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I'm off to Australia


hypochondriac

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Haha. Also forgot to mention I'm going to Thailand for three weeks beforehand and New Zealand for three weeks afterwards. Any advice for them too?
Take some heroin to Thailand, you can bribe the local police with a wrap of brown for the best transexual in town.
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You LUCKY bastard Hypo.

 

One of our Village Cricket team lads many years ago went over for 6 months and came back a "Real Man". He headed for the Wine areas around harvest time and always found enough to keep him in a hostel for another month or two

 

My ONLY advice, google as MUCH as you can from some of the tips here BEFORE you go. Also, get the RIGHT visa before you go (If only you were a hairdresser or a plasterer you could get in permanently!)

 

Look at the maps and start somewhere cheap but with good public transport.

 

Oh, and IF you are flying Etihad or Emirates to get there then stop over here for some beers on the way there or back (B&B only costs your Duty Free inbound allowance)

 

Oh and Ditch your UK phone asap get onto a local deal

 

In Twitter speak #jealous

 

Love the place. If only it wasn't full of Aussies

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Haha. Also forgot to mention I'm going to Thailand for three weeks beforehand and New Zealand for three weeks afterwards. Any advice for them too?

 

Oh yes on Thailand.

 

A DJ mate from here just moved back to a radio station outside Melbourne. He just spent 3 weeks backpacking NZ - reading his FB posts it's all abot trains rides and ferries and most of his posts were OMG. His recommendation PLAN PLAN AND PLAN - he did it from Lonely Planet, The Rough Guide, 1000 places to see before you Die & I think something about Great Railway Journeys and of course talking with other backpackers.

 

Doing Thailand? PM me for BKK advice

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Yes I was going to. Just wondere if I could use my iphone over there with their sim.

 

Only if, since about iOS4, you've been updating it with custom built ipsws that preserve the baseband and then unlocked with ultrasn0w.

 

Or, in other words, "no".

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Oh yes on Thailand.

 

A DJ mate from here just moved back to a radio station outside Melbourne. He just spent 3 weeks backpacking NZ - reading his FB posts it's all abot trains rides and ferries and most of his posts were OMG. His recommendation PLAN PLAN AND PLAN - he did it from Lonely Planet, The Rough Guide, 1000 places to see before you Die & I think something about Great Railway Journeys and of course talking with other backpackers.

 

Doing Thailand? PM me for BKK advice

 

Cheers Phil. As always you are very knowledgeable on the subject. I already owe you a beer and we do have a stop in Dubai for a day I believe. I will be in touch.

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good luck.

 

I was there three weeks ago. Great country and people.

 

Don't wish to put a downer on your trip but be prepared it is very expensive. Admittedly I wasn't travelling on a budget, but I found generally costs were about 20 percent higher than central London (which is where I live). Exchange rate was about $1.46 when I was there compared with $2.50 a couple years or so ago.

 

You will have a fantastic time I was there for a month which wasn't anywhere near long enough.

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I was on the south island of NZ in 2009 before I went to uni. Its an incredible country, but I was there in June/July so it was pretty chilly, I imagine it is even better in the summer.

 

Head to Queenstown for a bungee and the glaciers for a climb. You will love it.

 

Good luck.

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They don't need hairdressers any more, but cheesemakers are in demand, go figure. Anyway, if you spend about $120 on a payg smart phone, you'll still be able to make controversial posts from the top of a mango tree - it's not like we're on the other side of the world!!

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Mid-twenties? Wow. Such bitterness and negativity at such a tender age.

 

3 grand in Australia? I had 2 weeks there last month on holiday with my family and we spent more than that in a fortnight, not including internal flights. It is very very expensive.

 

The good news is the minimum wage is about A$US an hour so if you can get a job, you should be able to get by. If you can't, your money won't last long.

