RIVERLAND West certified organic horticulturists Bruce and Susan Armstrong are providing backpackers from Australia and overseas the chance to experience life on a block on the Murray River.

For more than 24 years, the couple have hosted dozens of volunteer workers on their property at Taylorville north of Waikerie through the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms WWOOF) or Workaway programs.

Bruce says they decided to become hosts firstly with WWOOF in the early 2000s when they were having difficulties finding people to help them with their vineyard and harvesting vegetables.

“We were getting so many volunteer workers interested in coming to stay that we had to knock some of them back,” he says. 

Participants of the volunteer exchange programs, the Armstrongs are part of, assist their hosts for four to six hours per day, in exchange for their food, accommodation, and the opportunity to learn about the towns they visit.

The couple at ‘Lone Pine Farm’, grow a range of certified organic produce that includes apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, loquats, citrus, rockmelons, watermelons, zucchinis, squash, pumpkins, and tomatoes.

They are no longer involved in growing certified organic wine grapes and producing wine after taking an exit package from the industry in the mid-2000s.

To become involved in the volunteer exchange programs, the volunteer workers and the hosts sign up online, and create profiles with information about themselves.

“You post photos of what you grow on your property, and you also inform them of any fun activities they can do in their free time,” Bruce says.

“They will be attracted to visit your property if they can have some good Australian experiences.”

Volunteer workers will then contact hosts through the WWOOF or Workaway websites if they are interested in staying and helping on their properties.

The Armstrongs give their guests who have come from Australia or overseas a rich experience of life in the Riverland.

“We take people out on a kangaroo safari and see all kinds of wildlife that can be found in the area,” Bruce says. 

Barn owls, quails, wood ducks, emus, foxes, rabbits and mice are also among the animals that guests see. 

“Every night is different,” Bruce says. 

“I show them scorpions and if there is a red-back spider around I will show them that,” he says. 

“On some days we go canoeing along the Murray River and if we go into town, I show them the Waikerie Silo Art.

“We sometimes take them camping near Devlin’s Pound and they can experience water skiing or tube rides on the river.” 

Bruce says some of the overseas volunteer workers who have stayed at his property have just completed their secondary education and are taking a gap year before starting their university studies.

“They like to get off the beaten track and get the on-farm experience,” he says. 

His volunteer workers also have the opportunity to drive tractors or quad bikes.

Places his overseas visitors have come from include Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, France, Spain, Germany, England, Scotland and Israel.

“Most of the people that do this type of thing are a good class of people, we have only had one bad experience, and this was with an Australian, who must have taken somebody else’s old logbook,” Bruce says.

The Armstrongs have also hosted families with children and guests for up to three months.

His guests, seven years ago, included Dean and Shay Paine and their first child, their daughter, who was then three years old. 

The couple were ‘WWOOFERS’ before winning the Channel 9 reality renovation show ‘The Block’ in 2015.

Bruce also enjoys making homemade jam, chocolate chip cookies, and home cooked meals using his fresh certified organic produce, which his visitors love.

The Armstrongs have received rave reviews in their guest book and online from those that have enjoyed their hospitality.

Bruce says hosting guests from all over the world has been a treasured learning experience for them as well, and they keep in touch with many of them after they leave. 

“We have had one boy from France who has visited us three times, and one or two others who have come back for a second time,” Bruce says.