We recently completed our first-ever Workaway as a family! Read on to learn all about what we did, where we went, and what the kids got up to while we were working!
What is Workaway?
Workaway is a worldwide community for cultural exchange and volunteering. The standard is generally five hours of work, five days per week, in exchange for food and accommodation.
If you search on the Workaway website, you’ll see the incredible number of opportunities available. In Queensland, Australia alone, there are currently more than 400 listed Workaways.
Of course, not all of them will be suitable, and not all will be family-friendly. However, if you’re willing to make a few inquiries, you’re bound to find something suitable.
If you’ve heard of Woofing before, it’s a similar concept. However, Woofing is limited to organic farms and sustainable homesteads. Your job tasks will most likely include gardening and learning about farming methods like organic production and permaculture.
Workaway has a broader scope. You could be doing anything from gardening, landscaping, and farm help, to building projects, cooking, cleaning, childcare, pet sitting and animal care, to tech support, language exchange, and more.
Why did we do a Workaway?
Some of you may know that we’ve been house- and pet-sitting full-time in Australia since December 2024. I have always managed to book back-to-back sits and aim to find ones that are three months+ or at least two months in duration.
I booked one in the Rockhampton/Yeppoon area (about 8 weeks long), but nothing suitable was really coming up following that. So I booked a second house sit in the area (6 weeks long, so a little shorter than usual).
I really wanted us to stay in the same area for the whole gymnastics season, as it’s just easier logistically.
The problem?
For the first time ever, we had a gap of just over three weeks to fill. I optimistically thought, “Something will come up in the area!”
As the time drew closer, it became apparent we needed a plan B.
The reality is that we are not in a position to fund short-term accommodation in this country.
So we joined Workaway and started applying for opportunities. The beauty with Workaway is that you contact the host and tell them the dates you want to come. So it’s different to house sitting in that regard, because as a house sitter you need to work with the owner’s dates.
Plus, we love adventures and trying new things, and figured a Workaway might fit that criteria!
Where did we do our Workaway?
Our Workaway was in the Central Queensland Highlands. It’s about an hour’s drive from Emerald (not to be confused with Emerald in Vic!), which is where Ayla did some temporary gymnastics training. And it’s kind of near a small town called Springsure.
We stayed on 6,000 acres of farmland. If you have any idea of how big that land is, you’ll know it’s huge! It took us an hour just to ride a buggy to another house on the property to feed the pigs, then come back again! (So we at least picked a few passionfruit and did a few other things while we were there, if possible!)
Although the property is massive, it has just a small number of free-range cattle, pigs, guinea fowl, a few chickens, some working dogs, and one pet dog.
The farm’s goal is purely self-sufficiency. They process their own meat (says the vegetarian😅) and everything is off-grid. The farmland is mostly used for agistment.
The land is very dry there in the winter, but apparently it is green in the summer, so I imagine it would look very different.
Although we froze at night during winter, the sun was bright and hot during the day. Our skin would burn easily, even working in the morning, if we weren’t careful. I asked the boss how the Workawayers get on with working in the 45-degree summer heat. He said they struggle😅
What is Workaway Accommodation Like?
Each listing on the Workaway website describes the type of accommodation you will stay in. It could be anything from a private cottage or bedroom to a caravan, tent, or boat!
When I was looking for opportunities, I filtered for family-friendly options within a few hundred kilometers. Then, before I shortlisted the ones I wanted to contact, I looked at the accommodation they offered.
Although many families will do fine staying in a tent, caravan, or one bedroom for a few weeks, it’s a bit much for our family for that duration! So I only shortlisted the ones where we would have our own space and at least two bedrooms.
The one we took was advertised as a private seven-bedroom cottage. However, it would have been better advertised as a seven-bedroom share house, as that’s really what it is.
I wouldn’t have applied if I realized it was a share house (probably should have guessed considering the seven bedrooms!)
Our 7-year-old still has some pretty antisocial behaviors, which is why I look for a private space.
