Theresa wrote:

And so, since your "dreams" are to act and run a cafe...how does backpacking through Australia in any way put you in line to accomplish either one of those?

Cafés as far as the eye can see in Melbourne. Quite a glut in the market, but is somehow met by the demands created by the sheer number of faux-liberals wannabe artistes here.

And what about circus school? How does Australia put you in line for that?

Canberra is full of clowns.

Mark

Theresa wrote:





And so, since your "dreams" are to act and run a cafe...how does backpacking through Australia in any way put you in line to accomplish either one of those? And what about circus school? How does Australia put you in line for that?

So anyone with goals in life is not allowed to do something fun that has nothing to do with that goal?

I live in the middle-of-nowhere, Australia, so if you're interested in very small country towns at all, give me a PM.

I would highly recommend visiting the Australian beaches, they're truely the best in the world. For theme parks, Movie World and Dreamworld on the Gold Coast in Queensland are my favourites. And in terms of sports, NRL football is greatly superior to AFL.

EDIT: It's also required that you have both a vegimite snadwich and some cordial (just make sure to mix it with water first).

We have plenty of ATMs around the place, but your bank might have a crappy exchange rate/charge you a stupid amount to use their cards overseas. Look into it, you also have the option of pre-paid travelers cards or cheques. Definitely bring some Aussie dollars over with you though just in case. You never want to be stuck without some coin. The airports all have a heap of foreign exchange places, but you probably won't get the best exchange rate (not horrendous, but if you only have a limited amount of cash it all makes a difference).

Despite the fact that it will be autumn/winter here when you visit, the beaches and everything will still be pretty awesome. No good for swimming in the water though, unless you love bitterly cold, salty baths!

Just since GInger's post seems to have gotten a bit lost I think, I can add my experience with getting a student visa to Italy (in which I had to go to the consulate 4 times). I had to show a bank statement saying that I already had $1,000 for every month of my visa. My Visa was four months. So if you are getting a year long visa and Australia has the same rules (which they may not), do you have 12,000? The point of it was so that you don't go to the country and end up on their welfare system. Definitely something to look into.

I have looked into the visa and it simply says "Sufficient Funds" and give the estimate of $5000. Because I can work on it, you just need enough to cover the start of your trip. I also just talked to a friend of mine who just finished getting back from Australia on her visiting work visa and they never even looked into how much she had. So I will work on having $5000 to be safe in case they do check.

I've travelled around Australia and live in Queensland - hit me up if you need more info, but here are my tips:

In Queensland - Brisbane is a good base but there really aren't many touristy things to do here. The Sunshine Coast and hinterland are just beautiful and not quite as tacky as the gold coast (although you get your fair share of kitsch). In the hinterland I recommend visiting maleny and montville - both can get busy on weekends but have thriving little community art scenes and great markets. Australia Zoo is here too - so you can see those spiders and snakes at a safe distance!

The Gold Coast theme parks are great fun - dreamworld is best, you can't miss it. Try to go outside of school holidays though because these places get absolutely packed. Stop at yatala pie shop (15-20 min drive from dreamworld) for close to the best meat pie in Australia (my boyfriend is a pie enthusiast, haha).

In North Queensland, Mackay is lovely and they call it the gateway to the whitsundays - fabulous. If you go during summer you can be almost guaranteed a cyclone though!!! 1770 is apparently a really great place for camping by the beach.

Further north Cairns and Port Douglas will get you great access to the Great Barrier Reef. If you want to go snorkelling or scuba diving I highly recommend Green Island which is a day trip out from Port Douglas...just beautiful. Again watch for cyclones in the summer though.

The Torres Strait is amazing!!! You can't really swim there because of the crocodiles but it's just breathtaking and the culture of the place is rich and unique. Torres Strait Islanders have a proud culture and they are welcoming to visitors but do check any special requirements before you go. Thursday Island would be your best bet if you want to stay.

Out west, if you come in the spring, the Birdsville Races is a unique event. Birdsville is a remote town in the middle of the desert (mostly, sometimes though it does flood and the river runs) and they hold a huge horseracing event in the years where the town is not in flood (has only been cancelled once though in my living memory!!).

