Working Holiday in Australia

My travels so far have mainly been on the beaten tourist trail, except for some places in South America. But there are few places left in the world that are fully off those roads often trodden by travellers.

And none more so than here in Australia. So many people, at least British people, stop here halfway round the world with a working holiday visa and earn some money for the rest of their trip. And for a lot of people Australia is the main stop, where they spend most of their year travelling and then they'll just have a couple of other stops, maybe in South East Asia or the US. For me, Australia is a bit of a cash cow. I wasn't even that bothered about including it in this trip. But when I heard how good the wages are here and the apparent ease of finding work I thought it would be a good idea to hop on the wagon.

When I was first planning my trip I had a lot of questions about how to set up a life here in Oz. It was, and still is, the biggest question mark about my trip because the rest of my year all hinges on how much money I make here and how much longer I can afford to be on the road.

I have found casual work in a nearby French cafe, but it's only a couple of days a week cash in hand (so not even minimum wage) and I'm not sure how long it will last. So I'm still looking for something a bit more secure. I found that job within two weeks of arriving, but I have given my resume into over 50 places, and only had a few bites. So I'm not finding it overly easy to stumble into work. But it's still early days yet.

So, I had a lot of questions before I arrived, and when I arrived here, so I thought I'd make a bit of a checklist here on my blog and try to answer them as best I can, according to my experience of sorting everything out.

How do you apply for a working holiday visa for Australia?

How do you get proof of your working holiday visa?

How do you find long-term accommodation?

How do you set up an Australian bank account?

How do you get an Australian phone number?

How do you get an Australian tax file number (TFN)?

How do you register for Medicare?

How do you find work in Australia?

How do you get an RSA certificate?

I'll answer these questions in separate posts, and hopefully it will make it easier for anyone wanting to do the same things I've done.

Wildlife #1

Today my family and I drove up to the Yarra Valley to see the vineyards. We went up to some forested hills which were blanketed in cloud. It was like I was still in New Zealand. The temperature dropped from around 13C in the city to 8C in the hills.

I saw my first kangaroo and wombat on the way to the valley. Unfortunately they were both roadkill. Great start, guys.

And then we drove to a nearby park area and saw live kangaroos! Some were still very young and were hopping around like mad. They were cuter than I was expecting, because I hadn't seen one close up before. 

So now I just need to see koalas, wallabies, wombats (preferably alive) and the tiny Phillip Island penguins, and then I've ticked off my must-see wildlife for Australia. I'm okay with just seeing the safe animals it has to offer. 

I haven't even been to the centre of Melbourne yet. I've been busy sorting out bank accounts and an Australian phone number etc. And jobhunting ferociously. But I'll take a trip in in the next couple of days. I need to see what all the fuss is about! 

Bureaucraversary

Four months ago today I left the UK, and today I spent my first full day here in Australia. A double milestone.

Last night my uncle picked me up from Melbourne International, and took me straight to meet my aunt and cousin at a wine bar, followed by fish and chips. I was a very happy boy. They live in a beautiful beachfront house in a suburb of the city and they are extremely kind and are letting me live with them. I'm here to find work and get some funds back together before I continue exploring Australia and head up to Asia. I have enough money left to do one or the other, but not both. 

So today was a day of bureaucracy and sorting. I applied for a TFN (tax file number) and opened Australian bank accounts. Tomorrow I'm going to join Medicare. Then I can get down to some proper jobhunting. And maybe some exploration of Melbourne too. And according to Monocle's Most Liveable Cities Index, Melbourne stands at number three, after Copenhagen and Tokyo. So after living here for a while, I'll have hit two out of three! Watch out, Denmark. 

Over the Pond

Tomorrow I leave Auckland for Melbourne, and have to sort my life out and find a job for a few months. I'm going to miss the freedom of travelling, but it'll be nice to be in one place for a while, and I'll be staying with family there. 

But I am going to miss New Zealand a lot. Its snowy mountains, misty forest-covered hills, sparkling clear lakes, spectacular glaciers, golden beaches, vivid colours, volcanic rock formations straight out of Lord of the Rings, the charming Maori accent, activities galore, parties and relaxed atmosphere. 

People say you're either a New Zealand or Australia person, and I've loved NZ. Come on Australia, top this and I'll love you forever. 

My Trip

I thought I'd just give a brief overview of where I'm planning to go on this trip, although I'm prepared for my plans to completely change at times. This will be a lesson in flexibility! (A lesson I think I need to learn...)

I booked my ticket with STA Travel and it cost £2200, so considering the amount of flights it includes, and the distance I'll travel, I absolutely could not fault the deal. There are some mileage and destination restrictions, but luckily everywhere I wanted to go fitted in nicely with those.

So the plan!

On 20th February I fly London to Rio, and I'm there for the spectacular Carnival period. I've got tickets booked with a friend (who happens to be travelling in Brazil at the same time as me) to go to the Sambadrome and watch the samba parade there, which just looks fantastic. (I'm a big fan of Latin dancing, so that was a big draw of the Rio Carnival for me).

I'm then planning to make my way down the south coast of Brazil and end up at Iguassu Falls on the border of Argentina, and then go to Buenos Aires. From there I'll fly to Peru and work my way down the coast to fly out of Santiago, Chile. I'm hoping to arrange some volunteering for when I'm in Peru (yes, I'm actually volunteering in Peru...) but that's still high up on my to-do list!

Then I've booked a Kiwi Experience bus tour of New Zealand to take in both islands and see the sights. And possibly even do a skydive! It will be winter there, so I'm preparing to wrap up warm. Might be a bit of a change after South America...

Then I've got a Working Holiday visa for Australia, and hope to be there for a few months while I work and build my funds back up. And conveniently wait for the weather to warm up.

I fly out of Cairns and have a week in Hong Kong before heading into Bangkok and traversing South East Asia in a loop, and then I come back to the UK from Bangkok. At the moment I'm expecting to be back in January or February next year (my flight ticket is valid for 12 months from the date of departure) but obviously if my money runs out I'll be back sooner! Flexibility, Miles, flexibility...

My ticket is flexible, in that I can change the dates (and even destinations) for a fee. I bought STA Travel's Multi-flex Pass, which allows for three changes without an admin fee charged by STA Travel. However, if the price of the ticket I want to change it to is more expensive than what I paid, I have to pay the difference.

And that's the flow of my trip! As you can imagine, I am incredibly excited. And while part of me just wants to leave right now and start exploring the world, another part of me is still very attached to the UK and home. I know I'll be fine once I'm out there (I've lived in Japan twice, for which I kept a different blog - Memoirs of a Gaijin) but there's a lot to get done before it's a reality.

Wish me luck!