Follow the Harvest Trail Australia: A Month-by-Month Route
The harvest trail is the route farm workers follow around Australia to stay in work all year. Crops ripen at different times in different parts of the country. By moving with them, you can keep finding work month after month instead of sitting around waiting for the next season.
Here is the simple idea. Start up north in winter, when the tropics are warm and busy. Then follow the ripening crops south as the weather heats up. By summer you are in the cool southern states, picking cherries and apples while the north sits out the wet season.
This guide gives you a month-by-month route, the towns to aim for, and how to plan it so the work joins up. It works for backpackers chasing 88 days, Aussies after a season of good money, and anyone who wants to see the country while they earn.
Why people follow the harvest trail
One region only has work for a few weeks or months. A cherry season might run six weeks. A grape harvest might run two months. If you stop after one crop, you are out of work and back to job hunting.
The trail fixes that. You line up regions so that when one crop finishes, the next one is just starting somewhere else. You move, you start again, you stay earning. Workers who do this well stay in work most of the year.
It also means you are always picking in peak season, when the fruit is heaviest and the pay is best. That matters a lot on piece rates. When you are paid by the bin or the bucket, a heavy tree pays far more than a thin one. Turning up at the start of a season, when the crop is full, is how the good earners do it.
There is a money side too. People who follow the trail well, moving between regions to always be picking in peak season, can earn solid weekly money once they get fast. The trick is staying in work. A week off between jobs eats into everything you saved.
For the full picture of when each crop is in season, read our fruit picking seasons Australia guide. This article is the route. That one is the calendar.
The month-by-month harvest trail
This table covers all 12 months. Seasons shift by a few weeks each year with the weather, so treat the months as a guide, not a fixed date. Always check what is picking before you drive there.
| Month | Region / State | Main crops | Town examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Sunraysia (VIC), Riverina (NSW) | Stone fruit, grapes, melons | Mildura, Robinvale, Griffith |
| February | Goulburn Valley (VIC), Barossa & Riverland (SA) | Stone fruit, wine grapes, apples | Shepparton, Cobram, Renmark, Barossa |
| March | Goulburn Valley (VIC), Huon Valley (TAS) | Apples, pears, late stone fruit | Shepparton, Huonville, Cygnet |
| April | Batlow (NSW), Donnybrook (WA), Huon Valley (TAS) | Apples, pears, grapes | Batlow, Donnybrook, Huonville |
| May | Carnarvon (WA), Sunraysia (VIC) | Tomatoes, capsicum, vine pruning | Carnarvon, Mildura |
| June | Bundaberg & Childers (QLD), Carnarvon (WA) | Strawberries, citrus, veg, pruning | Bundaberg, Childers, Carnarvon |
| July | Sunshine Coast (QLD), Riverina & Sunraysia | Strawberries, citrus, pruning | Caboolture, Griffith, Mildura |
| August | Coffs Harbour (NSW), citrus belts | Blueberries, oranges, mandarins, pruning | Coffs Harbour, Mildura, Renmark |
| September | Coffs Harbour (NSW), Top End (NT) | Blueberries, early mangoes, veg | Coffs Harbour, Katherine, Darwin |
| October | Katherine & Darwin (NT), Mildura (VIC) | Mangoes, melons, citrus | Katherine, Darwin, Mildura |
| November | Young (NSW), Bowen (QLD), Riverland (SA) | Cherries, mangoes, early stone fruit | Young, Bowen, Renmark |
| December | Young (NSW), Tasmania, Stanthorpe (QLD) | Cherries, berries, stone fruit | Young, Hobart region, Stanthorpe |
Use this as your skeleton. Then pick a stretch of three or four months that works for your timing and your visa.
How to plan your route
You do not have to do the whole loop. Most people do not. Here is how to build a run that suits you.
Start north in winter
If you are starting between June and August, head north. Winter is the worst time for picking in the southern states. Victoria and Tasmania go quiet. The cold stops things ripening.
