eddking2003 Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Hi, Just got Visa's and looking to be out at end of July. I will be working as an Engineering Surveyor on a FIFO rosta, most likely on Wheatstone project but that could change! Just wondering if any one has any info about different facilities and things to do that are generaly available on the accommodation camps? Also how does it fit with taking gear with you, can you leave stuff there in lockers etc?? Would be good to hear from anyone who is in a similar situation. Cheers, Edd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlaunay Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Wheatstone project you say, with these guys then? Accommodation has improved massively since they put the road in Entertainment has improved massively too. We all really look forward to Friday night roo fights. Sorry, I've no experience of conditions on site, I couldn't resist. Those I know who do FIFO don't seem to complain, I think they're pretty well catered for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SadieBacon Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Hi there, this is going by just listening to some family members who work on minesites....They have their own room with ensuite, they have a pub which only sells mid strength beer, there's a pool, which my mum said was great for using after work. They have a shop for neccesities, and a gym I think.... They leave most things up there like Tv, uniforms etc as it's their room....Sorry I can't help you anymore... Btw they're all on 2:1 shifts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddking2003 Posted May 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 looks great!! Can't wait to get in the ring with the 'roo!?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sipidan Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Gday Everyone is looked after well in FIFO Modern rooms are now very good, en-suite, cleaned twice a week, fridge, air-con, LED Tv's with Fox(Sky), Gym, tennis courts, swimming pool(most), running tracks and even drive ranges. Food is good actually, you'll think its great when you arrive but at the end of your swing you'll be complaining like the rest of us and craving some sushi or a good pizza, haa haa!! Wheatstone would be a great project to get on...good luck amigo :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfie Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Hi My posts are truthful from our prospective and can be seen as negative. I just wish we had been more informed of the other side of fifo as its not all sun sea and happy faces. Dont get me wrong its not a bad life but its not a wonderful life either sacrifices have to be made on both parties. If your strong willed then you will be fine any way on to answer your question. Hubby fifo on site the facilities vary from site to site. Sometimes you do not get en suit facilities sometimes you have to share a shower room and toilet. The rooms have must needed air con, fridge, sometimes a tv with limited foxtel internet access although the quality varies again from site to site. There is usually some type of sporting recreation areas. Sometimes there is a swimming pool but due to dust and possible maintenance on site this most prob closed. The food can be great or ****e again depending on site to site and the food budget set per person per day by site owners! Hubby found gold mine owners are very tight with food budget iron ore owners more free with the money. There is wet mess - pub extortionate prices mind open limited hours per day to cater for both day and night shift. You can purchse cans of coke crisps chocolate etc but at rip off prices usually 3 times what you would pay back in Perth so be prepared. The latest one on site with hubby is 1ltr bottle of water .... $5.99. Tip buy one when you get to site then fill up at the water stations as needed its free from there............. One tip if your getting a mobile phone the best one for coverage for the fifo life is telstra. Fifo is not a walk in the park as some people say its hard going for the person on site and the person left behind. Yea money is good but then the conditions fifo workers have to work in are not easy peasy 40+ degree heat sometimes 50 degrees flies flies and more flies and all the other critters you can think of. Then sometimes depending on what site you work come your knock off day - weather depending your flight can be late leaving for Perth or even cancelled specially if its the little propeller planes . Happy days good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 As Elfie says, it can vary a lot. Some sites are very good - big nice on-suite rooms, to others where you have wonder around in the middle of the night looking for the loo. Some have bars that can be expensive and only server low alchol beer, others can be cheap and serve everything including decent wine. Some have excellent sports facilities, some almost none - My last gig was great that was. Squash courts, tennis, lawn bowls, golf driving range, swimming pool, big gym and a range of others. Food is a bit subjective, but personally i find it similar most of the time. Can be a bit basic - roasts and things, usualing a good salad selection, but you wont starve. I am guessing you are coming out with your partner. You do need to be aware that FIFO is not great for relationships - there is a very good reason why the divorse rate among fifo guys is huge. The nature of my job pretty much is always fifo - geologist. I was at a conference a while ago and there was some guy doing research on it, in his talk he asked the audience how many were on their first marriage. Not one person out of a couple of hundred geologists. See it all the time. It is particularly hard if you are moving to a new country where there isnt the support network there was at home and if you havent done it before. Because of the downturn going on, it also means companies are taking advantage and pushing up rosters - during the boom, it was often week on week off, but now i see companies offering 4 weeks on 1 off. I am now doing 5 weeks on 3 off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfie Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 