Australia backpacking: All advice appreciated!

hypochondriac

Afternoon.

I have used this site successfully many times and want to thank people in advance for any assistance they have. Anyway, I am a young(ish!) male and I am embarking on a trip to Australia starting on May the 8th and finishing some time in October. I shall be stopping off in Thailand for two weeks beforehand as well. My plan is to relax in Thailand and then do some work so that I can live whilst I am in Australia (I have a work visa sorted). Finally, I am coming back via New Zealand.

The big catch is that I have never done anything like this before. I am pretty nervous about it and I am useless with organising things. I have been saving and so far I have my flights sorted, my work visa, and about £1,500 cash. I have a few questions:

1) As Far as I can see, the only other thing I need as an essential (other than a bag and clothes which I have!) is travel insurance. I looked at the article on here and it didn't seem to include an option for backpackers. What is the cheapest option you would suggest?

2) Is there anything else you would recommend purchasing before I travel other than what I have already said?

3) Is it worth sorting out employment now before I go, or would you suggest waiting and looking once I am out there? I don't care what I do, I just need enough money to survive and be able to live so I'm not homeless for 6 months!

3) My girlfriend wants to come and visit for two weeks in September, however her parents are a bit wary about it because she wants to book it now before I have left and I am not one hundred percent certain about what I will be doing until I am there. One solution I thought of was possibly buying a travel tour or something like that for two weeks so that she doesn't arrive and I am destitute and living in bins. Do you think this is the right way to go? If so is there anything you would recommend?

4) Is there any sort of clothing I should be looking to take? Specifically what sort of footware?

Any other help would be hugely appreciated. Anything at all that makes my trip a bit smoother would be great. My friends have a sweepstake about how long I will survive and I'm determined to prove them wrong!

marky_p

Do you have a retrun flight booked? If you only have £1500 I would make sure you have the flight home booked.

If you can find work before you go it'd definitely be easier, obviously. At least try and make some enquiries! Not essential though if you aren't fussy about what you do.

I'd advise travelling as light as possible. Footwear wise something sturdy and COMFORTABLE. But it doesn't sound like you're doing anything too adventurous so just get something sensible. Research the weather and take clothes to suit the climate you'll be in (probably pretty warm!)

hypochondriac

Yep return flight is booked and I'm able to change the dates of the flights home free of charge.

parcival

You could think about joining the YHA as many of the YHA's in oz are fantastic and you get discounts on both dorm rooms and double rooms.

I would invest in a quality pair of boots plus a good quality sandal such as Teva's or Merrills.

hypochondriac

parcival wrote: »

You could think about joining the YHA as many of the YHA's in oz are fantastic and you get discounts on both dorm rooms and double rooms.

I would invest in a quality pair of boots plus a good quality sandal such as Teva's or Merrills.

Excuse my ignorance but what is the YHA? Youth Hostel Assosciation?

Archergirl

I would invest in a quality pair of boots plus a good quality sandal such as Teva's or Merrills.
Agree with this, make sure you break the boots in though!!
If you have a STA travel agent near you (or phone them) they will advise on backpacker ins.
Don't see how you can sort employment if you don't know where you will be, ditto gf's flight.

jamsandwiches

hypochondriac wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance but what is the YHA? Youth Hostel Assosciation?

Yes - brilliant places to make friends and they usually have notice boards advertising jobs, lifts, vehicles for sale etc. If you do not stay there go in and have a look at the boards.
No need to join now incase you do not stay in their places you can join when you book the accommodation - makes the stay cheaper.
If you are in Sydney the one in Central is brilliant.
Dorm stays are from about $28 - can book online.

http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/nsw/sydney-surrounds/sydney-central-backpackers-hostel/

spottydog

I live in Sydney.

Given the current exchange rate your cash is only about $2300 which wont last long so you'll need to be careful.

With regard to a job, no point looking before you get here, no one will be interested. But its worth looking on something like seek.com.au to see what options may be available on your arrival so you can send your CV out when you are about to land.

With regards to shoes, thongs (flip flops) are really popular here but as we are coming into winter they will probably be put away and shoes and boots coming out.

