AUSTRALIA

Posted on by gobotravel

The land down under. A massive island the size of the US with about half the population of California, with miles upon miles of the most beautiful beaches on this earth and the rugged, vast lands of the outback. It had only been a very far, distant dream of mine to visit here and I always said if I were to live abroad it would be in Australia because of its similar weather and vibe to California. Funnily enough I not only had the opportunity to visit and travel here, but I got to live here for a year under a Work and Holiday visa.

I met an Australian when I taught English in Spain and over the course of a year meeting up around different places all over the world we eventually decided to be together. It was a true life fairy tale and even crazier to realize that the far, distant dream was within my grasp. As hard as the decision was to leave my life in California, deep down there was no way I wasn’t going to go and give it a shot.

Australia is one of the most unique countries which allows citizens of other countries to work for 1-2 years under their Work and Holiday and Working Holiday Visa Programs. It is a program that allows you to make money but also travel and enjoy all the great things this country has to offer. I lived in Perth for one year and have returned back a few times since. Within that year I was able to make a substantial about of money that I used towards travel and gained so much life experience, I could not recommend it enough.

Fortunately when you spend a year in a country you get a ton of time to travel and explore. Here are all of the featured places you most definitely need to check out:

  • Western Australia
    • Perth
    • Rottnest Island
    • Margaret River
    • Denmark
    • Albany
    • Wave Rock
    • Lancelin
    • The Pinnacles
    • Coral Bay
    • Karijini National Park
  • Victoria
    • Melbourne
    • 12 Apostles
  • ACT
    • Canberra
  • New South Wales
    • Sydney
    • Hyams Beach
    • Port Macquarie
    • Coffs Harbour
    • Byron Bay
  • Queensland
    • Gold Coast
    • Brisbane
    • Airlie Beach
    • Whitsunday Islands

During my year here I definitely learned that although Australia is an English speaking country there are a lot of differences and things to note before coming:

  1. Shit is expensive: You’ll be lucky to find a $6 beer here so expect to pay $10-$20 for a beer or cocktail. Also eating out at restaurants, you’ll be lucky to find a dish that is under $20. Even fast food is expensive at minimum $10 for a meal. And if you want to try and save money buy buying liquor at the store, it’s still expensive. NOTE: you can’t buy liquor in supermarkets. You can only buy liquor in an actual liquor store.
  2. Wine is cheap: Although beer and liquor is expensive for some reason wine is pretty affordable and their boxed wine (aka Goon) is actually really good. There are some amazing wine regions in the country which is probably why it’s so good and cheap. Also wine tasting is FREE so I highly recommend going on some wine tours.
  3. Australia is HUGE: There may only be some 20 million people in the entire country but it’s actually around the same size of the US so put that into perspective. If you are considering driving to and from cities, just be prepared for long hours on the road!
  4. Their lingo is so not our lingo: For those that don’t know a lot of Aussies, they pretty much abbreviate or shorten everything, even sometimes just adding an “o” to the end of words (afternoon = arvo; liquor store = bottlo; breakfast = brekky)
  5. They use dollars: But not US dollars, Australian dollars (AUD).
  6. It’s not dangerous: Yes, they may have some of the top deadliest creatures on this earth but if you stick to the major cities and towns they are honestly a rare occurrence.

Time of year to visit

The seasons are opposite from the US so their winter is June-August and their summer is December-February. However, don’t necessarily base that off of the time to visit because that can all be very different dependent on where you are going. If you go to some areas of Queensland in the north like Cairns, summer is the worst time to go because it is way too hot and humid, but Melbourne in the south is the ideal time to visit so be sure to check based on your destination.

Leave a comment