Still out west, Chareville and Longreach are my favourites - in Longreach they have a big astronomy facility and you can go and look at the stars in total darkness. Pretty cool.

In New South Wales, the northern beaches are great - I love Kingscliff! All around that area you will find rainforest meeting sea (not quite as spectacular as in Far North Queensland but still beautiful). Mt Warning is a great climb about 4 vertical kilometres if I remember correctly - if you start just after 3am you can get to see the sunrise over the ocean...very pretty. Byron Bay and its surrounds are great for tourists and if you're into skydiving, it's probably the best place for a sunrise skydive.

Sydney is must see. Spend a lazy day wandering around North Sydney, take a trip to Luna Park, catch the ferry across Sydney Harbour to circular quay (where the opera house is!), have a wander and then catch the ferry to Manly for fish and chips on the beach. That's my perfect Sydney day! The Blue Mountains are about a two hour train ride out of the city and there are great walking trails - don't stray from the track though!!!

I must say I'm not a huge fan of Melbourne but the shopping is great and there is a strong acting scene there. The coffee is good, the food is good and it's a nice place to explore on foot. Don't ask me how public transport works there though - still have yet to work it out and I've been there heaps!!!

The Great Ocean Road is an easy drive from Melbourne and I think it's a must see also (especially as the twelve apostles are quickly reducing in number!!).

Adelaide is also not my favourite place (the weather changes constantly!) but the Barossa Valley wineries are fabulous. Do a bus tour around the wineries and you will feeling very happy and full!!!

Perth is freaking cool. It has lovely weather, friendly people and out at Cottlesloe and Fremantle you can watch the sun set over the water (a novelty for us east coast folk). You need obligatory fish and chips and a cold beer or nice glass of wine here. Great wine region as well in Margaret River. Broome is exquisite but it can get expensive to travel there if you base yourself on the east coast.

Tasmania is like a different country altogether. Freezing cold. Fantastic mountain walks - the walk from cradle mountain to lake st clair is apparently the best thing ever - haven't done it yet. It takes about 5 days for a person of average fitness but if you're a crazy fitness freak you can run it if you want!!!

Canberra - honestly I would avoid it. I've spent a lot of time there with family and unless a specific event is on, it's pretty dull. The night life is actually pretty fun but if you want to see the best of Australia I would not recommend it. It's a public servant and politician town...not for tourists.

In terms of money Australia has reasonable prices for everyday items but the more remote you go, the more expensive it gets. There are ATMs and eftpos pretty much wherever you go, although they do get few and far between in the remote regions.

Wow that's long. But before I close this entry, as it seems obligatory - watch out for drop bears!!!!

Clothes: It's about 22oC outside and I'm wearing denim shorts and a tshirt, honestly, you can wear whatever you like, noone will care. Australia is like the most laid back place ever, you can do what you want! Because most places are a mix of people from rural towns and people from cities, each of these places have a different climate, so people dress all sorts of different in each place anyway!

Places: I only really have experience with southern Queensland, but here I go. Sunshine Coast is a must, the beaches are so beautiful! Anywhere on the Sunshine Coast is perfect. Gold Coast is also great, but you have to pick the areas. My bf's family lives at Burleigh Heads on the GC, I was just tehre today actually, it's a gorgeous area there, really nice beach between two headlands, and the town area is pretty much identical to towns you find on the Sunshine Coast, so that's a beach area you can go to while you go to the theme parks! Dreamworld and Movie WOrld are the biggest, there's also Wet'n'Wild, but that one isn't as exciting.

The Whitsundays are also a must! I've been there once, and they were just gorgeous. You can go on a cruise around them, the water is literally crystal clear, and the islands are beautiful. You must go there!!

Brisbane itself isn't a massive attraction, although Southbank (outside the city) is a cool area with nice restaurants, and markets on a Saturday morning.

Byron Bay area is also really beautiful, you can go up to this lighthouse which is the most Eastern point of Australia, and you can walk all the way down from there into the town on a part bushwalk part beachwalk, on the way there is a cute little secluded cove that's nice for a swim, although if you haven't grown up on beaches and aren't a strong swimmer or used to the conditions, I wouldn't recommend swimming in Australian beaches that aren't patrolled, there are a lot of surprise currents and rips. Most beaches are patrolled anyway, but just a warning!

