Going to Australia

[hypochondriac]

Looking to work and travel round there for a year in 2011. If anyone has any advice or useful links it would be much appreciated. Has anyone had any experiences of their own there? Any advice about the best time to go? Recommended destinations? Thanks in advance.

[Hatch]

My sister took a year out in about 1996 to go to Australia. She hasn't come back yet.

[Huntingdon]

I went there for a year in 1998, absolutely loved it

 

However, I didn't like Perth much - it's full of Brits.

There's a pub in the city centre called the Moon & Sixpence, it's full of English blokes wearing footy shirts whilst hammering back the Stella

 

Also, try avoiding Queensland or Darwin between Nov-Feb

The heat here during their summer is almost unbearable

 

Other than that, you'll have the time of your life

[hypochondriac]

I went there for a year in 1998, absolutely loved it

 

However, I didn't like Perth much - it's full of Brits.

There's a pub in the city centre called the Moon & Sixpence, it's full of English blokes wearing footy shirts whilst hammering back the Stella

 

Also, try avoiding Queensland or Darwin between Nov-Feb

The heat here during their summer is almost unbearable

 

Other than that, you'll have the time of your life

 

Thanks guys. Am thinking of going in September though it's early days yet. Ideally I want to travel and work for the year so I see quite a bit. Wouldnt mind doing a bit of camping as well as that's always fun. Have nothing really keeping me here at the moment and I could do with getting away. Any advice on the amount of money?

[toofarnorth]

I'd say avoid the east coast north of Sydney (like newquay but hotter for 1,500 miles). Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide are where i'd recommend spending most of your time.

[Saint Paul C]

Hi Hypo, feel free to mail me if you like. I've lived in Melbourne for a year and now live in Brisbane since March 08 so would be more than happy to give you a few pointers. Cheers, Paul.

 

pauldc259@yahoo.com.au

[swannymere]

Hi Hypo, feel free to mail me if you like. I've lived in Melbourne for a year and now live in Brisbane since March 08 so would be more than happy to give you a few pointers. Cheers, Paul.

 

pauldc259@yahoo.com.au

My mate (also a Saints fan) moved to Redlands Bay area last September, i went at Christmas it was very humid but just a brilliant place. He bumped into a Saints fan at a farmers market in the area at the weekend!

[Saint in Paradise]

Just one tip re camping and that is make sure your tent is sealed otherwise you might

very well wake up next to a snake. Aussie snakes can be very poisonous.

Mind you so are their spiders as well.

 

 

.

[Dave Benson Phillips]

Just one tip re camping and that is make sure your tent is sealed otherwise you might

very well wake up next to a snake. Aussie snakes can be very poisonous.

Mind you so are their spiders as well.

 

 

.

 

I was thinking that.

 

Fook camping in Aussie, no fookin chance.

[slickmick]

Take some fly repellant. In Perth they annoyed the hell out of me.

[pedg]

Been to Oz a few times now.

 

Loved Cairns, depending on how seasick you get you can go out on a boat to the great barrier reef, do some resort diving (i.e. minimal instruction as only a few feet down) then stay out on the boat overnight. Also the white water rafting is fun.

 

Camping (of sorts) at Cape Tribulation (think its now this pace http://www.junglelodge.com.au/ as looks like it changed names since we were there). Mind the *****ly tree's an keep an eye on your food as my friend has his ginger nuts nibbled by the wildlife.

 

Ayres rock and the olga's. Depending on your reverence to the local culture an interesting climb.

 

Sydney, All the usual things. Don't know if its still there but one interesting restaurant was a hari krishna BYO restaurant where your meal came with free tickets to the cinema at the top (I think we saw face-off which rather dates when we were there) where you watch the film laying on the floor. When out to the blue montains one day when you can kill your thighs walking down some steps that go on for ages then come back up the worlds steepest funicular railway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katoomba_Scenic_World

[View From The Top]

Looking to work and travel round there for a year in 2011. If anyone has any advice or useful links it would be much appreciated. Has anyone had any experiences of their own there? Any advice about the best time to go? Recommended destinations? Thanks in advance.

 

I prefered Melbourne and Adelaide to Sydney.

 

Nice place but prefer NZ.

[Dave Benson Phillips]

I prefered Melbourne and Adelaide to Sydney.

 

Nice place but prefer NZ.

 

Your next post is your 4000th.... make it a good one sweetie. xxx

[Chin Strain]

Love Australia. Lived in Melbourne for a year in 1995 and it's a great place - do the Great Ocean Road, Penguins on Philip island and Dandenongs. If wildlife parks are your thing, Healesville is a must (in the Dandenongs). Get down the MCG for the Aussie Rulese - Carlton v Collingwood is the biggest regular season game and is a sell out. 100k + in 'The G' is some experience.