We only had one other person staying in the house for the first few days after we arrived. Although it was fine at times, there were a few small difficult moments and one big one where the other person tried to step in and take over my parenting, which didn’t end up being fun for anyone involved😅
The house we stayed in is part original cottage and part extension. It was very cold at night (often around 6-9 degrees) without any heating or insulation, with gaps between the floorboards. It even had a hole in one of the bedroom floorboards that we lovingly referred to as the snake hole😆. But luckily it was winter, so the snakes were hiding.
There were plenty of blankets for our beds though. I imagine it would be scorching in summer with only fans and no aircon. Winter day temps were 23-27, but summer can get up to 45.
What is Workaway Food Like?
Workaway food will vary depending on your host. You might have meals cooked for you, cook shared meals with other Workawayers, or do something else. We shopped for and cooked our own food, like we normally would. We saved the receipts and the boss paid us cash before we left.
I withheld a portion of our food expenses, considering that only two of us were working while four were eating. The boss still thought we ate a lot! That may be because meat was available (meat they had processed themselves on the farm), but the girls and I are vegetarian, so only Colin ate it. Therefore, we probably bought a little more than the average Workawayers.
What did the Kids do while we Were Working?
I know several families who have done Workaways when their kids were really young. For some families and some types of work, that might work fine.
If you’re doing jobs like cooking, cleaning, childcare, and gardening, having young kids with you may work ok.
It also depends on your host. Before we arrived, ours said the kids could follow us around while we worked. But some of the places we’re working aren’t really suitable for the kids to hang out. Plus, after we arrived, he made it very clear that we were to have no distractions from the kids🤷.
I purposefully waited until I knew our kids were ready to be self-sufficient for several hours before I considered doing a Workaway.
They are unschooled, so they’re used to self-directed activities. However, we still have a lot of “mum, mum, muuuuummmm” going on much of the time, so this was quite a different situation than usual.
Just as we moved into new territory with our work, the kids had to step up.
They spent their mornings doing much of their usual activities – reading, crafting, playing.
However, they also had to do the dishes every morning, which was a bit of a new thing, as they’d always had a dishwasher.
(We have a long-term adventure coming up where they won’t have a dishwasher, so this is a good introduction😆)
Ayla (12) also made lunch for everyone on workdays. She usually bakes once a week and sometimes cooks, but making lunch consistently each day was definitely a step up for her.
In our usual travel life, they’d spend some time using a few iPad apps (they have access to resources like Khan Academy and Duolingo). However, the internet broke a few days into our stay, so they need to make do with their imaginations!
(And no, there was no TV at our Workaway – another introduction to our upcoming long-term adventure).
They had a few hard “moments” with each other but managed to work it out by separating from each other for some time.
Workaway Blog | Week by Week
The Life of an Unskilled Laborer (week one Work Summary)
Crikey! We didn’t see this coming!
Before we arrived at our Workaway, we didn’t exactly know what type of work we’d be doing. As I understood it, it would probably be outdoor work and whatever needed to be done. And there would be enough for us to do, even without any specific skills for this type of work.
From the photos I’ve shared so far, you might think we’ve been feeding animals and pottering around the property😆. Not so much!
We arrived on Wednesday and expected to work Thursday and Friday as part of a Mon-Fri work week. However, the boss was busy and wasn’t ready to give us work.
So we spent Thursday-Sunday settling in, working on our blogs, touring the farm, visiting the library, and doing a little local sightseeing. Ayla also did her first gymnastics class in Emerald.
On Monday it was time to start work. We were told our jobs would be to fix a leaky weir and pull down a broken fence. Sounds so simple!
The reality check came when I realized what the preparation to do those things actually involves.
On Monday I lifted and threw rocks for four hours. I filled half a truck. I was pretty jaded, but grateful (and slightly shocked) that my body (especially my back) held up well.
On Tuesday I did the same for five hours and managed to get the truck level. I was absolutely shattered and also drove Ayla to gym and back (two hours) and did the grocery shopping, getting home at 9:30 pm.