There is a lot of really nice national park on the Sunshine Coast, as well as the Glasshouse Mountains. I've never climbed them, but my bf's family have a couple of times, and say they're good climbs. THere's also Cooroy Mountain in that area. If you go down over the NSW border, Mt Warning is a good one, but it's a pretty advanced climb, gets really steep towards the top!

As for the rainy season thing, this shocked me when I went overseas, you guys tend to have rainy season in winter, but over here, rainy season is mostly summer. I mean yes, there are the occasional rainfalls in winter, and depending where you are rain is more common also, but the majority of storms are in summer. We just had one yesterday morning, and it's October! THere is such a weather change across Australia, because it's so big. ANywhere in the top part is really humid and prone to rain, in the middle is dry and hot, down south gets really cold in winter, especially if you go down to Tasmania, just something to bear in mind. THe town I'm from in Queensland goes to -10oC in the winter, so just something to keep in mind, the weather can range from that, up to 40oC and sometimes higher in different areas!

QUite a bit of rambling, but I hope I was some help!!!

Felsa wrote:

Theresa wrote:





And so, since your "dreams" are to act and run a cafe...how does backpacking through Australia in any way put you in line to accomplish either one of those? And what about circus school? How does Australia put you in line for that?

So anyone with goals in life is not allowed to do something fun that has nothing to do with that goal?

Did I say that?

You've got a "dream" of one career that has a pretty short shelf life. It's pretty rare for actresses to "make it" later in life, and you've already planned that by the time you're 40 or whatever, you're going to retire to run this cafe. And since you're 21 now, that's not a tremendous window of time, given how long it takes to make it anyway. Getting discovered in line at Starbucks is pretty rare.

Then, you've got running a cafe. Most people that I've heard of/know that have some success in food either have quite a bit of education, or quite a bit of in kitchen experience (Bobby Flay had ten years in kitchen experience before he opened his own restaurant, for example). You've got 2 years in a grocery store, and six months or so in a bakery.

So you've got these dreams that you keep holding to, that you get all indignant when someone suggests you need to even so much as think harder about them, but then you're going to pack up and move to Australia on a larf. So...?

^Can I just say that getting some life experience can do wonders for a person.

Helen

^ I second what Helen said.

I changed my mind and career path 1000 times before I took off to Japan/Germany to travel on my own, and came back with a lot more clarity, ready to settle a bit. Being 21 and exploring your options is the norm.

Anyway, I'm from Australia, and you should definitely come!


I live in Perth, WA. We're that massive state that takes up almost half of the countries land mass on the map.

Summers in WA are HOT, but its a different heat than you would find on the east coast. We don't get that sticky humid heat, ours is more of a dry heat with cool breezes, so you can get some relief. It also never rains in summer in WA , so you can camp all season round without a worry.

If you travel about 3 hours south of Perth, it is very easy for backpackers to pick up seasonal work picking fruit. There are A LOT of orchids and vineyards in areas like Margaret River, Manjimup etc. Those places are also very pretty and fun to explore, especially if you're interested in surfing or surfing culture. So many hidden and spectacular breaks on the south west coast.

They go out of their way to hire back packers and people on VISAS down there, and you can do it for as little or as long as you like to build your cash reserves, but you will need a working holiday VISA. I have friends from the UK that spent two months down there doing that and funded the rest of their trip around Australia.

A lot of backpackers looks at the map of Australia, and think its a good idea to travel from the east coast, through South Australia or the Northern Territory, across into Western Australia. Whilst it looks good on paper, and it is possible, if you plan on doing this, do your research!

Most of the drives that take you from the east coast to the west coast are red dirt roads that require 4wd drives and go on for thousands of miles with out frequent townships. Australia is very big, and in the middle, it is very empty. If you get off main roads (which you will do going across the plains) - you can literally die waiting for someone to rescue you if something goes wrong. Its pretty important to be totally prepared for that one. I wouldn't advise doing that trip alone, but doing it is amazing! You see parts of Australia most Australians haven't even seen.


