Luke Butler

Personal Bio

My name is Luke, I am 29, and grew up in south-east England. I wasn’t raised on a farm but in a busy rural area about an hour from London where my folks had 6 acres. I studied history at university and have been travelling the last few years. I have done a variety of different jobs but haven’t settled on one. I have been in Australia since August 2019.

Most recently I have been working as a casual farm hand at Hop Products Australia, a large scale producer of hops (flavouring in beer). Mostly I worked in the pellet shed (where hop flowers are converted into pellets and packed for export) and have done stringing in the winter (tying string to overhead wires which the hops will later grow up). I was based in Tasmania for the whole of 2020, with the exception of a few weeks in Queensland. I spent a decent chunk of the year staying with different wwoof/workaway hosts around the state and did 5-6 months work at HPA the rest of the year. I relocated to high country Victoria in May this year to work at the HPA farm there and was working there until I resumed travelling & volunteering in late October.

Prior to arriving in Tasmania in August 2019 I was in New Zealand for two years. In that time I stayed with 26 hosts, worked in a kiwi fruit pack-house, helped around a family sawmill, and did a few months of sight seeing.

I enjoy travelling through platforms such as Workaway and WWOOF as it’s a fantastic way to gain work experience, meet great people, see how they make a living, and have a bit of fun. Whilst staying with hosts I get a lot out of learning opportunities, testing myself physically, and staying in some very scenic places, meeting people with a wide variety of experience, lifestyles, and outlooks. Generally I prefer helping people on their hobby farms or lifestyle blocks, where there is a variety of tasks, and getting to know hosts rather than large scale commercial set-ups. I enjoy properties with a bit of scale and epic scenery, especially bush/forest and hills/mountains. Also interested to stay with people who are off-grid & aspiring for ‘self-sufficiency.

I don’t have many hobbies at the moment due to my unstructured life whilst travelling. I like to stay active and get outdoors. I enjoy interesting conversation with hosts, bushwalking, camping, exploring, and reading. Enjoy working out and occasionally go for a run/cycle. I am aspiring to get stronger/fitter, more resilient & capable, and more knowledgeable about the outdoors and any skills related to living off the land.