On Wednesday I did the same for four hours, until the rocks formed a mound on the back of the truck and the boss said, ok, that’s enough.
I may not be the strongest person, but what I do have is a bit of stamina, and maybe a little mental toughness?! After three days of moving rocks, I was tired but proud, somewhat surprised at how good my body had been to me, and immensely happy that none of the rocks fell off when they were moved near the weir🤣.
Colin spent his first three working days pulling down a fence. More on that later!
Week Two Work Summary
On Thursday (day one of our second week), I started a new task, helping Colin take down an old fence. This was what he did during our first week.
Yay, no more rocks to collect!
The fencing-destruction job was hard, but in a different way than moving rocks for three days. I was still tired after each workday, but it wasn’t the same level of exhaustion as shifting rocks.
Worst parts about removing this fence:
1. Working in overgrown grass, waist deep in places, with different types of prickly things getting stuck all over my skin (even while wearing a work shirt and jeans)
2. Keeping clear of wire ends pinging into our faces (I wore my sunglasses a lot of the time for a bit of eye protection!)
3. Cutting wire. My hands just aren’t strong enough. I only cut the small wires, and it still took maximal effort sometimes. When I watched Colin cut it, I was hoping he wouldn’t injure himself!
4. Pulling wires through old wooden posts, especially the fallen ones. It was all good when the wire came easily (and quite satisfying!), but not cool when it suddenly snagged on something or got tangled.
We weren’t given any guidance on how to take down a fence, but Colin, in particular, is quite good at coming up with ways to get it done effectively (e.g., leaving the full length of the barbed wire until the end, so it was easier to roll up).
We did this job on Thursday, Friday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
On Monday, the boss dumped my full load of rocks at the weir, and Colin and I spent the day arranging them/fixing the weir. We also had to work out a technique to wrap the rocks in old netting/barb wire and secure it tightly.
Colin didn’t enjoy this day (worried about his back with the rocks). I quite enjoyed seeing the rocks get put to good use🙂.
We didn’t do much on the weekend, but did go for a nice kayak around our dam. Ayla was the only one to brave the midwinter water for a swim!
Week Three Work Summary
And that’s a wrap! Our final week is done. We worked four days during our final week, with our last day free for packing and cleaning.
Week three was definitely the easiest for me, but possibly the hardest for Colin as he got the heavy lifting jobs!
We spent the first day taking down the final parts of the fence, which involved pulling steel posts out of the ground with a lever-type thingy and clearing up scraps of wire lying around.
The hardest part was getting the huge messy tangle of wire off the truck and into the dump (they have their own dump at the farm).
Day two involved putting in giant steel posts for the new fence. We worked with the boss on this day. He drove the Bobcat and hammered the posts in. Colin lifted the posts. I checked they lined up and were hammered to the right depth.
For our final two days, Colin and I worked together to put in as many of the small steel posts as we could. (We got through about half the required posts, I think).
Colin checked the spacing between the posts (seven steps!), and I directed him to the right position so they lined up. Then he hammered them in a little by hand.
Finally, he used a very heavy hammering machine thing (do not know the name of such machines!) and hammered them in until I indicated the correct depth.
The difficult part? The hammering machine is very heavy (although the boss begs to differ!). He has to lift it above his shoulder height each time and then also cope with the vibrations from the hammer.
Plus, it might sound like a straightforward exercise, but we covered several areas where the landscape was rocky and the post wouldn’t go in. It was always a relief when a post went in the first time, as you never knew when you’d hit rocks! So several of the posts had to be moved (and realigned!) multiple times before we could proceed to the next one.
Needless to say, Colin has a couple of very early nights that week!
We’re proud to say that we now know a little about fixing a leaky weir and replacing broken fences! Our first Workaway was definitely an experience, and we would definitely try another sometime. If you’re heading off on your first Workaway soon, we hope you have a fantastic experience!