I also want to suggest you do visit the Northern Territory. It is unlike anywhere else in Australia. We're a very urbanized country, but things are very different up in the territory. Do a little research, you'll see what I mean.

My last piece of advice is a little bit preachy I guess, but if you do end up in the territory (or anywhere for that matter), please be wary of what aboriginal attractions you support. We have a nasty habit of exploiting our indigenous peoples culture for the sake of tourism dollars, and the communities up north seem to cop it the worst. Certain art galleries and chain tourist stores are the worst for it. If you want more information, PM me. Its something i feel strongly about and I can give you the name of several community based incentives aimed at introducing tourists to indigenous cultures without disenfranchising communities.

I've also lived in Sydney/Northern NSW most of my life, and been a total urbanite, so if you want any advice on trendy/artsy places to check out in that part of the country, hit me up as well.

Being an Aussie and having also spent some time in the UK and USA one thing that amazes most people that visit here is the wide open spaces and also the varst distances between cities, towns and villages. Once you get away from the coastal fringes you can drive for days and not see anybody in some areas of Australia.

Public transport is very poor compaired to the USA and UK, passenger train services are few and far between in regional areas, lucky you not a flyer as we do not have the regional air services that UK and USA have, there is the skinny dog bus lines but these are only on major routes between the big cities.

lucky you not a flyer as we do not have the regional air services that UK and USA have, there is the skinny dog bus lines but these are only on major routes between the big cities.

Unless I've misunderstood you, I beg to differ.

There is the country Link Train & Coach Service that will get you to nearly all major cities AND regional towns between QLD, ACT, NSW & VIC - which is the entire east coast.
www.countrylink.info

You can also book coaches anywhere and everywhere you need to go all over the country.
www.greyhound.com.au


You can even catch a train across the country if you need to:
www.greatsouthernrail.com.au . . .



There are a number of regional airlines that service more remote areas, such as Rex (NSW) and Skywest, Airnorth (WA), Sharp (SA/TAS)

www.rex.com.au
sharpairlines.com
www.airnorth.com.au



But yeah, heads up if you end up in Perth, public transport stinks!

One of the most interesting discoveries I made about Australia is that the ballet company has a wonderful website.

www.australianballet.com.au

Take a peek.

Keep On Dancing*

Felsa has been invited to stay with me in Sydney when she gets here.

DeStijl mentioned fruit picking. There are also lots of fruit picking jobs in Queensland, especially around Childers (where they treat their backpackers very well, from what I've heard) and Bundaberg, which are about 4hours drive north of Brisbane.

Canberra - honestly I would avoid it. I've spent a lot of time there with family and unless a specific event is on, it's pretty dull. The night life is actually pretty fun but if you want to see the best of Australia I would not recommend it. It's a public servant and politician town...not for tourists.

I disagree. There's a lot of historical and artistic worth in Canberra. It just depends what you're interested in as a tourist. I lived there for 6 years and there is a LOT more that goes on than just politics.

Honestly, there's just so much variety in Australia that you won't get to see everything in 6 months. My family travelled around Australia for almost 6 months when I was a child and we missed so many things. For starters, we stuck mainly to the mainland coast, so we didn't see Tassie or Uluru or Alice Springs. Then we actually bypassed the top end of Queensland altogether, missing Cairns. But in 6 months you can see a lot and have a fantastic adventure!

Helen

Currently about to finish my 7 month stay in Australia, from UK on working holiday visa.

1. Budget much more then you ever expect. I am from the UK and have found it very expensive here and especially as the US dollar is so low against the Australian dollar. However if you earn money here then it helps a lot. It does say you need sufficient funds to stay here but its not always looked into - I was just scanned in.

2. Set up your bank account here and tax file number asap if you plan to work.

3. Melbourne - coffee, coffee and more coffee. If you want a hospitality agency to get work through then give me a PM and can send you a recommendation in Melbourne.

I went from Cairns down to Sydney then through Canberra back to melbourne where I had been previously living and working with family. Canberra has a lot of amazing museums and does have a night life - a girl I met travelling had lived in canberra for 2 years so she could take me out.

