After reading Explore Australia: Part One you may be dreaming of taking a trip to the Outback  in the future.  I have brief  descriptions on a few elements that will make exploring Australia more enjoyable.  Explore Australia – Part Two concludes with ways to dream of your trip if your departure date is not in the near future.

Transportation

As for transportation, the options are similar to New Zealand.  A traveler can buy a car or a camper van, rent a car or a camper van, buy a bus pass, or even hitch hike.  Be aware, if driving in Australia, during certain seasons, roads can become treacherous as drivers must avoid hitting Kangaroos.  This is similar to the problem in the  Midwest (of the U.S.A.) of hitting deer.

Money

It’s easy to travel Australia with $20-40 US per day.  ATM’s are readily available in all of the cities, but plan ahead and carry some cash for more remote over land travel.  Australia becomes even more accessible to the apprehensive traveler through being an English speaking nation.  The best way to save money in Australia, is through self catering.  Buy your own food at the store instead of eating out 3 meals a day.

Best to Explore

Australia offers so many wonderful places to explore including Sydney, Melbourne, Fraser Island, Nimbin, the Gold Coast, and the Great Ocean Road.  Sydney was an awesome city, and we found lots of FREE activities.

Although Justin and I have not visited Melbourne yet, we have only heard positive recommendations on Melbourne.  Aussies have described it as beautiful, friendly, colorful, artistic, and inviting.  Looking back, Justin and I really wish we would have made a few days in Melbourne a priority.  But it’s good to have an excuse to return and explore Australia.  Melbourne is currently ours excuse to return.  If you have been to Melbourne let me know what you think.  Is it truly an awesome place?

Problems

Now not all of Australia is perfect.  In fact, the long distances between one point of interest to another is a major  hindrance if you have not set aside an adequate amount of time to explore Australia.  It can also become dangerous to attempt driving a multi-day road trip across more remote regions of Australia.  Make sure you have properly loaded your vehicle with extra gasoline (or petrol), water, food, spare car parts, tools, and other necessary supplies.

Individuals complain that exploring Australia can become very expensive, quickly.  If you are looking for a cheap budget destination perhaps consider a trip to a less expensive country.  If your heart is set on exploring Australia, opportunities exist in order to avoid holding a ‘WILL WORK FOR FOOD’ sign.

Explore for Less

Many individuals get around the expensive of exploring Australia through working.  Work is not difficult to find and 12 month Work Visas are available online.  If you don’t have 12 months to spend exploring Australia, know that other opportunities exist.  In Australia it is popular to spend 2-4 hours working each day in exchange for accommodation.  Justin and I only spent one week in Australia and we did not participate in WWOOFing, however we spent two weeks in New Zealand working at a Pub on the Great Barrier Island for our food and lodging.  Just because we only spent 2 weeks receiving FREE food and accommodations, doesn’t mean you can’t spend several months lowering your travel expenses through becoming a WWOOFer.  You could even work at an alpaca farm!

Waiting to Explore

While waiting to explore Australia I would recommend the following as fun ways to learn and plan:

• Check Australia guide books out at the library
• Rent a movie based in Australia (Lord of the Rings doesn’t count, it was filmed in New Zealand)
• Read a fictional book (not just guide books)
• Hang a map of Australia on the wall – great inspiration to save money
• Need more inspiration?  You Tube beautiful Australia videos
• Look into WWOOLFing opportunities
• Set up a buzz alert with Kayak to monitor airfare prices

We currently have one year visas that are valid until early 2010.  Although we have only seen one week of Australia, who knows what the future could bring, we may even head back to the Outback?

© nomadbackpackers.com -  All rights reserved 2009

Tags | Australia, itinerary, urban exploration