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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
Superb I stayed here when it first started up as a backpackers place way back in 1999, I spent 3 months working on the grape vines, orange picking, and apricot picking. We had loads of parties and earned loads of money. Warick was running the place back then and picked up a puppy and called it Drom after the single humped camel I think. I still keep in touch with people I met whilst working at this place. Some of the locals were proper ozzy folk and I'll never forget this place. — Colin ceney , uk (2011-01-09) The most memorable part of my trip I stayed at Nomads for two months in March & April of 2005. I started off picking grapes, then shortly after a job opened up for me working at the onion farms, I ended up working there for about a month, then moved onto the potato harvesters for the same company, they paid me slightly below minimum wage, I think it was around 12-13 dollars hr, but as an upside I was given insane hours everyday, like 11 hrs 6 out of 7 days a week. managed to save a lot of coin.
met some amazing folks over there. The backdrop of the Murray River is magic.
And if you end up traveling to this Hostel, give Warwick mad respect, that guy works his f***ing ass off to keep that place going. I don't know how he does it. — Sean , Canada (2010-01-23) Great I stayed in this hotel for three months in 2000 and 2001 and it was the best three months ever. I would like to thank Warwick for taking care of me by giving me a lot a work and for his hospitality. So if you have the opportunity to go there, do it! — Michiel , Dutch (2009-09-17) I Have Been Kicked Out Of Better Hostels Than This! I stayed there in 2002. Worked mainly at the potato place near Loxton. I when away for a while can back did some picking work and got kicked out because Warwick said i was causing too many problems! (Whatever That Means). I called there last year just to see how Warwick was doing and stuff and i was told he was not there anymore. But i guess from the comments i read that is not right. In 2003 i when back to work at the potato place and had to stay somewhere else because i could not stay there. Should you stay at this hostel? Maybe in you do not drink too much! There was one guy there when i was there that had been there for more than six months because he was lazy and when he did work he drunk too much. If Warwick is still running it he did not bullsh*t you about the work coming up! (I will say that much about him Even if the not being able to bring your own beer in was bullsh*t.) It is not against any law. The People That Are Staying At A Hostel At Any Given Time Is What Makes It A Good Place To Be Or Not! — Gary , Australian (2009-05-20) Awesome This was one of the most fun places I stayed in Australia. I met great people, I got a little drunk, I had fun. Warwick was one of the best guys I've ever met. He had to take many a call from my lovely father who could not seem to figure out the time difference and would call at 3 a.m. every few nights without fail. I worked hard, I had fun, I earned rubbish money compared to what I normally do but you don't spend money apart from in the bar and the supermarket so was very easy to save. And if I ever find out who kept stealing my cheese from the fridge ... — Ems , Scotland (2009-03-29) Good times, provided you make it good times! Me and my girlfriend Bex were here for about three months in total in the summer of 2004. And it was a blast! it really does depend on the type of people that are there too, and how good you make it for yourself. It's true Warwick doesnt allow alcohol to be brought in from the outside, but to be honest it's wasnt that expensive if memory serves. And yes, Warwicks mood is the stuff of legends, but you just have to have a bit of patience with him as he knows how to have a laugh. His main concern is his business, true, but his only accomplishment of that is good service. And if he was ever rude to you, it's probably because he didnt like you! Which he is more than entitled to! The facilities were fine for me, bathroom always clean, kitchen fine as long as people wash up their dishes! The only bad thing I can think about the facilities, is that the water supply for the washing machines comes from the local river, so if you wash all whites, then prepare for a slight tinge of brown when they are done. Warwicks has about three or four cars for use (for free! petrol and all) to go to work, and the daily trips into town were free too. And the Friday BBQ and parties were manic!! And every opportunity to create a themed party was at hand, just run it past Warwick and he'll probably agree. We had dress up Bin Liner, Friday 13th, and birthdays and everything in between. On a whole the place has a very friendly and homey feel to it. And you've got to have a good time, to have a good time. — Dan , England (2008-06-13) This place was a f***ing scream. Just spent the first few months of 2007 here. It's a working hostel -- so leave your standards at the door. Besides, by working hostel standards the facilities are decent and the pool is a winner, especially in the summer. Couldn't have survived the afternoons of forty-plus degrees after work without it. I think a lot of folks have unreal expectations of working hostels. Complaining about ants -- in Australia. Shock horror! There was some horrible flies too, and some icky spiders! Eew! Get real, mate. I've been to loads and this rates pretty highly in my experience. You won't find anything near perfection. Different strokes for different folks, see. Anyway, work here is pretty constant, but more patience is needed presently across most of Oz because of the drought, which is very bad -- be under no illusions. Warwick the owner runs hot and cold, but his heart's in the right place. He will get you work. Remember your manners and have a bit of patience. If you ran the place and folks came in with a know it all attitude, you'd get p*ssed off. I lost count of the number of "experts" who rocked up during the summer, who knew all about the ins and outs of labour hire and agriculture, just because they'd picked a few strawberries in Queensland. Trust Warwick and credit him with a bit of intelligence -- he's been doing it a long time. Take his moods with a pinch of salt. Everyone gets f***ed off at work from time-to-time, and it's easy to get p*ssed off when folks are whining in your ears and you're trying to balance the interests of a few dozen employers as well as fifty-odd backpackers. Every hostel has a pecking order -- first come first served. It's only fair. If you know a hostel that doesn't do this, then you'd be a fool to stay there. Occasionally someone with specific experience might show up and get a job seemingly quickly, but that's not without reason. It's not because the hostel owner hates everyone else. Warwick has to maintain good ongoing relationships with his employer contacts in the area -- why trust a newbie who you've got no idea about with an employer you need in the future? On the same note, if a regular employer who supplies a lot of work to the hostel needs someone with experience, then as a hostelier it's in your interests to keep them sweet. The employers are largely reasonable, though -- they know that they can't make these demands all the time. It's part of the balance that makes working hostels legitimate in the first place. There's no unrealistic expectations, but sometimes favours are called in. Just like in other industries. There's balances of interests that could turn into a conflict, if you think about it. The hostel owners at these places are obviously thinking long-term. They need these employers in the future for more work, but you might just roll up for a week or two needing some quick cash -- you're thinking short-term. Hosteliers understandably might not want to trust you with their best employers -- you might be sh*t. Just bear all that in mind before you spit your dummy out. I'm not saying working hostels are above criticism -- I've got plenty of gripes. Anyways, we earned decent money most of the time here and the jobs were in good supply. The weather f***s things up during the peak of the summer here, because lots of jobs have to stop during the intense heat -- not just in the interests of the pickers! Fruit and veg goes soft in the heat. Soft fruit and veg bruises, then it can't be sold. Just have a bit of patience and some common sense, eh. And blaming hosteliers for not allowing you to bring your own booze is mis-directed anger -- blame the Australian legislators. You can't bring your own booze on to any licensed premises in Oz, not just hostels. Nomads on Murray is in the middle of nowhere, so it's a decent idea to sell booze onsite. People would moan if he didn't. It's convenient and it's not that expensive, anyway. The local bottle shops aren't particularly cheap and there's a happy hour each day at the hostel. A dollar for a glass of wine isn't unreasonable. Just drop your expectations a bit and live in the real world -- it's rural. Hosteliers are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Working hostels are what you make them. It's all about the people. — Tommi , UK (2007-04-09) never go to this place. you cant save any money here. you have to buy beers from him at $3.50. and the rooms are full of ants. the bus to barmera is always canceled and he cares more about his dog than the backpackers. avoid this place if you are looking to earn money as all he cares about is getting yours. there is no fun to be had. that's bullsh*t. — john (2007-02-19) Rang up and booked a double room, when we arrived we were put in a dorm with a double bed. Told the guy we were leaving because we wanted a double room and he was pretty rude saying that 'that was a double room because it had a double bed in it.' He was going to charge us an extra $10 a week each to stay in the double bed too, nevermind the three strangers who would be watching if we wanted to do anything in that freezing room with no locks or heating. So we left and stayed somewhere else and saved loads of money there. — Andy (2006-08-27) I was here back in 2000. I have to say that most of the best memories I have of Oz are from Nomads on Murray. It's the best place to make friends and earn some money. The facilities are excellent!! I stayed for three months and it was worth it!! I was there with Martijn. Anyone know Andrew or Ricky (the oversexed Japanese)? I had the best time ever. — Tim (2005-03-14) I had a great time here, mainly because of the people who stayed here and the owner of the hostel. It is indeed true that you have to buy your beers from him but it's cheap, though. I stayed here for eight weeks and earned a lot of money. In the beginning we had to do some pruning but then we got a really good job, packing potatoes. We drove to work (for free) with a car provided by the owner, which we called "Goldmember." The owner would go into town (Barmera) at least once a day without any extra costs but we were able to get our own groceries because we had the car during the day. If you want to go here, try to go in August or September because the hostel won't be too crowded. — Joost (2005-02-09) This is a very cool place to stay, especially in August, September and October, because you won't find a lot of people there. So you really get to know the people, which is great. I have made a lot of friends here and I earned 600 dollars a week for only five days of work. And last but not least we didn't have to pay for transport. The owner (Warwick) gave us a car (we called it Goldmember) so we could drive to work ourselves. — Anonymous (2005-01-13) If you're looking to make some money, plan on being here a long time. It's in the middle of nowhere, and the vast majority of people staying here have been here for MONTHS. After you have seen the "sights" in one or two days, all there is to do is watch TV. Transport to and from work is not a free service, nor is getting a lift into town for the grocery store or whatever. Pickup from the bus station is free, but not if you want to leave.
I found the area interesting - a rural part of Oz that you wont get in the cities. However, I really didn't like the family that ran the hostel. They made you buy any alcohol in from them. Gotta say that it was very clean and well taken care of, though. I had a job lettuce-farming for two days, and of the eight hours I was out at the fields, I had maybe three hours of paid work. It was tough to make a profit at all. I'm glad I checked it out for the experience, but I'd never go back. Haha. — Shraf (2004-05-11)