[randy_j]

I guess you just think that i'm just like all the other people asking for help out there, and hey your right haha, but i probably know even less than them. Okay, well heres my story. I'm currently 16 years old, i live in winnipeg manitoba Canada and I want to go to Australia before I start university. SO! I have decided to graduate a semester early leaving me with 4 months of being in Australia and for me, that will be plenty - i hope.

I was just wondering basically how i go about doing this. I need someone, or someones (plural but incorrect spelling i know :P), to help me plan my trip. Everything from flight, hostels, job, the whole works. I've read up on this whole thing and I've learned more about hostels than i knew in 15 minutes - it was amazing. I just want to see if people who have actually had real experiences tell me the Ups and the downs and what to prepare myself for.

On February 27th i legally turn 18, and therefore willl be able to apply for a VISA which means im going to leave for australia after the 27th of February 2007. Which also means that I have 2 years to plan this trip, and a hell of a trip it will be.

I just need to know the basics, like what to pack, what to bring, how do to this, how to do that, what do i do when im in this type of situation etc. I was just wondering if someone would be able to help me out.

To contact me, my e-mail address is dr_losta@hotmail.com and if you are local to me, my phone number is, (home) 489-4992, (cell) 952-5541. But i would greatly prefer e-mail prior to calling my house/cell phone. Thank you very much.

I greatly appreciate everything, even reading this helps me out thank you.

Randell J. Loster

[Tim Uden]

Two years is plenty of time to prepare (and save) for the big trip. I would start out with reading this website (and the BUG Australia guidebook) and keep returning to the forums to post any specific questions you may have.

Four months is enough time to see most of Australia, but you should be able to qualify for some sort of working holiday visa that will allow you to work in Australia, if you want to extend your trip. However this needs to be organised before you leave home.

Your itinerary is up to you and it is best not to overplan as this takes the spontaneity out of your trip, although it is a great idea to read up on either the BUG Australia book or website plus other posts in these forums to get an idea of the things you want to see. Then mark these on a map and plan your trip from there.

To get you started planning your itinerary, here are the most popular things that backpackers do in Australia:

• Sydney
• Byron Bay (learn to surf)
• Surfers Paradise (a fun party city, but not the real Australia)
• Fraser Island (World's largest sand island, take 4WD safari from Hervey Bay or Rainbow Beach)
• Airlie Beach (party town, great base for sailing trips to the Whitsunday Islands)
• Cairns (closest spot to the Great Barrier Reef, base for trips to reef and scuba dive courses)
• Cape Tribulation (World Heritage rainforest)

That is just the most popular route north from Sydney up the east coast. You may want to also include places like Melbourne and Adelaide plus the Outback although this is a good starting point.

It will be a great trip and I'm sure you'll really enjoy it.

[randy_j]

Thank you so much Tim! That post really helped me. I was just wondering, in 2007, February 27th, i will turn 18. I was wondering if there had to be a certain age in order to qualify for a working visa? And if so, what is that age if you know it. And yes, 2 years is a long time to prepare my trip, lets just hope that i will have it all set, well as you said, i dont want to overplan because that defeats the purporse of backing. I guess i should just try to educate myself about the places i can visit, hostels I can stay at, and jobs at which I can work at. What would you say would be the best job to work in Australia? Fruit picking? I heard its hard labour, but your outside and you get a hell of a tan haha. Like so far, your reply to my post has helped me out so much and I've just begun planning my trip. This is the 3rd day of planning and i still have like what..365+365= 730 -3 = 727 days left to go haha More or less.

But yeah, if you could help me out at all again, I WOULD greatly appareciate it . Thank you.