Time to Roam Magazine Issue 5 - October/November 2013 | Page 16

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upfront feature
distribute flyers and drum up publicity
around the next town and district. Power
and water has to be connected by the
qualified people and very often a large
bond has to be paid in case of any damage
to property or grounds. In wet boggy
weather it is hard to keep the grounds
perfect.
If the circus is near a residential area,
people living nearby have to be contacted
and often there’s a curfew at night.
When it comes time to move and pull
down the tent it takes four to five hours.

When we moved there were 30 odd
vehicles all needing drivers. It was quite
a parade. Arriving at the next town, it
usually took another two days to have
everything up and going.
If you think taking a caravan to Tasmania
is quite a feat, imagine taking a whole
circus!
We loaded up the ferry and crossed
Bass Straight spending 13 weeks in
some of the Island State’s most beautiful
locations, always close to water.
We then came back to Melbourne and

Tips for working travellers
Joining the circus may not be your
cup of tea, but there are plenty of causal
and seasonal jobs out there for people
planning to work and travel their way
around Australia.
Workabout Australia is an online site
connecting travellers with casual, seasonal
and temporary work. Marketing Manager
Justine Williams has these top 3 tips for
first timers.
Warren and Ju
stine Williams,
Workabout Au
stralia

1. Travel with the season
The most important part of the process
starts before you even leave your driveway.
If you are looking for seasonal work, which
can include harvest positions or anything
in the tourism industry, you need to know
where and when the season is ‘on’. This is
when the most jobs will be available to you –
there is no point travelling to an area out of
season, as you may just be stuck there with
no prospects
There are many types of work available for
those who are travelling – whether you want
to stay in one spot for just a month or two, or
something longer term. Of course there are
your traditional fruit picking, packing and
harvesting jobs, but for some, the thought of
hours of physical labour can be daunting.
Other options include:
• working in caravan parks during the
peak tourist season (in anything from

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reception and administration through
to gardening, maintenance or cleaning)
farm sitting or caretaking during the
‘off season’
working as a kitchen hand or cook
bus and coach driving
labouring and trades
sales and office work

2. Get your affairs in order
It goes without saying that it’s best
to get your personal finances sorted
before leaving.
Many jobs may need you to have
particular licences, police checks, tickets
or authorisations. For example, for bus
or coach driving in Queensland, you
generally need a special licence as well as

spent another 15 weeks at locations in and
around Melbourne and Geelong.
Sadly we had to leave at that point.
My father-in-law wasn’t well and I don’t
think he ever did get over the shock of us
going ‘off to join the circus’. It was most
embarrassing for the poor old chap.
We have no regrets and only great
memories of our seven months in the
circus. It gave us an insight to how other
people live and an appreciation that other
businesses have their ups and downs, just
like farmers.

a Queensland Driver Authorisation (and
possibly a Working with Children check if you
are expecting to take on school bus routes).
If you are looking to work in reception at a
caravan park, it is a good idea to be trained
in the “Reservation Management System”
(or RMS) \