FOUND THIS TODAY Read it and its oh so so true The Ten Stages of the FIFO worker’s homecoming. Relief. Thank God I am home. I am so tired and fed up. I just want to be home. Elation. There are so many things I want to do! The world is finally my oyster! I can eat what I want, get up when I want. (…and yes, that big pile of clothes next to the washing machine are clean but they smell like work and I want you to rewash them.) Exhaustion. I’ll do all that stuff I have been dreaming about in my bunk bed for the last month after I have some sleep in my own comfy bed. Mmmmmm… Bewilderment. Can’t you keep the kids quiet while I have some sleep? Where is everything? Where are my socks? How come all my stuff has been put in a pile in the shed? Excitement. Ah! The shed. OK. What shall I do first? Oh! Might just call some mates first. Ah! Fridge is full. Might just have a beer and think about it. Frustration. Where the f__k is everything? Where’s the bottle opener? I’m sick of tripping over all this kid stuff! Who put that stool there? Why are all the knives blunt? How long has that light been broken? Does anything useful happen while I am gone??? Anger. I work so bloody hard and when I get home all I do is tidy up after you people. All these bills, I may as well go back to work and you will be happy to see me gone. I just get in your way and cramp your style anyway, don’t I? (Someone will storm out of the house during this stage.) Nesting. Alright. Maybe i just need to acclimatise myself and wander around the house for a while and put things away. I‘ll mow the lawn and see how everything has grown. Acceptance. I am so tired. Just glad to be home, really. I think I might just ‘be’ for a while. Need to chill out. Sorry for being an arse: it is a big change for all of us me being home, isn’t it? Might need another nap. Contentment. Ahh, I’m home. Happy. What would you like to do together today, family? Stages of the wife and family of a FIFO worker’s homecoming. Relief. Thank God he is home. I need help with the kids and an adult conversation. Breakfast in bed would be nice, too. Elation. We are a family again! Exhaustion. I can finally relax now he is home. There are two of us to walk through life together now. No more living in fight or flight response, I can let go… Bewilderment. Why is there so much washing now? Who is this person that has come into our home? He looks like husband and Daddy, but he is acting like he doesn’t belong here! Excitement. All the stuff we can do together! Picnics, drives, cooking, invite friends over… Frustration. Why doesn’t he want to do anything? Why is he always tidying up the shed and talking to his work mates on Skype? A little help around the house wouldn’t hurt you know. And what is this ‘I’d like a platter lunch served at midday, thanks?’ bull****? And a coffee and snack at 930 is not called ‘smoko’ in this house!!! Anger. David Attenborough makes documentaries about this primeval behaviour. For months I have been in charge of this household and you come in like a testosterone charged gorilla needing to reassert your authority as head of the household? Well, you are the head! A dick-head!!! (At this point, someone will burst into tears.) Nesting. What is he doing? Why is he wandering around rearranging everything? I am too emotionally exhausted by all these mood swings to even question his actions. Might go for a walk. Ahhh, he’s having another nap. Acceptance. My gorgeous husband is going through a period of readjustment after a difficult time away. I need to be patient with his moods and his needs, because that is how I would like him to treat me. Contentment. Curled up on the couch with a glass of wine watching one of our favourite DVDs. Kid asleep after Mummy and Daddy have read stories and kissed her goodnight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goat Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 I think it depends on the people , number 9 on the wife is the opposite to folk I know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 It misses points - 11. Argue with the wife because of the crap she has had to sort out on her own - broken this / bust that / leaking the other and how she feels abandoned and single and lonely. 12After putting off all the plans i made while away beause i am too tired / speeping / napping / chilling out, i suddenly get to the day, pretty much without realising, and its time to through the cloths back in the bag and start again and say boll*cks, but i will do them next break. Which is like a smoker saying i will quit tomorrow. After too many years away - i am on site now in sunny Tanzania - i have given a firm deadline. Two more years of it and regardless of the concequences i am calling FIFO a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfie Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Theres a lot more can be added from opinions from the fifo worker and the person back home. I felt a fair part of the post rang true to our situation. A lot that didn't .. No children to consider so no disputes over that part. As stated previously you both have to be of strong stuff to cope well with this life style. Me personally always thought I was made of hard stock. My hubbies on a 2.1 rota which is good but by the Friday of 2nd week I admit I begin to waver but then its 3 days and he's home. I have a part time job which helps. But Como g home to an empty house cooking for 1 and eating alone for 14 days is not something I relish. Possibly easier for the wife with children as you get to meet people via them, but lonely bringing them up being mam and dad for the time partner away. Any way at least for 14 days I get to control the tv remote and watch what I want hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddking2003 Posted May 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Thanks for all the replies so far, seems everybody has different experiences to be fair. We know its not all going to be plain sailing, but we are both very realistic and of the opinion that it is worth it to experience life in that part of the world. Also we have had to put up with me being on military tours on the past and also working away here in Britain, I think that