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.