I live for free on a ‘heavenly’ paradise island – I only work 24hrs a week and spend the rest of my time in a hammock
A WOMAN who lived on a “heavenly” island off the coast of Australia for free only worked 24 hours a week.
Sirirat Nensewicz, 27, from Germany, lived on the 18-acre Pumpkin Island in the Great Barrier Reef where she didn’t have to pay rent.
The content creator worked just 24 hours a week across five days – cleaning, gardening and bartending at a local resort in return for free housing after finding it on Google Maps.
Sirirat said she enjoyed her time off “laying in a hammock and swimming” on the island which boasts pristine beaches and exotic marine wildlife.
Her monthly expenses came to just £200 (AUD $400) and the resort paid her around £800 (AUD $1,600) on top of this.
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’ – 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”.
Sirirat said: “I only spent £40 (AUD $75-80) a week on groceries and £10 (AUD $20) a month on phone data as the island had no WiFi.
“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 two months on Pumpkin Island, she left for “some much-needed time in Bali to reunite and travel with friends from home”.
She added: “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.”
Sirirat landed the resort job after facing multiple rejections on a gruelling job hunt where she walked into over 100 places” with her CV.
Total expenses
- Food shop – £150 a month (AUD $300)
- Phone bill – £10 a month (AUD $20)
- Paycheck – £800 a month (AUD $1,600)
- Rent – free