Off to australia to work!

salami1212

salami1212

salami1212

Soldato
Joined
3 Jul 2005
Posts
3,027
Hi there, I was pondering whether to post on a travelling forum or this one. Seeing as you lot have always come up top I'm gonna post here. I'm just after some info really from people who have been there and got the t-shirt..

Basically im off to Australia on the 16 february. My friend and I are flying into Sydney so we'll be around that area for 2 weeks, so just wondering what are must sees and what do we HAVE to do, bearing in mind we're only there for 2 weeks?

Once the 2 weeks are over I'm going to be staying in aus to work for 1 maybe 2 years if I do some fruit picking. Where is best to work in March time fruit picking wise. Also how easy is it to get jobs in other sectors suitable for working holiday visas such as bar work?

How cold will it be in winter time too cos I don't want to pack too many heavy clothes?

Thanks :)
 
Do the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb, it's pretty darn good with super views from the top :)

I did it many years ago when there was no safety harness' for the climb, you just had to hold on to the rail, fine on a nice calm day but that was before it was a proper 'tourist' event and before health and safety got involved.
 
BoonMonkey said:
On the clothing front, their winter is hot. Very hot. Heavy clothes will probably lead to you dying.
Click to expand...

Rubbish, winter in Sydney and below (ie Melbourne etc) consists of days where it's about 15-20c. It's not cold - you don't need a heavy coat - but it's not hot either. It's about the same as our spring or autumn.

Never got above 15c in Melbourne when I went there, during June.

2 weeks in Sydney?

Do, aside from looking around Sydney etc, the Blue Mountains. Maybe spend a few days in Katomba and explore the mountains. Really nice. If you like cars carry on over the Blue Mountains to Bathurst, where the Mount Panorama circuit is a public road you can drive on.
 
Last edited:
You don't need to do the fruit-picking, there are a few options to get that second year - I think there might be some construction type stuff? Worth looking into!

Also get that work done quick as you can then you don't get into a situation where you are enjoying working in a bar in a city and realise you need to find something frantically to get your second year visa, get it done early and you can then settle and not worry about it.

Your first Winter you will be fine, coming from UK will probably be nice weather to you. Later you will acclimatise and then stick on a jumper :p but yeah don't really worry about it much at the moment.
 
A mate is just back from 2yrs working in Aus. For Sydney visiting any "visit Sydney" website will tell you the top tens. For me it would be the bridge, Manley/coogee/bondi beach, the zoo, go watch a cricket match at the stadium, go watch an NRL match (Sydney roosters or rabittohs, parramatta, Manley etc) is a must.

My mate tried the fruit picking, lasted a month. He ended up working in one of the mines, 3-4 weeks on them a few days off, 3-4 weeks on, few days off, 3-4 weeks on, 3 weeks in Bali!!!!!!!!! He loved the Bali stint, pure party time!
 
salami1212 said:
Hi there, I was pondering whether to post on a travelling forum or this one. Seeing as you lot have always come up top I'm gonna post here. I'm just after some info really from people who have been there and got the t-shirt..

Basically im off to Australia on the 16 february. My friend and I are flying into Sydney so we'll be around that area for 2 weeks, so just wondering what are must sees and what do we HAVE to do, bearing in mind we're only there for 2 weeks?

Once the 2 weeks are over I'm going to be staying in aus to work for 1 maybe 2 years if I do some fruit picking. Where is best to work in March time fruit picking wise. Also how easy is it to get jobs in other sectors suitable for working holiday visas such as bar work?

How cold will it be in winter time too cos I don't want to pack too many heavy clothes?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

This comes up every now and again :)

I spent 18 months over there. My advice "DO" Sydney then move up to Darwin get a bar job invent experience if you don't any.

I have a freind out there now and they are earning 26AUD an hour for working in a bar/Off licence :eek:

Use Darwin as your base then travel to Perth/Cairns/Melbourne etc etc.

Will save your fighting for all the backpacker jobs in the popular areas.

Only downsides to this are it get hot in Darwin especially this time of year and the Aboriginals are lets just say an experience.

Enjoy have fun and I'm jealous :p

Sorry for the bluntish reply its past my bedtime but couldn't resist commenting
 
divaboy said:
This comes up every now and again :)

I spent 18 months over there. My advice "DO" Sydney then move up to Darwin get a bar job invent experience if you don't any.

I have a freind out there now and they are earning 26AUD an hour for working in a bar/Off licence :eek:

Use Darwin as your base then travel to Perth/Cairns/Melbourne etc etc.

