Hi everyone!
firstly, and probably the most asked! What budget do we need? after the £200 for the visa and flights and little bits and bobs are removed? Just for survival? i know i have £2000 for this and so does he as of yet so we plan to work to increase this budget, but is this not enough?
£2000 currently works out to about AUD $3750. At an "average" backpacker budget of AUD $80/day (enough for a dorm room in a decent quality hostel, cooking your own meals, travelling from destination to destination by public transport about once a week, and irregularly doing a cheap activity), this would last you for just a month and a half. If you want to do tours or more expensive activities like skydiving, go out at night, etc, you could blow through that money in less than half that time without trying hard.
The WHV eligibility requirements stipulate AUD $5000 (so about £2700) as the minimum funds you need to have available. And really, that's a "minimum", with virtually every single backpacker needing at least that much, regardless of how much they'll make while working. The more you bring, the longer you have to travel around and sniff out where you like best before you have to settle down and start working hard. (Do remember that you almost certainly won't find work immediately, and that it'll also can take several weeks before you receive your first paycheck - but expenses for accommodation and food will keep going out immediately, so you really need a month's worth of buffer funds.)
What visa does Fiji and New zealand come under? I am fortunate enough to know a marine conservationist in Fiji and would like to pay him a visit but am unsure what visa this comes under? I would consider a second year to spend time in fiji if it requires an additional visa. Same goes for New zealand?
I don't know about Fiji (I imagine they just have a liberal "visa on arrival" policy where you can stay for 3(?) months as a tourist), but New Zealand allows UK citizens to stay and travel for six months without needing to do anything in advance. If you want to work there to top up your money, New Zealand also has its own separate , which even has a 2-year option for UK citizens. I personally found New Zealand a much more worthwhile country to travel through than Australia (which I also love; I just love New Zealand even more). Worthwhile sights (gorgeous nature!) are much more densely packed, and the culture and backpacker infrastructure is just as excellent - plus it's (overall) some 20% cheaper than Australia, too.
Is it advisable to travel from the north to the south? Where do you all start?
This mostly depends on the time of the year. The north has a wet season from December through March, which is generally avoided. Sydney is the most common starting point, just by virtue of having the busiest international airport, but (in roughly descending order of popularity) Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Cairns and Adelaide all work nearly just as well.
[ 04-Jan-2015, at 07:11 by Sander ]
Hey Mike,
I've never really travelled seriously, and I'm also looking at going to Australia.
The Aus government specify you should have a minimum of $5000 AUD
which by conversion today is £2639.
I've been looking at Hostels and they average out at around £13 a night.
For me personally, I don't want to land in Australia and feel I need to jump straight into a job
and even if I did, would I get a job straight of the bat from a realistic standpoint? also a job would tie me
to a specific location for set duration.
Hostels, seem to me like the cheapest, logical way to live a semi comfortable travel from the get go. You
get to meet people, stay in the heart of the action, and can use it as a base at each place.
So lets say for 2 weeks your backpacking around when you land, that's 14 days at £13 a night
14 x 13 = £182 if you spend £10 on food and drink per day that's another £140. £182+£140=322
Then obviously, you might want to party it up or buy some sunglasses, suncream, shaver so it does start to add up. I'm curious as ways to cut costs, personally I will be taking a compact camping set and buying from supermarkets/local markets and cooking on the beach or wherever.
Does anyone know if there are any laws that say you couldn't cook with a controlled no visible flame?
So in your first 2 weeks in summary minimum: £322 + 200 via + 550 flight = £1077
Thanks
Perry
Thank you for the information both of you! alot to take in but very helpful! so by the looks of it a £3000 budget is more ideal but obviously no limit upwards! I will dig deep. I agree that having to work as soon as you get there is not ideal and i would not want to have to stress the entire time!
I like the idea of camping Perry. Both of us have basic skill in camping and some knowledge so we would happily consider that if that is a possibility? I will presume there will be plenty of laws, but that could save so much money!
I wont add any more questions as i think their are enough already in discussion, but thank you so far and information on camping would be great!!
I'm curious as ways to cut costs, personally I will be taking a compact camping set and buying from supermarkets/local markets and cooking on the beach or wherever.
Does anyone know if there are any laws that say you couldn't cook with a controlled no visible flame?
Ok I'm not a massive camper but the only regulations I can think of specifically about flame is during a Total Fire Ban – something that can happen with severe hot weather.
Also, I would say that most beaches will not allow fires directly on the beach, and this would probably be signposted, but many popular beaches will also have public access barbecues that you can use. Actually public barbecues kind of exist in a lot of parks, picnic spots, rest stops, and even beside rivers.
The amount of money you'll need is dependent on the standard of accommodation you are willing to stay in, how good you are with thrifty grocery shopping, and how much beer you think you'll consume.
If you camp, be sure to pitch your tent in a spot that won't have the early morning sun rising on it. Otherwise, you'll get very hot very quickly and be woken quite early (depending on the time of year, of course).
I'd also buy a small camping 'stove' (they are cheap and light) and some of those canisters of butane (similar to a can of fly spray); they are also cheap (maybe ten bucks for 3 canisters that should last a while). You can grill meat on a cheap, non-stick pan and also boil water. Too easy.
All of these ideas sound great! Sorry for the delayed response, I got a bit busy but the idea of camping sounds fun and a good way to save money! I guess camping on major beaches isn't such a good idea, but along our travels at more remote beaches maybe a good money saver! Thank you
0 Response to "Australia information"
Post a Comment