Australia is a big country and so many ways to tempt money out of you - everything is the biggest or world heritage listed or unique to that part of Australia. Some of my highlights:

- Noosa everglades trip (Sunshine coast, Queensland)
- 3 day sailing trip in Whitsundays (Airlie beach North Queensland)
- Blue Mountains (Sydney especially if you love hiking)
- Sydney Opera House backstage tour - I managed to see Australian Ballet rehearsing their new piece
- Byron Bay and climbing Mt Warning (North New South Wales)

xxx

DeStijl wrote:

lucky you not a flyer as we do not have the regional air services that UK and USA have, there is the skinny dog bus lines but these are only on major routes between the big cities.

Unless I've misunderstood you, I beg to differ.
There is the country Link Train & Coach Service that will get you to nearly all major cities AND regional towns between QLD, ACT, NSW & VIC - which is the entire east coast.
www.countrylink.info
You can also book coaches anywhere and everywhere you need to go all over the country.
www.greyhound.com.au
You can even catch a train across the country if you need to:
www.greatsouthernrail.com.au . . .
There are a number of regional airlines that service more remote areas, such as Rex (NSW) and Skywest, Airnorth (WA), Sharp (SA/TAS)
www.rex.com.au
sharpairlines.com
www.airnorth.com.au
But yeah, heads up if you end up in Perth, public transport stinks!

Ha ha ha
Most rex flights there is only 1 service per day and thats only to 14 towns in all of NSW.
A lot of Countrylink trains like to Broken Hill once every 3 days
Great Southern rail services like once a week on some lines.

As for Greyhound I used to work for them many years ago ---- now there a joke of a service

nic_dancezone wrote:


1. Budget much more then you ever expect. I am from the UK and have found it very expensive here and especially as the US dollar is so low against the Australian dollar. However if you earn money here then it helps a lot. It does say you need sufficient funds to stay here but its not always looked into - I was just scanned in.

Really? I'm from Australia and I found the UK expensive!

Food especially I find a lot more expensive over here plus you have to be more savy to save money like knowing which supermarket has the deals, what price fruit and meat is at local grocers and butchers.

Clothes I find expensive for the quality in comparison to the UK. Similar products are a lot more. My bras are twice the price here, croc shoes extra $20 to $30 a pair, lush is up to 50% more here. Books - I bought 3 books and shipped them out here for the same price of 1 book buying over here. Just generally it feels expensive in comparison to home.

Fuel is slightly cheaper here and generally transport in cities is cheaper here in comparison to the UK. However wages are double here (BEFORE tax) especially in the job I am doing here so it kinda of balances out.

At the minute the Australian dollar is strong - just 3 years ago you would get an extra 50 cents for every pound so loose a lot in conversion, euros a little worse off and like I said to Americans it is even worse.

Greyhound - I travelled on from Cairns to Sydney and at times it is a joke, its always late but it was quiet when I was around.

xx

Hmmm ok. I agree with you on books etc, everything that comes into Australia is hit with massive import taxes, so you just have to careful about the sorts of things you buy. That being said, you can easily buy clothes that are good quallity and not overly pricey, I'd say they're on a par with the UK.

As for groceries, I don't know where you've been experiencing this, but unless you go to somewhere like Aldi, or a small privately owned place, all supermarkets are roughly the same! Transport is definitely cheaper here, although it's still not that cheap...

Bearcat245, I've used all of those services i mentioned frequently. They're fine if you plan ahead.

Not relaxing or fun or fast... but they do the job.

One more thing, kangaroos are not cute and cuddly! Don't try and pat any in the wild.

In the UK we have two massive supermarkets who fight tooth and nail for your custom. In Australia I feel that Cole and Woolworths do not fight as much and yes they are fairly similar but do have bargains which save you money, which is where I meant that you need to be more savy. Plus in the UK our supermarkets have a much bigger variety in their own home brand food which often gives you a good option not to buy brands. If you end up in a small town like Airlie beach with no transport then usually the option is only a small supermarket which costs a lot more. Packet of tim tams for $6?!

I still stand by fact that I find Australia more expensive to live generally day to day and still stand to my point that planning to have extra money per day is always a good thing. Like the old saying halve the clothes and double the money.

Clothes I still find bland on the Australian high street in comparison to UK, very samey and little between 'cheap' and high end is what I find.

xx