But the tropics are at their best. Bundaberg has strawberries and veg. Carnarvon in WA has tomatoes and capsicum. The Northern Territory warms up towards mangoes. North is where the work is in the cooler months.
Follow the ripening south into summer
As spring arrives, the warmth spreads south. Mangoes finish in the Top End. Cherries kick off in Young around November. By December and January, the southern states are in full swing.
So your trail runs roughly north to south as the year warms up. You chase the heat down the map. By summer you are in Victoria, the Riverland, or Tasmania, picking while the north sits out the wet.
Join the seasons up
The skill is in the overlap. You want the next crop starting as your current one winds down. A few examples that join up well:
- Bundaberg strawberries (June to August), then Coffs Harbour blueberries (from August), then Young cherries (November).
- Carnarvon veg (winter), then Top End mangoes (October), then Sunraysia stone fruit (December to January).
- Shepparton stone fruit and apples (February to April), then Mildura pruning (May to August), then back to Sunraysia grapes.
That last one shows a trick worth knowing. Mildura and other grape regions have months of pruning work through winter. Pruning is not picking, but it counts for your 88 days and it fills the quiet months.
Pick a starting point that fits the calendar
The month you arrive decides where you start. There is no point landing in Tasmania in July expecting cherries. The crop is six months away.
If you arrive in winter (June to August), go north. Bundaberg, Carnarvon, or the citrus belts. If you arrive in spring (September to November), the Northern Territory and early cherries are warming up. If you arrive in summer (December to February), the south is open. Work backwards from when you land and the route picks itself.
Transport and timing tips
A few honest notes from people who have done it.
A car changes everything. Many farms are well out of town with no bus. A car lets you reach more jobs, move on your own schedule, and sleep in it to save rent. You can follow the trail without one, using buses and working hostels, but it is harder.
Apply early for the popular seasons. Young’s cherry season and other short, high-pay windows fill up fast. The best farms take applications three or four months ahead. If you turn up cold, you may miss out.
Book accommodation before you arrive. Small harvest towns sell out when the season starts. Sort a hostel, a campsite, or a caravan park before you drive in.
Build in gaps. The trail is never perfectly smooth. There will be a week here and there with no work between seasons. Keep a buffer of cash so a quiet patch does not strand you.
Watch the wet season up north. From roughly November to April, the Top End and far north get heavy rain. Picking stops. That is your cue to be heading south anyway.
Be honest about the work. Picking is hard physical work in heat, cold, and rain. The first week of any new crop is slow while your hands learn the job. Your pay climbs as you speed up. Nobody is fast on day one, so do not judge a season by your first pay slip.
No one can promise you work. Seasons run early or late. A hailstorm can wipe out a crop. A farm can fill up the week before you arrive. The trail works because you keep moving, not because any single farm is a sure thing. Treat every region as a likely option, not a guarantee.
Tying the trail into your 88 days
Most backpackers follow the harvest trail for one reason. They want a second year on their Working Holiday visa. That means 88 days of specified work in eligible regional areas.
The trail is built for this. Picking, packing and pruning in eligible postcodes all count. Moving between regions keeps you in continuous work, so your 88 days add up faster.
A short single season usually will not get you there. A six-week cherry run is great money but it is only six weeks. String three or four regions together and you can clear the 88 days in one go.
Always check the postcode is eligible before you start. Not every farm in every town counts. Our 88 days farm work Australia guide explains the rules, what counts, and how to keep your evidence straight.
Where to find the actual jobs
The route tells you where to go. You still need a real job at the other end. Browse current listings by state to see what is hiring now:
And if you want to know exactly what is in season this month before you plan a single drive, check what’s picking now. It updates with the current month so you are never guessing.
The harvest trail is one of the best ways to see Australia. You earn as you go, you meet people from everywhere, and you wake up in a different part of the country every few months. Plan it well, move with the seasons, and the work will keep coming.
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