 

Tasmania for natural beauty would be high on the list. Cradle Mountain and Strahan (for the seaplane flight over the wilderness) are great.

 

Cairns and Darwin, as has been posted before, get up there in our summer as Nov - Feb it's stinking hot (as I know to my cost). You don't see the crocs in the rivers around Cairns in January (Daintree River) as they're all at the bottom because it's too hot. You could, of course, dangle your hand in the water for a guaranteed sighting!

 

Perth - agree with slickmick as I got bitten to death in Kings Park one evening.

 

Adelaide - really nice and just like a big country town.

 

Didn't go to Canberra as everyone said it was a complete dive.

 

Brisbane - worth the visit to go up to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo in Beerwah, couple of hours north. It will have changed hugely in the last 15 years as he was relatively unknown outside of Australia back then. I had the fortune of tagging along as he was giving an interview to a reporter and photographer (clearly that won't be an opportunity for you, unfortunately). Noosa and Sunshine Coast were good. My wife went to the Gold Coast and said it was a bit like Spain with the high rises on the beach.

 

Broome and the Kimberly Range (between Darwin and Perth). Bloody hot, but a dry heat so not as bad as Darwin. Lots to see around there if you want to get out and about for a few days.

 

Alice Springs - not what I was expecting as it's surprisingly hilly around there and it's not quite the old frontier town you think it will be. Worth a look if you're going to Ayers Rock. We took a bus from Ayers Rock to Kings Canyon and on to Alice - well worth it.....but they're not as close as you think....300 miles, plus probably another 150 if you go to Kings Canyon.

[Kingsbridge Saint]

My mate (also a Saints fan) moved to Redlands Bay area last September, i went at Christmas it was very humid but just a brilliant place. He bumped into a Saints fan at a farmers market in the area at the weekend!

 

There's at least 4 of us around Redland Bay!! That's Brisbane - and well worth a visit any time of year. Sure December through February can get a bit hot and sticky now and then but mostly it's just glorious. Don't be put off by the summer - further North might be a no no then but Brissie is fine.

[toofarnorth]

I prefered Melbourne and Adelaide to Sydney.

 

Nice place but prefer NZ.

 

Agreed. NZ is a much nicer place and has much nicer people, but it is certainly more difficult to find a job.

[oxfordshire_saint]

My Dad spent a few years of his childhood in Noosa and said it's lovely there (or at least was back then!), not sure what it's like now.

 

Also, if you want to visit somewhere a bit weird, go to Nimbin!

[lutz]

I went to Australia and NZ for my GAP year in o8/09 and absolutely loved it.

Adelaide is a nice place, went to the barossa valley, local beaches, overall nice freindly city.

Melbourne-didn't quite like as much as sydney but it's a place you have to go to.

Canberra- went for a day, its a dive yes, nothing there of any real interest except the parliment houses and war museum.

sydney- I timed my vist well because i went to sydney over xmas and new years, the nye fireworks were amazing and bondi over xmas was packed!!

I also went to brisbane, cairns, gold coast, darwin, alice springs, uluru and perth. All very good places but i din't quite like darwin and alice springs because of the locals lol

i worked in a roadhouse for 3 months on the nullarbor, the nullarbor roadhouse, which was the highlight of my gap year. Theres the worlds longest golf course on the nullarbor now if you're a fan of golf! Worth a visit!!!

I lest england laste october, so arrived aussie for spring and left aussie during there winter in august.

Can't wait to go back, amazing country!

[skintsaint]

Just one tip re camping and that is make sure your tent is sealed otherwise you might

very well wake up next to a snake. Aussie snakes can be very poisonous.

Mind you so are their spiders as well.

.

 

go camping a lot and not even seen a snake or spider to be honest?

 

When you come to Oz, get out the cities, that is where the real beauty is of this country. I drove from Sydney to Perth via Melbourne & Adelaide and saw so much I was glad I didnt just fly over. Also got to see some wierd stuff as well...lol

[skintsaint]

i worked in a roadhouse for 3 months on the nullarbor, the nullarbor roadhouse, which was the highlight of my gap year.

 

That the place with the petrol pump next to the pool table? Got smashed in there on my road trip. Good night - some old fella from Leeds was in there who moved over about 40 years ago lived round back tried to get my and the missus to watch some 'adult' tv with him

[lutz]

That the place with the petrol pump next to the pool table? Got smashed in there on my road trip. Good night - some old fella from Leeds was in there who moved over about 40 years ago lived round back tried to get my and the missus to watch some 'adult' tv with him

 

They must have moved the pump mate so i don't know. When did you go?

