Hello, I’m in Ayr!

Where? I hear you ask. Or shall I say, whayr? This small town has me very limited as to what I can do, so bad jokes it is.
In all fairness, it is what I expected from this small town. In fact it is a little bigger than I actually thought/dreaded. It has a Coles and a Woolworths, a few bars to cope with the demand that is only there on weekends from the few backpacker hostels that occupy the town. That and the odd few locals that have a beer after work, mostly guys in high visibility jackets.


I am starting my 88 days of farm work here, days that I need to accomplish if I am to extend my working holiday visa for a second year. So a little info about this small farming town:

This is where it is in Australia.

From Townsville it is an hour drive south, from Sydney it is a 22 hour drive north. Basically, if I was to drive to Sydney and you were to fly from London, it would be a pretty close race. That is how vast this nation really is. I’m sure some of you folk know what this is like in your home countries, but being from the north of England, I guess an equivalent drive would have me somewhere in Spain. 

That euro-trip would in fact be shorter.


It has a population of 8,281 people. Aboriginal people make up 7.7% of the population and Italian is the second most common nationality in the town at 2.1%.

There is very little to do here, other than farm work, consuming alcohol or sampling the local KFC, McDonald’s and Domino’s. There will of course be some local eateries that I will try at some point, however the signs don’t dominate the streets like the global brands. I guess that is to cater for backpackers and make them feel at home, wherever home was. 

There is also ten pin bowling, I almost forgot that. 

The hostels here are all workings hostels, focusing on getting backpackers farm jobs to extend their visa. This is a great opportunity to meet like minded people all hating their new farming jobs together over a cold beer and some acoustic guitar. I guess the farm work is necessary as young people leave these towns for the big cities, leaving a vacuum in the farming industry. A second year visa option fixes this.

This feels like proper Australia. Different to Sydney, much smaller and more rural. Farm work will be a completely new experience for me, one that will be challenging but I am sure rewarding. I think for my future posts I will start with how many days of farm work I have left, it will help me keep a log. For now, thanks for reading my little insight into my temporary home! 

I’ll see you soon, if the animals are friendly to me here that is.

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34 thoughts on “Hello, I’m in Ayr!”

  1. Very much looking forward to reading about your experiences & what work you’ll be doing.
    I live in a small city so I can relate somewhat. Getting beyond the city limits here gets a person right into farming, ranching, forestry, lakes, rivers, & wilderness.

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      1. It is a very different experience to Sydney! Posting how many days I have left is also good for me to monitor my progress, it helps keep me organised!

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  2. Say Hello to Ian Black for me! He left a few JW girls in 1970 to marry someone in Ayr, one friend in particular had her heart broken! 😉

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      1. I’m so sorry, I knew what I was talking about, but a chardy or 2 made me think I was more coherent than I was! The connection was Ayr where decades ago, a (then) young man moved to quite suddenly from Brisbane to get married, leaving 3 young girls in the congregation back home, one of whom had a big crush on him. Best wishes to you there. 🙂

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  4. The word game is funny ahah where and whayr…It looks like a nice place and I am sure that the animals
    will be friendly with you if you treat them friendly, as well as people. If it is a farm work probably you will be very busy so good start Sam.

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    1. The dogs are friendly, that’s for sure! However the green ants and mosquitoes are a right pain. However I am off to a good start so I am happy 🙂

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  5. Interesting to read. I didn’t think it looked like Ayr in Scotland! ‘re your figures about the population if Italians are about 2% and Aboriginals 7·7% who are the rest? Maybe descended from Ayr in Scotland?

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    1. I am not sure, however it is fun to read all of the town names that have originated from the UK. The only difference is that the places often don’t resemble the British equivalent at all!

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    1. I am pleased I have wifi to keep me connected to the outside world! xD I will enjoy it, but probably because it will be a challenge more than anything.

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    1. Haha I wasn’t aware of that, so I will have to check it out. I have however decided it should be best to look up what to do in the event of a spider/snake bite. I am avoiding that as best as I can!

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  12. 22 hours?!? I think globes/maps in general give such a skewed idea of just how big or small places actually are. I never would’ve guessed those two places are that far apart. Good luck with your new farming adventure, looking forward to reading about it!

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    1. It is a pretty epic road trip! Thanks, I have been busy with the farming and have been bad at providing another update so far, but I have a small post coming. I will make sure I update however as much as I can, and when there is something to update about!

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