Red Cliffs is about 13 km from the regional city of Mildura. Mildura is the heart of the Sunraysia district, which takes in Red Cliffs, Irymple, Merbein and many smaller country centres.
Mildura is easy to reach by the major coach lines, Greyhound and V/Line, and has a busy regional airport serviced by QantasLink, Rex and Virgin Australia.
For more information on Mildura and Sunraysia, visit:
Victoria's food bowl
The Sunraysia district is considered Victoria's food bowl, growing and harvesting a wide variety of fresh produce for sale in Australia and for export.
Some of the more significant local crops are table grapes, wine grapes, all citrus (oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruit and more), avocados, melons, almonds, pistachios, apricots, asparagus and beans.
Harvest seasons
With such a wide range of produce grown locally, there is a lot of harvest work on offer at any time of year. The busiest seasons are usually:
Table grapes
January to April
Citrus
June to October
Between these two busy periods there are still plenty of other jobs, but they may not be as consistent or last as long.
Types of work
As well as picking jobs to harvest the produce, there is a wide variety of other work, including:
- Packing
- Shed work
- Stacking cartons
- Making boxes
- Tractor driving
- Pruning
- Vine training
- Shoot thinning
- Hand spraying
- Marking out for planting
- Irrigation work (fixing drip lines, etc.)
A word of advice
There are plenty of websites and forums criticising the work on offer in Mildura and Sunraysia, and it's true that some jobs won't pay well for an inexperienced farm hand. However, there is also plenty of legitimate, well-paying work on offer; it's a matter of having someone you can trust to advise you. A good tip is to do your own research, and secure accommodation and work through a registered backpackers hostel.