[skintsaint]

would of been about 3 years ago.

[.comsaint]

I lived in Oz (just outside Sydney) for 3 years many years ago when my dad transferred from RN submarines to Oz submarines. Fantastic place - wish we'd never come back.

 

My dad spent 27 years on subs & travelled the world - quite literally - during that time. Funnily enough - he's always said the most beautiful place he ever went to was NZ.

[Dave Benson Phillips]

I lived in Oz (just outside Sydney) for 3 years many years ago when my dad transferred from RN submarines to Oz submarines. Fantastic place - wish we'd never come back.

 

My dad spent 27 years on subs & travelled the world - quite literally - during that time. Funnily enough - he's always said the most beautiful place he ever went to was NZ.

 

Ahhh

 

For some reason, Delldays never seems to go anywhere on Subs. :-(

[hypochondriac]

Just one tip re camping and that is make sure your tent is sealed otherwise you might

very well wake up next to a snake. Aussie snakes can be very poisonous.

Mind you so are their spiders as well.

 

 

.

 

Apparently there is only one type of deadly snake in Australia and the spider thing is a myth too. Apparently.

[SuperMikey]

Went in 2005, had a fantastic time. Stayed in the Mornington Peninsula area (Mt.Martha) which was absolutely beautiful and also stayed in Melbourne and Sydney. My Mum used to live in Perth as well, she said it was okay but too many Brits and the weather on the East coast is much nicer. Their summer starts in about November and runs through to February, and temperatures can reach unbearable heats at times (it was 33c at midnight on NYE05 and 41c on NYD!), but it is the best time of year to go also as everyone's out and about.

[Ponty]

Apparently there is only one type of deadly snake in Australia and the spider thing is a myth too. Apparently.

7 of the World's top 10 most venomous snakes live in Australia.

[hypochondriac]

7 of the World's top 10 most venomous snakes live in Australia.

 

When you look for information about Australian venomous snakes you read statements like these again and again:

 

Australian snakes are the most venomous in the world.

7 of the worlds 10 most poisonous snakes live in Australia.

You will likely come across a list of the worlds most venomous snakes, starting like this:

Inland Taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus)

Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis)

Coastal Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus)

Mainland Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus)

Peninsula or Black Tiger Snake (Notechis ater niger)

The first five snakes and most of the snakes on the list are Australian.

Usually one important little note is missing. It should always (and sometimes does) read: "These are the most venomous snakes if you are a mouse."

 

The toxicity of snake venom is tested in mice. Mice aren't people. The above mentioned list has little relevance for humans.

 

First it should be said that all Australian venomous snakes have the potential to be dangerous, as venom sensitivity in individual people varies enormously. And it certainly varies between people and mice!

 

Many snakes that cause thousands of deaths a year never made the list. Maybe their venom isn't all that toxic to mice?

 

And ponder this. Mouse tissue is 50 times less responsive to Sydney Funnel-web Spider venom than human tissue. In one study adult mice were unaffected by the spider venom. You could mistakenly think this spider is harmless when examining the toxicity of its venom on mice.

 

In short, the above list is meaningless if you want to judge how dangerous a snake is for you. Even if the venom toxicity was the same in mice and people, a list like that is still meaningless, unless you take snake behaviour and distribution into account. The number of people who have seen an Inland Taipan in the wild can be counted using your fingers.

 

Don't get me wrong. If you get yourself bitten by an Eastern Brown, and if the snake does in fact inject venom into you (they rarely do, a bite is often just a warning), and if you don't treat the bite quickly and correctly, there is a good chance that you will die. The same is true for the venom of Tiger Snakes, Taipans etc. It can kill.

 

But to get bitten in the first place you have to ask for it. Their venom may be potent, but the hype that Australian snakes are the most dangerous in the world is nonsense.

[hypochondriac]

I think I got them the wrong way round. The snakes being dangerous thing is a myth and there is only one type of poisonous spider.

[Chin Strain]

When you look for information about Australian venomous snakes you read statements like these again and again:

 

Australian snakes are the most venomous in the world.

7 of the worlds 10 most poisonous snakes live in Australia.

You will likely come across a list of the worlds most venomous snakes, starting like this:

Inland Taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus)

Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis)

Coastal Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus)

Mainland Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus)

Peninsula or Black Tiger Snake (Notechis ater niger)

The first five snakes and most of the snakes on the list are Australian.

Usually one important little note is missing. It should always (and sometimes does) read: "These are the most venomous snakes if you are a mouse."

 

The toxicity of snake venom is tested in mice. Mice aren't people. The above mentioned list has little relevance for humans.