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Mobile Phones - http://dicksmith.com.au/mobiles-wireless/prepaid-mobile-phones

 

Health (Medicare Card) you need one of these - http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/

 

Bank - Commonwealth is a good place to start - http://www.commbank.com.au/

 

Drivers Licence - http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/settle-in-australia/to-do-first/apply-drivers.htm

 

Work - Seek.com.au

 

Other useful stuff - Gumtree.com.au

 

Buy a car if you can, use it the sell it for what you bought it for as they depreciate very slowly here so you shouldn't loose any money on it.

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My phone is unlocked though. Does that not count?

Are you sure it's unlocked? Have you tried it recently? Even if you unlocked it a while back, versions of iOS since 3.1.3 have had updated basebands (basically the firmware for the aerial itself). These updates remove the unlock, cannot be unlocked, and cannot be uninstalled once they're on there. The only way to have maintained an unlock is to have done what I said in my previous post. Or to have never updated the software on your iPhone.

 

Go to Settings, General, About, and check the Modem Firmware. If the number is higher than 01.59.00, you're stuffed.

 

(this is assuming you are in contract of course. If not, then speak to your network, they *may* help you)

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Aus - dont spend too much time in the big towns. Expensive and most towns offer little variation. Saying that i loved Sydney. Dont bother with the Gold Coast or Brisbane or Cairns. Much better and more genuine places outside these towns. And cheaper.

Had my favorite moments in the smaller towns/villages where you get to meet an often good bunch of cocky aussies.

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Haha. Also forgot to mention I'm going to Thailand for three weeks beforehand and New Zealand for three weeks afterwards. Any advice for them too?

 

Just got back from NZ for second time, whilst it is overrated (or rather you just expect it to be a lot more impressive) I preferred north island to south after touring both. Some great beaches/lakes on north island if ya like adventure sports. Definitely recommend white water rafting in Turangi/Kayaking in Taupo. Also Castle Point is an impressive place to stop. Wellingtons a good city to spend a few days in.

 

Be prepared to spend a lot on travelling around on south island, as it feels like days before you see the next "attraction" (usually a town with only about 100 people).

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Mobile Phones - http://dicksmith.com.au/mobiles-wireless/prepaid-mobile-phones

 

Health (Medicare Card) you need one of these - http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/

 

Bank - Commonwealth is a good place to start - http://www.commbank.com.au/

 

Drivers Licence - http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/settle-in-australia/to-do-first/apply-drivers.htm

 

Work - Seek.com.au

 

Other useful stuff - Gumtree.com.au

 

Buy a car if you can, use it the sell it for what you bought it for as they depreciate very slowly here so you shouldn't loose any money on it.

 

Excellent thank you very much. Will certainly get the medical card.

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Are you sure it's unlocked? Have you tried it recently? Even if you unlocked it a while back, versions of iOS since 3.1.3 have had updated basebands (basically the firmware for the aerial itself). These updates remove the unlock, cannot be unlocked, and cannot be uninstalled once they're on there. The only way to have maintained an unlock is to have done what I said in my previous post. Or to have never updated the software on your iPhone.

 

Go to Settings, General, About, and check the Modem Firmware. If the number is higher than 01.59.00, you're stuffed.

 

(this is assuming you are in contract of course. If not, then speak to your network, they *may* help you)

 

I bought my phone unlocked and I can use different sim cards in it?

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Hope you have an open return ticket. 6 months is wayyy too short to travel round a country the size of Europe.

 

The majority of backpackers I meet these days always grab the 2nd year option on the visa as they still have stuff to do here.

 

You'll have a great time.

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Used my Aussie iPhone in the UK fine - just got a local PAYG SIM from Vodafone. It should work fine the other way around. Roaming charges on a UK SIM would cost you thousands, not hundreds. Gold Coast and Brisbane definitely worth a visit. Gold Coast just about the only place with decent beaches warm enough to surf without a wetsuit that time of year. Other than Perth or North Queensland, but you risk being eaten by a shark (Perth) or given a fatal sting by a Jelly (NQ) there. PM me through here if you are heading Brisbane way.

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