Welcome to the TravelPod forums

[ScottWoz]

HI i'm Leslie and i just joined today..not too familiar with this stuff. I'm from the U.S.A and was wondering if anyone has ever traveled to Australia or lives in Australia and what your opinion is about it..looking to possibly travel there...thanks!

Hi Leslie,

I'm currently in Australia and will be travelling around for the next 9-12 months seeing and doing as much as I can. Australia is huge and full of diversity. From the little I've read and experienced so far I'd say there's an abundance of little treasures out on the table, and it's all for the taking. The excitement's brimming over here..

How much time do you have to spend?

[lznika]

well not too much time...it will be probably a week or a week and a half...possibly 2...i just recently traveled to cabo and kinda met a guy who happens to live in Melbourne, Australia. haha strange i know. but i am planning a vacation and since that happened it's kind of in my possibilities..and he said it's great down there and would love for me to come visit...how is Melbourne?

[ScottWoz]

Well as far as visiting countries go, you're not going to see much of Australia in a week and a half, so it might be better concentrating on a particular area and having a plan. Melbourne's great so far. There's a great mix here, very multi-cultural and the place is buzzing nicely. Haven't seen all that much yet but will be over the next few days..

[lznika]

then maybe i will have to make my stay longer...where else are you planning on traveling..and where have you traveled so far?

[ScottWoz]

That would be a good idea..

I've just arrived in Melbourne from NZ. I'm planning to see as much of Australia as possible. At the moment I'm looking into taking a motorbike over to Perth, either from Melbourne or Sydney. After that, who knows? It generally pains me to plan as I prefer to go with my gut most of the time. Actually, I'm really keen to get out west and venture north along the coast. Some good times ahead..

[lznika]

wow...that's amazing..i would love to be able to travel all over and for a long period of time...must be kind of expensive though..where are you originally from? I'm from the Chicago area...it's nice now cuz the weather is starting to warm up...but brutal in the winter

[ScottWoz]

Originally from England. I left in '04. I think you'd enjoy Melbourne, it's always good to see different cities in different parts. And the more time you have the better. Paul's originally from Melbourne, he's around the forums quite alot and should be able to give you more of an indication of what Melbourne has to offer. Paul?

As for the rest of Australia, and as you're on a timescale it really depends on what your interests are and what sort of sights/activities float your boat..

[whereshegoes]

I really enjoyed the Gold Coast and the beach lifestyle. I remember thinking how cool it was to be in a big city like Sydney and have a beach right there on its doorstep.

[arcticqueen]

Hi guys! I am an Aussie, living in Mackay, 1000 klms north of Bris, but travel to Melb in July (our mid winter) every year for a few days for work. I think the thing that most visitors find when they travel to Australia is that they plan to try to do way too much in the time they have available. I personally think taking a motor bike ride acorss the Nullabor (Mel to Perth)would be extremely difficult, but not impossible to do. There are VAST distances without much civilization, even petrol stations and the like! We have travelled around Aust towing a caravan - albeit 20 years ago! but I remember those huge distances of nothing! (I mean of course apart from the fantastic scenery!) The fuel would be your biggest obstacle I think on a bike. In Melbourne you need to be prepared for all 4 seasons in any one day. It can be raining, sunny, hot, cloudy, and everything in between. All of that said, it is VERY cosmepolitan and a very interesting city. There are huge numbers of flights between all the capital cities each day, and unless you want to spend a lot of time "on the road", flying to each centre and doing trips out from those main areas would be my recommendation to you. Different areas have vastly different things to offer.

[rbisset]

Hi guys! I am an Aussie, living in Mackay, 1000 klms north of Bris, but travel to Melb in July (our mid winter) every year for a few days for work.

That was mid winter? I was in Ayr for a month until 7th July last year and it was 27C everyday

That said Aus is a bloody big country and so needs a lot of time. I spent 5 months there and basically did a loop from Sydney to Adelaide, up the middle to Darwin and then a bit of Queensland. I was working for a month or so at a time in some locations (Yarra Valley, Shepparton, McLaren Vale, Darwin, Tiwi Islands, Ayr) and spending a few days in the other places when driving around.

When driving up the track to Darwin the towns became fewer and further apart. We had to check the petrol guage all the time and make sure to refuel whenever we got a chance. But then I was canning it at 190km/hr for hours at a time in a fully loaded car!!!

