of "who can eat the fastest" – the Indians always get their food in the microwaves first, so we wait. I was last today, and barely had time for a power nap 💤 in the shade before getting back to it.The afternoon was mentally draining. Sweat pouring off my face, stinging my eyes 😓 – and I couldn’t wipe them properly with filthy gloves or sleeves. The pace cranked up, bunches flying everywhere, and it just felt like torture. When it finally ended, I grabbed my gear and left the shed without a word. Usually I’d say “have a good weekend” to the team, but not today. They didn’t deserve it for how hard they pushed us. Everyone could tell I was pissed off – but hey, it was the weekend, and beer was waiting 🍺.
Friday – back at the Coffee Club on my favourite sofa ☕🛋️ (somehow always free). I chilled, listened to music 🎧, browsed places to go…I was set on a money-saving weekend: one bottle of red 🍷 to enjoy rather than going full send with beers. Everyone else was prepping for the club’s “Anything But Clothes” night 🩳🧻🎭 – getting smashed and taking “tactical chunders” before the minibus. I went to bed early, but woke at 4am to shouting – guys yelling and what sounded like a big argument outside. I didn’t think much of it and went back to sleep 😴.
Saturday – I went for a shower and passed some rough-looking guys early morning 😂. Asked if they were hungover, and that’s when I found out what happened: Apparently, a fight kicked off in the nightclub after one of our backpackers accidentally trod on someone’s heel. It spiralled from there. Three lads got fined, including Joe – who’d just finished working with me – for being so drunk he backflipped off the bonnet of the Indian crew’s Land Cruiser 🚙🤸.On their walk back to the hostel (about 15 minutes), things escalated. Two Aboriginal teenagers in hoods entered a room under the claiming of needing the toilet. Suspicious vibes. One swung a punch 👊 and it all kicked off. Soon, 8 more of their mates showed up in a full on hostel ambush. One had a knife 🔪 But they didn’t realise our lads were trained in martial arts – boxing, jiu-jitsu, tai chi, you name it 🥋. They got absolutely battered. One had his teeth knocked out 🦷 and was seen in Coles earlier today apparently looking very bruised. Our lads used sticks and went full beast mode.The attackers ran off but came back to throw rocks at the minibuses 🪨. Sam tried driving one at them to scare them off and make noise so the neighbours would see. Police were called 🚓.
The rest of Saturday was way more chill. I did some video editing 🎬 on my Thailand footage and just hung out with hostel mates, music on and laughs all around 🎶😂.
Sunday - Classic chilled 🧘♂️. The highlight? Hungry Jack’s! I asked for a large thick shake – half vanilla, half chocolate – and it tasted amazing 🍦😋. It's now my go-to!