First Wwoofing Experience - Australia

Hiking boots, breathable long sleeve top, long trousers, suncream, hat, sunglasses... all packed and ready for my first wwoof experience in Dunolly, in the Goldfields region, a couple of hours north of Melbourne. What the heck is wwoof you ask?

'Willing workers on organic farms'
Hopefully I look like one of those?

It's a cultural exchange programme which enables farmers in rural Australia to have help on the farm, to share skills, to learn how farming and life is done in other countries and for the 'wwoofer' or woofa, in Aussie, to learn new skills about organic farming and building work as well as experiencing the true rural Australian lifestyle and also for some to improve their English. Of course it's relatively cheap labour for the farmer if they get a skilled woofer and the woofer receives free accommodation and food during their stay.

In my case, the hosts were a lovely couple who were very keen to help me learn new skills which I can take back someday to set up an Irish small holding with probably a strawbale home, a chicken coop and veggie garden. Their farm is an organic herb and garlic farm called Bromley Organics. We picked calendula flowers to be dried and sent off to a cosmetic company, we sorted harvested nettle and lemonbalm for weeds, weeded and mulched, did some building work and took an old wardrobe apart! I learnt about organic growing, permaculture systems which promote recycling of resources, environmentally friendly and sustainable systems. I learnt about caring for chickens ('chooks'), growing vegetables, fruit and herbs and about water saving and collecting. The latter might not be required in Ireland.

Generally you work 4-6 hours a day which was on average what I worked. Some days when the weather is close to 40C it's best to start work at 6:30am. At other times my hosts were kind enough to drive me around their friends houses which had been built from cob, mudbrick and strawbale and I was able to ask them questions about how they built and designed these. Evenings were very peaceful in my own caravan with a million stars shining in the pitch black above, any fear of the dark now banished! Often we would swim in the dam after a day of work, or even during work, to cool down! Canoeing in the dam was also fun!


I particularly enjoyed the community small town life and joined in at the weekly community garden one evening, went to watch an SES (State Emergency Service) training session, and saw a small field just after a small bushfire. Oh! And lots of kangaroos. Thankfully I saw no snakes though I did see a large lizard and echidna. On a day off I went to the local museum which had lots of gold mining artefacts and a replica of the Welcome Stranger golden nugget found nearby at Moliagul. This was the heaviest ever recorded golden nugget in the world bug of course was melted down not long after being mined.

At the weekend I went camping with my host and her 3 granddaughters in the Kooyoora State Park. We went for some short walks, spotted kangaroos, cooked some stew and roasted marshmallows and bananas with chocolate over the fire!

My next stop was Bendigo, another Goldrush boom town of the mid 1880s. Bendigo had a very interesting history  and I enjoyed the art galler there and a visit to Australia's deepest gold mine which closed was used mostly in the 1940s-70s. I didn't go to the deepest point but 60m was deep enough for me! I donned the hard hat and head torch and enjoyed hearing stories of what it was like working down there during those times. Thankfully there was an industrial lift so we didn't have to climb all the steps!

Vegan Melbourne

After spending Christmas and New Year with my brother on the Gold Coast of Australia, I have just spent a week in Melbourne. Vegan Melbourne. The Gold Coast was quite good for vegans, with the delicious and purse-friendly Cardamon Pod in Surfers Paradise. Their lunch deal and desserts were especially good whilst enjoying the leafy garden room style decor. Mandala Organic Arts Cafe in Broadbeach was very enjoyable on the weekend evenings, with beer available or a BYOB policy and bands playing in the background. Their pizzas (also available gluten-free) and lasagne were especially good. Unlike in the UK and Ireland, many cafés have soya milk available and even some vegan options labelled.

Melbourne however, being the 'cultural capital' of Australia, with a history of artists, musicians, dancers and poets, has a culture of passing the time in cafés on the many laneways or in the bohemian/hippie/hipster/artists area of Brunswick St in Fitzroy.  You can get there easily and cheaply from the CBD by taking the tram 86 or 96 within the free tram zone to St Vincent's Hospital, alighting here, then take a right at the hospital and then left at the church onto Brunswick Street.

If you are on a tight budget but like me, you love vintage clothing, coffee, books, food, especially vegan then your self control will be exercised! You can easily spend a day on this street trying the food, looking in the shops and enjoying the Gardens at the top, in Fitzroy North.

I visited Vegie Bar which is moderately priced but very popular. The vegan curries are great and change regularly. When I was there it was a Massaman Curry. I did a cooking class at Time for Lime on the Thai island Koh Lanta, which is vegan-friendly and we made Massaman Curry. The one at Vegie Bar came a close second to mine! We had the freshest of ingredients in Thailand and we pounded the curry paste for 30 minutes in a pestle and mortar. Anyway, their cakes looked really good too, though not so cheap.

Opposite Vegie Bar is an interesting bookshop and an entirely Vegan shop called the Cruelty Free Shop. Here you can buy anything from cooking ingredients to ready meals, caramel squares and tiffin etc, vegan alternatives to mars and snickers, soya milk and soya cheese as well as vegan shoes, wallets, bags and purses. Further up the road towards Fitzroy North is Mr Natural Pizza which unfortunately I didn't have time to try. Other vegetarian cafés on this street with plenty of vegan options are Radheys, Madame K's, Smith & Daughters, and a vegan bakery on Smith Street.

Within the city centre, or CBD, there are many non-veg cafés with soya milk and vegan cakes. There is a wholesfoods shop with vegan takeaway meals and cakes on Flinders Street, near Flinders Station. On Elizabeth Street, a 5-10 minute walk from Flinders Station and Federation Square is a vegetarian Indian restaurant called Om Vegetarian. There are two other branches of this company within Melbourne centre. I visited three times. They state on their sandwich board, ideal for backpackers, and it is. For $6.50 you get a vegetarian or vegan thali, consisting of a chickpea or lentil curry, a  potato curry, rice, pickles and a lot of nan bread. The best bit is that if you're still hungry you can ask for more, even if you do feel like Oliver Twist going back to the counter with your plate! I'll note that there are also jugs of tap water sitting out. There is also Gopals and Crossways, very close to eachother on Swanston Street. I ate at both of these cafes, which I believe are both also Hare Krishna run. The food I had was tasty, and definitely hearty and filling. Crossways provided a full meal for less than $8, including dessert, a drink, a main course and seconds if you wanted!

Of course all over Melbourne is Lord of the Fries which is a vegetarian fast food chain, also providing gluten free and vegan. These are often situated on main streets and beside train stations etc and very handy if you're in a rush! They do great milkshakes and beautiful fries with various sauces.

Lastly, a visit to St Kilda Beach rewards you with not just a beach with calm waters just 20 minutes from the city and an original amusements park from 1912 but also Sister of Soul. Here I had what was probably my tastiest meal - a tempeh stirfry with satay sauce, followed by the vegan berry cheesecake. This restaurant is quite new and moderately priced but very popular. Nearby is Crave which sells frozen yoghurt and has vegan options. There was also a gelato shop with vegan ice cream/sorbet.

 Sisters of Soul in St Kilda

There are also countless others all over Melbourne and you can find these on http://www.happycow.net/