this gives us a fairly decent advantage compared with couples who have never spent much time apart. You just have to get stuck in and take a bit of rough with the smooth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlaunay Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Thanks for all the replies so far, seems everybody has different experiences to be fair. We know its not all going to be plain sailing, but we are both very realistic and of the opinion that it is worth it to experience life in that part of the world. Also we have had to put up with me being on military tours on the past and also working away here in Britain, I think that this gives us a fairly decent advantage compared with couples who have never spent much time apart. You just have to get stuck in and take a bit of rough with the smooth! Good attitude, treat it as an adventure, don't take it too seriously and you'll be able to bail if it doesn't work out. You may very well find that you'll have it a lot easier than (presumably), your other half in your avatar. If you're without family and a close circle of friends to support it can be really tough on the one left in the city/burbs. Just take a look at this forum and count the number of 'seeking friends' threads there are, it's not easy to break into a new community so my advice would be to spend more time planning for the one left behind than the one heading off to work with all of those ^ facilities at their disposal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levi Posted May 11, 2013 Report Share Posted May 11, 2013 I'd be a great FIFO worker. No family, no nothing of my own : D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyrob Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 Hi Eddy. I'm going back to your original post here, in terms of the camp itself. I work on the Wheatstone Project - we are building the camp, and I was heavily involved with the design team (I'm Perth based, but know the camp inside out and have been up a couple of times). The camp is pretty decent. The biggest philosophy asked for by the client was to change the perception of FIFO camps. The final village (it's about 1/3 complete at the moment) has plenty facilities. Lots of BBQ areas, sports field, tennis courts etc, 2 gyms, recreation centres and taverns (though you are only allowed 4 drinks per night), a shop and there's a medical centre too. There's a huge diner, and the food is good if the fly camp is anything to go by. The rooms are reasonable - single ensuite with TV (Foxtel), Internet and phone. There's also a running track that runs round the outside. They do excursions on RDO's to some of the local areas. You can leave stuff up there when you are on R&R - there's a luggage storage building so you just pack what you want to leave and drop it off - then get it back when you get there. It's a good project, who will you be working for? Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddking2003 Posted May 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 Hi Eddy. I'm going back to your original post here, in terms of the camp itself. I work on the Wheatstone Project - we are building the camp, and I was heavily involved with the design team (I'm Perth based, but know the camp inside out and have been up a couple of times). The camp is pretty decent. The biggest philosophy asked for by the client was to change the perception of FIFO camps. The final village (it's about 1/3 complete at the moment) has plenty facilities. Lots of BBQ areas, sports field, tennis courts etc, 2 gyms, recreation centres and taverns (though you are only allowed 4 drinks per night), a shop and there's a medical centre too. There's a huge diner, and the food is good if the fly camp is anything to go by. The rooms are reasonable - single ensuite with TV (Foxtel), Internet and phone. There's also a running track that runs round the outside. They do excursions on RDO's to some of the local areas. You can leave stuff up there when you are on R&R - there's a luggage storage building so you just pack what you want to leave and drop it off - then get it back when you get there. It's a good project, who will you be working for? Andy Andy, Thanks for the reply, very informative! Sounds like there will be a lot going on there, but what's RDO's?? 'scuse the ignorance but I am trying to get my head round the new lingo! I enjoy running when I can, is it a perimeter fence track? I will be working for Ertech mate, they are sponsoring me on a 457 with the chance of PR after 2 years service. We have just had the Visa's approved so now really just waiting for the flights to be booked. Looking at the weekend of 21st July to fly over as we have to sort out house rentals, removals etc. this end. How long a flight is it out to the project from Perth? Edd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyrob Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 Hey Edd RDO is Rostered Day Off. You can only work 13 days straight, so every 2nd Sunday is an RDO. The flight is about 2.5-3 hours out of Perth, as it's Fauker 50's they are using until Onslow airport is upgraded. Once they get better planes running should be about 2 hours. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddking2003 Posted May 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2013 Do they have any convenience shops on site at all, or is it really just the bars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyrob Posted May 13, 2013 Report Share Posted May 13, 2013 Yeah there is a shop on site, small one at the moment but a bigger one coming. Sells drinks, food, toiletries, newspapers - all that kinda thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pravin Kumar Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Where can I find out that after working 13 days straight you get a rostered day off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Where can I find out that after working 13 days straight you get a rostered day off Hi and welcome to the forum. You need to expand your question more to put it in context so we can help you. Are you working FIFO? Are you on a mine site? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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