Flight Booked!!

Unluckyalf said:
Wave as you drive past!

Oh and come through Darwin after the end of April and you wont get wet.

Plus you might actually be able to see stuff in the surrounding area, ie Kakadu (unless you plan on taking one of the scenic flights).
Many places in the Top End are cut off due to flooding in the wet season and only open April/May time. Depends on how bad the wet is really. Plus the beach market on starts up in the dry season
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I really enjoyed my stay in Darwin, although very humid.
+1 for Kakadu. Amazing national park. Expect to have your feet ripped apart by leeches though so take some salt and don't forget the repellant!!

:)
 
Then I suggest you check out the photos on that sight and start deciding on some local destinations. Kings Park is a must. 1,003 acres of pure natural beauty.

Oh, and get to Rottnest Island if you can.

:)
 
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I'd try and save up a lot more if you can - will make your trip so much more enjoyable!! Whilst your hostels etc might be cheap, doing all the attractions cost money.
Obviously the east coast is where a lot of the action is, so give yourself plenty of time to complete that section - Fraser Island was my favorite trip, however I believe they have now changed it (you have to have a guide with you - anyone know this?).
Try not to spend too much time in the big cities, because at the end of the day that's all they are, big cities!! I much preferred staying in the out of the way places, like Noosa etc.
Adelade was the only place I'd say avoid, right bore-fest!!

Oh and are you planning on heading to NZ for a while? Seeing as you are all the way down there etc - I cannot recommend it enough!! Amazing place.
 
Clipsey said:
I'd try and save up a lot more if you can - will make your trip so much more enjoyable!! .
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a lot more then 4k?:eek:

I am planning on working out there as well :)

How much money did you take?? I'm not planning on doing loads of extreme sports I.e skydiving etc.

SO when did you go and how much did you take/spend??
 
I know you're working out there, but that just gets in the way of things ;)
At a guess I spent probably about 1k a month maybe - but I did loads of activities and what not - which why on earth are you not going to do them??
I went Oct 05 to May 06 and spent just over a month in NZ (again you have to go!).
What type of work are you expecting to get when out there?? If it's the usual bar work etc then it doesn't really pay much, so you won't be able to save but just pay your way etc, this is why having loads of money to start with is such an advantage :)

Oh and sorry, 4k is a lot of money and a great start - but seeing as you have until next Feb, I'd try and aim for simply as much as you can - you will be so glad you did once out there!
 
Clipsey said:
I know you're working out there, but that just gets in the way of things ;)
At a guess I spent probably about 1k a month maybe - but I did loads of activities and what not - which why on earth are you not going to do them??
I went Oct 05 to May 06 and spent just over a month in NZ (again you have to go!).
What type of work are you expecting to get when out there?? If it's the usual bar work etc then it doesn't really pay much, so you won't be able to save but just pay your way etc, this is why having loads of money to start with is such an advantage :)
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No doubt will do bar work , fairly clued up in IT so might try and get some work in perth.

Sky diving and the like really isn't my thing. Diving and maybe the Kimberly tour is more my thing .

Time will tell , i'm planning on staying out there for the full 12 months so clearly more money would be better :)

Paying my way is enough for me. 4 k or hopefully more ,should supplement me quite nicely.

Like I say going to take as much as I can physically take.
 
Well that'd be cool if you could get some IT work, but then you'd have to take some 'smart' clothes I presume, which would be annoying lugging them about!! Pack extremely light ;)
Diving trips are pretty expensive out there, we did about 5 total I think (can;t say I was overly impressed either) - it's the trips that tend to cost money - Fraser Island will run you several hundred and so will Whit Sunday Islands - all your travel from one place to another, breakfast, lunch & dinner + accommodation, drinking funds :D all adds up pretty quickly.
I'm not being negative, just trying to give you motivation to save, save, save until you leave
 
Clipsey said:
Well that'd be cool if you could get some IT work, but then you'd have to take some 'smart' clothes I presume, which would be annoying lugging them about!! Pack extremely light ;)
Diving trips are pretty expensive out there, we did about 5 total I think (can;t say I was overly impressed either) - it's the trips that tend to cost money - Fraser Island will run you several hundred and so will Whit Sunday Islands - all your travel from one place to another, breakfast, lunch & dinner + accommodation, drinking funds :D all adds up pretty quickly.
I'm not being negative, just trying to give you motivation to save, save, save until you leave
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I know your not been negative, really appreciate your input to be honest.

I'm saving hard alright. In threoy I should have a lot more then 4k but reality this never happens :p

Any thing else you can think of?? Anything apart from diving which is overrated etc or anything that is worth doing which isn't mentioned in all the mainstream websites etc etc
 
divaboy said:
Sort of , plan on been there for 12 months , hopefully taking bare minimum 4 k and then work work when I have to.

Unluckyalf is there plently of work out in darwin for backpackers when its the Dry season??
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Pretty sure there is always work for backpackers m8. Lost of seasonal stuff... fruit picking etc towards the end of the dry. Im sure you can find work all year round though. Bar work perhaps.

Evangelion said:
Not from experience, no; but I have mates who've been up that way.

There's some great photos here, which will give you some idea of what to expect. I should warn you that sealed roads are a luxury up there! ;)
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You cant come to Australia and not experience the Outback. I have never done the Kimberley run but have been to many remote locations in the NT and its awesome, what i would consider the true Australia. Sure its all dirt tracks and creek crossings, but thats part of the fun. Can be dangerous for the unwary and unprepared. If you do any bush driving, always tell someone where you are going and when you expect to either get back or arrive at your destination
 
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Unluckyalf said:
Pretty sure there is always work for backpackers m8. Lost of seasonal stuff... fruit picking etc towards the end of the dry. Im sure you can find work all year round though. Bar work perhaps.



You cant come to Australia and not experience the Outback. I have never done the Kimberley run but have been to many remote locations in the NT and its awesome, what i would consider the true Australia. Sure its all dirt tracks and creek crossings, but thats part of the fun. Can be dangerous for the unwary and unprepared. If you do any bush driving, always tell someone where you are going and when you expect to either get back or arrive at your destination
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Cheers for all the above advice. Tempted to do the kimberly road , if I do it though it will be with a guide/trip type thing.

Aren't confident enough to do it on my own.

Unluckyalf you'll no doubt see me this time next year arriving in darwin looking ****** from the Kim tour :p
 
A road trip across the Nullabor could be fun, and a reasonably safe way to see some of the outback. Just make sure you have a few mates to share the driving; I found it pretty tough on my own.

:)
 
Evangelion said:
A road trip across the Nullabor could be fun, and a reasonably safe way to see some of the outback. Just make sure you have a few mates to share the driving; I found it pretty tough on my own.

:)
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Can safely say I won't attempting anything like that on my own :)

But really want to see the out back , as well as the cities and coastline.

Willno dubt find out best way of going about htis once I get set up in perth.

Thanks again to all posters some really good information on here :)
 
If you're in Melbourne (or even Sydney) for any period of time I'd halfway recommend popping over the Bass Strait to Tasmania (my home state) to have a look around - particularly if you're into bush-walking or generally untouched wilderness type stuff. You can get flights for about $70-100 one way, so roughly £70-100 return.

Definitely do not plan to work there though - IT jobs aren't common, don't pay that well and the cost of living isn't much less than the big cities. And you probably don't want to spend more than a few days. 5 would be heaps. And hire a car, because transport in the state is terrible. Cradle Mountain, Wineglass Bay, Strahan/West Coast and maybe a day in Hobart would be alright.
 
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