 

First it should be said that all Australian venomous snakes have the potential to be dangerous, as venom sensitivity in individual people varies enormously. And it certainly varies between people and mice!

 

Many snakes that cause thousands of deaths a year never made the list. Maybe their venom isn't all that toxic to mice?

 

And ponder this. Mouse tissue is 50 times less responsive to Sydney Funnel-web Spider venom than human tissue. In one study adult mice were unaffected by the spider venom. You could mistakenly think this spider is harmless when examining the toxicity of its venom on mice.

 

In short, the above list is meaningless if you want to judge how dangerous a snake is for you. Even if the venom toxicity was the same in mice and people, a list like that is still meaningless, unless you take snake behaviour and distribution into account. The number of people who have seen an Inland Taipan in the wild can be counted using your fingers.

 

Don't get me wrong. If you get yourself bitten by an Eastern Brown, and if the snake does in fact inject venom into you (they rarely do, a bite is often just a warning), and if you don't treat the bite quickly and correctly, there is a good chance that you will die. The same is true for the venom of Tiger Snakes, Taipans etc. It can kill.

 

But to get bitten in the first place you have to ask for it. Their venom may be potent, but the hype that Australian snakes are the most dangerous in the world is nonsense.

 

I think the King Cobra is the most deadly snake in the world, but it's not the most poisonous. Basically, it bites a lot of people in poor areas who have no access to anti-venom.

[Gingeletiss]

We're going to Brisbane in September for three weeks, wish I could emigrate, but alas, the age thing precludes us from going. Really looking foward to it.

[Jonnyboy]

Save up, and get a 4x4 when you get there, then head north and make a proper adventure out of it

[Dog]

Lived in Kalgoorlie for 6 months. What a pile of kangaroo poop that was, it was rough as they come and like the wild west. A good crack at weekends and the aussie girls were sex mad.

[Chin Strain]

Lived in Kalgoorlie for 6 months. What a pile of kangaroo poop that was, it was rough as they come and like the wild west. A good crack at weekends and the aussie girls were sex mad.

 

That is indeed the ass end of nowhere.

[krissyboy31]

There's at least 4 of us around Redland Bay!! That's Brisbane - and well worth a visit any time of year. Sure December through February can get a bit hot and sticky now and then but mostly it's just glorious. Don't be put off by the summer - further North might be a no no then but Brissie is fine.

My sister and her family are in the Brisbane area (Carindale and Carina Heights) 4 more Saints fans there!!

[hypochondriac]

I shall be wearing my saints top whenever I can. I might see some of you guys down there!

[Kadeem Hardison]

I went during my gap year with a couple of friends. They both got killed by snakes. RIP.

[angelman]

Lived in Kalgoorlie for 6 months. What a pile of kangaroo poop that was, it was rough as they come and like the wild west. A good crack at weekends and the aussie girls were sex mad.

 

6 months!!! I managed 2 days there. What on earth were you doing? And did you visit the ladies in their corrugated iron huts, or aren't they there any more?

 

Best place I visited (20 years ago now) was the Kimberley, apart from the month that I got "stuck" in Cairns (while the world cup was on). Worst thing was travelling around with a skate!

[hypochondriac]

6 months!!! I managed 2 days there. What on earth were you doing? And did you visit the ladies in their corrugated iron huts, or aren't they there any more?

 

Best place I visited (20 years ago now) was the Kimberley, apart from the month that I got "stuck" in Cairns (while the world cup was on).

 

The website I visited, the lady who wrote the guide book has moved to Australia and lives in Kimberley. I think I'm going to have to check it out.

[krissyboy31]

The Rocks by Sydney Harbour Bridge is something else on New Year's Eve (especially 2 days before the Ashes Test).

[Dog]

6 months!!! I managed 2 days there. What on earth were you doing? And did you visit the ladies in their corrugated iron huts, or aren't they there any more?

 

Best place I visited (20 years ago now) was the Kimberley, apart from the month that I got "stuck" in Cairns (while the world cup was on). Worst thing was travelling around with a skate!

 

 

Babysitting and gold rustling, Hannon Street is the brothel, I do recall paying a free visit, she was like a blonde Dawn French with a beard.

[LA77]

Complete nonsense. Are you saying fraser Island, Magnetic Island and doing great things like white water rafting, skydiving are worth avoiding? Also the whitsundays, the barrier reef and beaches like mission beach. You're thinking of the Gold Coast and Surfer's Paradise. Once you've spent a few days in each of the cities it gets boring.

 

Edit: Sorry, this was in reply to post number 5

Edited 22 July, 2010 by LA77