If you have a look at the price of tours in the area you'll see that they are bloody expensive!! It really paid to have a car as although the locals won't think so the petrol is bloody cheap at half the UK price.

Most people tend to concentrate on the tourist trail from Sydney to Cairns so I wanted to get away from there and see the real Australia. I'll definitely do the West Coast from Perth to Darwin next time and see Tassie as well

[ScottWoz]

I quit everything, sold everything and hit the road. It was a life choice. Since then I've worked as I've travelled. Sometimes things get tight and you need to live more frugally than others, that's all. I'm about to undergo a training thingy which will get me some good work opportunites starting hopefully in Perth, my next major stop. If nothing materialises, I'll make something else happen. That's the beauty of it all: things fall into place in the end, it's just what happens. I guess it depends on why and how you want to travel. We're all different after all..

[ScottWoz]

Is that right? Looks like things do fall into place. Glad to hear it. I should be there in the next month or so all being well. Then it'll be a case of seeing what evolves..

[laine]

hey guys. I am from newcastle on the east coat of oz. I have been lucky enough to have been right around the coast, but mind you it was when i was 12 with my folks. We did it in a car in 6 weeks, and camped everywhere. I would definitely recommend the west coast, less tourists and some spectacular scenery. Try and get to coral bay, small, isolated and off the beaten track (well it was 10 years ago)

[ScottWoz]

Cheers for the tips laine, sounds good. I'll make sure to keep an eye out for Coral Bay..

[Paul]

Oh hi. I noticed my name mentioned in here.
Yeah - Australia is huge and many people, particularly from Europe, don't understand the distances till they get there. If you are short on time I do agree that the state of Victoria is a good place to start. Hire or buy a cheap car and drive around (or motorbike like Scott). Melbourne is a nice Australian city, but within easy reach there are numerous small towns, beaches, mountains, deserts, natural areas. Melbourne is at a slower pace than Sydney (which seems to be a more popular place to travel to) and so I reckon there is more chance of making friends and getting to know people in Melbourne.

Other things to do - go see Sydney if you want - a bigger city with lots of natural beauty, but difficult to get around and expensive. Definitely try to get into the centre of Australia for something very different. Brisbane and Gold coast are popular tourist areas - mainly for beaches - or head up further North to Magnetic Island or Daintree rainforest. Try to get to Perth - everyone seems to love it. Tasmania - again hire or buy a cheap car and tour yourself around......and lots more

I reckon a month at a minimum if you can. 2 or 3 months better - but be prepared it can be expensive. Maybe take a tent. There are lots of caravan parks to stay at that are cheap. Try cooking some of your own food too as restaurants in Australia are very expensive. Organized tours - never tried them - maybe good way to meet people, but you don't need them - you can look around by yourself.

Scott - what's the training thing you are doing? When you come here for your yellow T-shirt we should compare notes on how to get work and make money - I am same as you in that things always manage to work out, but I am starting to want more ideas (and more money). Hope you are having fun.

[ScottWoz]

Cheers Paul,

Victoria has been great so far. I'll be moving on soon to cross the Nullarbor, but thinking of checking out the Grampians first. The course was scaffolding, of all things. I heard they were paying silly money for scaffies so I jumped in the deep end and got me a ticket. Guess I'll see what the wild west brings when I come to use it. Until then I'll continue my search for a suitable yellow t-shirt..

[rbisset]

Scott I was in the Grampians about 10 months ago and it was completely destroyed. Just burnt forest everywhere.

[ScottWoz]

Pretty bad eh? I just hiked the Wilson's Promontory and had to wade through whole vistas of devastation. It's incredible how fast things grow back though.

I read that it's the northern and southern areas of the Gramps that are still unaffected so I'll see what the trip brings. I'll take a few packets of seeds with me just incase..

[Paul]

Grampians are great. Go check it out. Should hopefully see lots of new green. Australian trees often germinate after a fire (as long as it wasn't too extreme/hot).

Hmmm, interesting about that job. I would be keen to hear how it works out. Currently my plans for getting extra cash seem to be to go back and work for the Army every now and then. Although I'm not a big fan of Bush/Howard they seem good at providing work oportunities for the military. But if I could make money in a less violent industry - that'd be good.