An adventure-seeking woman has told how she lived for free on a 'heavenly' island off the coast of Australia - only working 24 hours a week.

Sirirat Nensewicz, 27, stayed on the 18-acre Pumpkin Island in the Great Barrier off the coast of Queensland for two months.

She would only work 24 hours a week, cleaning, gardening, and bar-tending around the island's eco-resort in return for free accommodation.

Sirirat says she spent the rest of her time "laying in a hammock and swimming" on the island which has pristine beaches and amazing marine wildlife."

The solo traveller said she would spend AU$400 (£200) a month - only forking out for her groceries and phone bill.

Sirirat, a content creator from Hamburg, Germany said: "It was an unreal experience."

"I saved enough money just for a plane ticket to Australia."

"And I managed to live on a beautiful island, working only 24 hours a week for accommodation and additional pay of over $800 (£400) fortnightly."

This trip was Sirirat's second time returning to Australia after solo travelling in 2017 for six weeks.

She toured the East Coast from Brisbane to Cairns and "fell in love with the country."

She said: " The people were so open-minded and they have a great work-life balance."

"Not to mention the hot weather and sandy beaches."

"I was just counting down the days when I'd be back."

On February 29, 2024, Sirirat left her home in Germany after finishing her fashion degree at The Hochschule Mittweida - and jetted off to Brisbane, Australia.

She travelled under a holiday working visa - valid for up to 12 months.

And was looking for a visa extension.

Sirirat said: "As a first-time visa holder I had to find 88 days of specified work to be eligible for a visa extension if I wanted to stay in Australia longer."



"So in May, I started looking for jobs all around Queensland - as I wanted to be close to the sea."

"I would walk into places with my resume in hand and often faced rejection."

"I probably applied for over 100 places."

Whilst Sirirat continued to job-search, she would venture off Australia's Southern Coast, visiting smaller islands on frequent day trips.

It wasn't until she went onto 'Google Maps' during one of these trips that Sirirat "saw Pumpkin Island for the first time."

She added: "I was still on the job hunt for my visa extension, so when I found the Island, I looked it up online."

"And I found they had an official page to apply for work."

"I immediately applied online with my resume and contact form and two days later found out I got the job."

On May 27, Sirirat moved to the eco-resort and started work.

"I remember arriving by a tiny boat shared with people visiting the Island on the first day and having to off-load their luggage," Sirirat said."

"The Island was very small with only the managers living there full-time and the previous two workers."

"The rest of the people were just guests who would arrive by boat a week at a time."

Sirirat was provided free accommodation on the island in exchange for 24 hours of work over five days.

She said: "We would get up around 8am, check the common areas and clean the bathrooms, do some gardening and then the ‘sunset happy hours', which was two hours of bar work in the evening."

"Some days we would work 10-hour shifts, some would only be four."

She added: "Most of my time on the island, I would just relax, lay in the hammock, swim and kayak."

"For the first week, I went snorkelling every day after work in the Southern Great Barrier Reef and managed to watch a lot of Netflix."

Sirirat's accommodation was "a small room with a double bed and bathroom, located next to a shed," all free of charge."

She described how her "room would face the sea" and that she "often woke up to gorgeous sunrises"."

It was at this time, she was making AU$800 (£400) fortnightly - plus additional pay and had very few expenses.

"I only spent AU$75-80 (£40) a week on groceries and AU$20 (£10) a month on phone data as the island had no Wi-Fi," she said."

"My groceries would come by boat once a week - and would be the same boat that would drop off the guests to the island."

"The rest of my money was saved or put towards things I wanted."

"I could eat more healthily and invest more in my travel."

"If anyone has the chance to work here, do it."

"You can see and experience things you never thought you could."

"It made me appreciate life and the little things a lot more as the island gave me space to think."

After finishing her work placement on July 12, Sirirat left for "some much-needed time in Bali to reunite and travel with friends from home."

She continues to document her travels on TikTok @siri.going.places - and is planning on going back to Rockhampton, Australia in search of more hospitality work to complete her working visa's 88 days.

EXPENSES

GROCERIES: $75-80 a week/$300 a month (£150)
PHONE DATA: $20 a month

£10)
RENT: $0
BILLS: $0