Will save your fighting for all the backpacker jobs in the popular areas.

Only downsides to this are it get hot in Darwin especially this time of year and the Aboriginals are lets just say an experience.

Enjoy have fun and I'm jealous :p
Click to expand...

£17 and hour. Not bad
 
I am thinking about going travelling to Australia to work!

Many people I have heard from say they actually come back with more money than they lift with hmmm 23 yeard old IT graduate who recently started working in the Finance industry
 
Bondi Beach is not worth the trip dude, there's nothing much to do there at all. However, the town on the other side of the harbour (can't remember it's name) that you have to get a ferry to is great.

I stayed in an awful hostel called The Maze. It was absolutely dire. There were of people just living in there. We had this chinese couple sharing a bunk bed (my friend and I had a bunk bed too) and they'd kind of settled in, had like rice cookers and various cooking stuff in there. That was all cool, except my friend forgot something one day and went back to our room to find them under the covers! We left the next day.

The market in Sydney is pretty cool. I'd definitely spend some time in the harbour though, it's beautiful there.

Generally, just wander everywhere man, there's so much to see and walking is the best way to find stuff you'd never see normally.
 
Popular way to extend your visa to 2 years is to work in rural Australia doing roadworks.

You do a short course on traffic management, then hold a stop/go sign for 10 hours a day at the side of the road. Get paid reasonably well, but will be boring as hell, hot and get bothered by flies constantly.
 
I've been living in Sydney for 7 years now, it's the best place on earth. Once you're here you won't want to leave.

The bridge climb is good but pricey, you can walk the harbour bridge at road level for free and climb up one of the pylon's for $11. It's a tenth the cost of the bridge climb and almost as good a view.

Manly's my favourite beach but super busy on the weekends. Bring a snorkel & fins and go to Shelly Beach, it's a marine reserve and every time I go I see something new. Sea horses, sharks, grouper, cuttlefish... If you can time it to get the ferry back at sunset you'll get some quality photos of the bridge.

Opera House tour is a must followed by beers at the Opera Bar.

The are 100's of fruit bats in the trees around the botanic gardens.

Have a beer on the roof terrace of the Glenmore Hotel and a cocktail in the Shangri La.

There are loads of good restaurants but eating out can be pricey.

The Blue Mountains are great and the YHA at Katoomba is nicer than some hotels I've stayed in. Jenolan Caves are cool but a pain to get to.

There are a ton of things to do here especially if you like the outdoors. Have a great time :)
 
I'd do more than 2 weeks travelling. At the very least jump on the Oz Experiece / Greyhound and do the East coast. Do Byron Bay, 1770, Noosa, Fraser Island,Cairns etc for a month.

You'll be a broken man by the end so will welcome work :p Fruit picking is horrible. Don't do anything like melon picking, tomato pruning etc if you value your back. Grape picking wasn't too bad. You can also do contruction work in regional areas like Darwin in 50c heat for your visa.

Haha if you're going to be in hostels expect it to be like a brothel at the end of the night, crazy. If you don't like that, either get an apartment or a smaller room (less than 4 people).

There's silly money to be had to Oz, especially if you have some kind of background and you'll wipe any debt you acquire if you are going to be working over six months somewhere.
 
Andy100 said:
I've been living in Sydney for 7 years now, it's the best place on earth. Once you're here you won't want to leave.
Click to expand...

Where do you stay Andy and what do you do? My sister lives in Coogee, I'd love to move over but struggling for a visa now. Had a chance in 2011 but another opportunity arose. Maybe just do some long holidays. :D

AmDaMan said:
There's silly money to be had to Oz, especially if you have some kind of background and you'll wipe any debt you acquire if you are going to be working over six months somewhere.
Click to expand...

Cost of living is pretty mega if staying more permanently though.
 
I was in a shared apartment on George St. and was paying $300 a week between 3 of us, around a fith of my income.

Some places are mega expensive though closer to the harbour.
 
Jambo said:
Where do you stay Andy and what do you do? My sister lives in Coogee, I'd love to move over but struggling for a visa now. Had a chance in 2011 but another opportunity arose. Maybe just do some long holidays. :D
Click to expand...

Living in North Sydney at the moment but looking to buy a house on the Northern Beaches. House prices here are insane, a run down 3 bed, 1 bath on the Northern Beaches starts at $700,000 :(

I'm the CIO of an aged care company.

If you've got a degree or relevant experience then the skilled migrants visa is your best bet, your role has to be on the list but you can massage your cv to fit a lot of them. That or a 457 visa if you can find a company to sponsor you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom