I picked tomatoes for a very shouty lady farmer in Queensland a few years ago – and on one of the days I worked for her I probably got the most thirsty I’ve ever been. My job involved sitting in a large, yellow contraption with many other fellow backpackers, as it moved slowly through rows of tomatoes. The problem I had on this particular day was that I had forgotten to bring my water bottle – a big mistake when you’re stuck under a flaring Australian sun. There aren’t any water coolers on Aussie farms.

So there I was, around midday, and I couldn’t top up my water levels at all. I tried to get some off the Japanese guy next to me, but he didn’t have much left either. I asked my lady farmer if she had any but she replied with her usual exclamation: “NA Ya not geddin’ any blaady worta, no get back on, AND GO HARD OR GO HOOOOOWWWWM!”.

This was not the response I required. And considering it was the worst job I’d ever had, the seed of quitting started to grow in my mind. At first I thought, there’s no way I can quit – I need the money to keep travelling. But as I mulled it over and the big nasty lady kept shouting at everyone, I felt it was time to depart – especially as there were lots of other farm jobs. I waited for the next 10 minute ‘Smoko’ break (of which there were a grand total of 2) and made my exit.

I stole a few ripe tomatoes and this kept me going for the long walk back to the main road. From here, I soon hitched a lift back to town, from another friendly Aussie. The moral of the story? Make sure you take adequate water with you when you’re out in the sun. Or don’t do terrible jobs on farms run by shouty women!