Each morning, Jule Hofele wakes to the sounds of crowing roosters and sights of red rugged mountain peaks over vast green plains.

For the 24-year-old German backpacker, life on Mount Little Station in the Flinders Ranges is very different from life back home.

“It’s beautiful here, it’s calm and every day is different.”

In March, Ms Hofele took up work at the station cleaning its accommodation, but it hasn’t been exactly what she expected.

Mount Little Station is located in SA’s largest mountain range, the Flinders Ranges. (Supplied: Ron Fredericks)

“[My job] depends on whether we have enough tourists, which is not the thing at the moment,” she said.

“When I came here everyone just told me wait until it’s Easter, wait until there’s school holidays [for things to pick up] … but we’re just basically waiting.”

The station has a 400-person capacity and is usually full this time of year. Currently, it’s only half booked.

“People can’t afford to travel here, there’s also the worry of being stuck if fuel runs out,” said the station’s owner Kellie Zadow.

Ms Zadow had hired another backpacker on a Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visa, but she had to let that person go in their first week.

Backpackers can accumulate their required 88 days of specified work through multiple eligible employers.

There are 235,600 WHMs in Australia, according to the latest government data.

Kellie Zadow has owned Mount Little Station for eight years. (ABC North and West SA: Jenae Madden)

“It’s a struggle to have enough work for one worker, let alone two,” she said.

Ms Hofele admits she is “nervous” about being the only backpacker on the station.

“I saw girls from other years on [social media] and they had a lot of fun together,” she said.

“It’d be nice to have someone around who’s my age that I could talk to and go exploring with.”

Outback travel drying up

Deep in the outback, the situation of lay-offs is more dire.

Oodnadatta is 700 kilometres north-west of Mount Little Station, situated on the edge of the Simpson Desert in SA’s Far North.

Owner of the Pink Roadhouse, Joe Calvert said with revenue down 76 per cent compared to last year, he has had to cut seven of his nine seasonal workers.

The Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta is a key tourist attraction. (ABC North and West: Isabella Carbone)

“As soon as the war started and fuel costs rose we cancelled staff that were due to come. Then as time went on it became evident we couldn’t support the staff that we already had,” Mr Calvert said.

Irish backpacker Mark Wickham has worked at the Pink Roadhouse since March and is one of the employees who has been let go.

“I envisioned to stay at least three months, so it’s a shame,” he said.

“I would like to stay in South Australia, stay in the regional areas but it’s all dependent on if I can get employment.”

Oodnadatta recorded a population of 102 in the 2021 census, with 17 families living in the town. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

Since being laid off, Mr Wickham has looked for more outback work, to no avail.

“I’m getting the sense that [other backpackers] are staying around the cities a bit more because of the sheer distance and the price it is to get up here now.”

To be eligible for the 88 days of regional work on the WHM visa, hospitality workers can work anywhere in South Australia, excluding metropolitan Adelaide.

Mr Wickham said he will head south, hoping he hears back from applications from hospitality businesses in more populated regions.

The economy of Oodnadatta, in far north South Australia, relies on tourists. (ABC News: Isabella Carbone)

Backpacker economy

Tourism academic Donna James said backpackers make a “very significant” contribution to remote areas of Australia.

Dr James deemed WHMs as “high-return tourists” who spend differently to short-term visitors.

Dr Donna James is a lecturer in Heritage and Tourism Studies at Western Sydney University. (Supplied)

“Unlike other tourists that might just pop out to the country for a couple of days, they’ll [backpackers] often stay for weeks or months,” she said.

“Therefore, they’re reliant on long-term accommodation, they’re buying groceries from local shops. They might be using local services while they’re in the area.

“A significant portion of what they earn is going back into the local economy.”

She said, alongside the economic benefits of backpackers to small communities, there are also the social ones.

“They bring a vibrant young energy to these areas.”

Dr James said remote towns that had struggled to fill sports teams rely on backpackers to make the numbers to compete in local competitions.

Jule named Mount Little Station’s newest calf “Milka” after the German chocolate brand. (ABC North and West SA: Jenae Madden)

“To have these young people coming in, they’re often very enthusiastic, very energetic, and very willing to get out there and meet people,” she said.

“I think there’s a perception that backpackers take jobs from local people and that they’re a threat, but they’re vital for these remote areas.”

For Jule Hofele, she hoped that tourism would pick up and she could continue working at Mount Little Station.

“The last backpackers stayed way longer than they planned to. I could imagine that happens to me because I really, really like it here,” she said.

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