Working in Hostels
It's a pain in the ass to be short on money, and an even bigger pain in the ass to be short on money and jobless. Jobs can be hard to come by in Oz and you can't always be sure that you'll get one when you need it, so it's wise to try to cut costs wherever you can to save for that inevitable rainy day.

An excellent way to make your pennies stretch is to try to cut out your accommodation costs by working for hostels as you move around. Many hostels in Australia hire travellers to scrub their toilets, clean their showers, change beds and other fun, challenging jobs in exchange for accommodation.

I saved a load of money and was able to extend my stay in Brisbane at the wonderful Yellow Submarine hostel because of my 3 weeks as a patio sweeper/beer can collector and another 3 weeks as a toilet engineer (cleaner). I would work two hours a day to cover my $100 in rent, rising bright and early at 6am. The work was easy, though I suspect they rearranged some of the duties in order to fire me in a nice way. I've never been too picky about cleaning things, and considering that's pretty much the only requirement of the job, I can't really blame them.

As with most places in Australia, getting a job in a hostel is all about timing. If you suss out immediately that a place hires backpackers and you're interested, then get chatting with the manager straight away and it's likely your name will be put on a list and you'll be hired when an opening arises... provided there's not a queue for jobs. Getting hostel work when you're only going to be around for a few days is very difficult.

If you're really lucky, you may land a job in a hostel working reception. I did this for a short while at a hostel called 'Aussie Way' (ridiculous story here) in Brisbane and it was great fun driving the hostel van around, meeting and helping the guests, and getting to pretty much run the place myself over the weekend. In the end, though, it turned out to be one of the worst (and looking back I guess sort of funny) experiences of my trip.

I feel as though I should warn you, if you can get a job in a place you really love, it can be extremely hard to leave! Six weeks in Brisbane is ridiculous, especially if you're not earning an income. I was filling my mornings with toilets, my afternoons with sleep and my nights with casks of wine. Once you stick around in a place and get to know other regulars you'll have amazing times and great memories, but you'll begin to notice that all the photos you seem to be sending home are of you and your friends falling down drunk and jumping in swimming pools with your clubbing clothes on at 6am. Just be warned!

Kirsty Henderson
October 2002