With regard to Q3 I'd suggest she waits, Australia is a big place and you could be anywhere, she won't, for example, want to fly into Sydney if you're in Perth.

With regard to what to buy beforehand, nothing in particular but bear in mind Australia is not longer a cheap country.

HTH

hypochondriac

Excellent thank you spottydog, that's a real help.

claire16c

You could go to Queensland as it will be warmer, and drier. It will be winter in Melbourne/Sydney etc. So youd need to pack warmer clothes, and those areas are more expensive.

One thing I would recommend, incase you find it hard to find a paid job, is to go on the Workaway, and HelpX websites. There you can find wwoofing or similar jobs. Where basically you work - usually around 25/30 hours a week, and get free food and board in return.

We did that in the Sydney area, and also on an island near Melbourne, and 1 place in Qlsd. Much easier to find than a paid job and easy to arrange.

We found they actually worked out really well too as accomodation was very expensive in Oz due to the awful exchange rate. And food prices are insane anyway!

Dont worry, Im sure youll have a great time. We stayed in some hostels and they all have jobs boards and some even had a small office where they had a person who would call up known pubs/farms etc for you. if you do end up doing the fruit picking/farm stuff, make sure you have a hat, and a ton of mozzie spray. And some old clothes you dont mind getting dirty. although one place had a big room full of stuff the backpackers could borrow.

One farm we worked on, the flies and mozzies were so bad, we used to cover our clothing and hats in spray and wrap scarves around our faces and necks lol!

Tomby1

hypochondriac wrote: »

Afternoon.

I have used this site successfully many times and want to thank people in advance for any assistance they have. Anyway, I am a young(ish!) male and I am embarking on a trip to Australia starting on May the 8th and finishing some time in October. I shall be stopping off in Thailand for two weeks beforehand as well. My plan is to relax in Thailand and then do some work so that I can live whilst I am in Australia (I have a work visa sorted). Finally, I am coming back via New Zealand.

The big catch is that I have never done anything like this before. I am pretty nervous about it and I am useless with organising things. I have been saving and so far I have my flights sorted, my work visa, and about £1,500 cash. I have a few questions:

1) As Far as I can see, the only other thing I need as an essential (other than a bag and clothes which I have!) is travel insurance. I looked at the article on here and it didn't seem to include an option for backpackers. What is the cheapest option you would suggest?

2) Is there anything else you would recommend purchasing before I travel other than what I have already said?

3) Is it worth sorting out employment now before I go, or would you suggest waiting and looking once I am out there? I don't care what I do, I just need enough money to survive and be able to live so I'm not homeless for 6 months!

3) My girlfriend wants to come and visit for two weeks in September, however her parents are a bit wary about it because she wants to book it now before I have left and I am not one hundred percent certain about what I will be doing until I am there. One solution I thought of was possibly buying a travel tour or something like that for two weeks so that she doesn't arrive and I am destitute and living in bins. Do you think this is the right way to go? If so is there anything you would recommend?

4) Is there any sort of clothing I should be looking to take? Specifically what sort of footware?

Any other help would be hugely appreciated. Anything at all that makes my trip a bit smoother would be great. My friends have a sweepstake about how long I will survive and I'm determined to prove them wrong!

I can help with 1 and 3.

Regarding insurance its fine to think cheap but make sure you are buying something that covers you for whatever you are doing. There's been various news reports of people heading over to Australia & NZ and not being covered because they didn't add on the correct additional adventure sports cover.

You're also probably best off checking out some travel insurance companies that are aimed directly at backpackers.

Try out Outbacker Backpacker Insurance and Down Under Travel Insurance

In regards to your girlfriend visiting, the tour is only a good plan if you have enough money behind you. If you are relying on work to survive in Australia (which with £1,500 spending money, you definitely will be!) it's probably best for you to wait until she visits. That way, if you are struggling with money then at least you'll still have some in the bank - I am sure your girlfriend will be more concerned that you are healthy and alive!

Oh, and make sure you visit Uluru, Bondi Beach and the Great Barrier Reef if you can afford it. All of them are incredible. Melbourne, Brisbane and Cairns are all great cities to visit