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backpacking in oz please help!!!!!

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  • 16-08-2009 9:32pm
    #1
    conor1234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17 ✭


    hi everyone, im gona go to oz for a backpacking holiday..............ON MY OWN!!!!!!!!! im absolutly terrified ive never been anywhere on my own!im 24, an out of work plumber but i dont really wana work for a while over there if i can help it!has anyone here travelled up the east coast of australia before,is it easy to make friends over there. i reckon im gona stay ina hotel for a few days when i reach sydney but after that i dunno what to do or where to go.bear in mind im gona be on my own walkin round sydney like a lost puppy!!!!!! if anyone has any advice or tips for me please help!thanks everyone.


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    #2
    Dancor
    Registered Users Posts: 3,624 ✭✭✭Dancor


    Very easy to make friends in OZ. Hotels are very pricey in Sydney, Get to a hostel. They are very good up and down the east coast. Get involved in eveything you can with fellow travelers. Stay in dorms, go on pub crawls and city/beach walks. There will be plenty of people in the same boat as yourself. When going up and down the coast I found it easier, cheaper and faster to fly to places but got told about all the fun that could be had on buses and couches and the different people that you could meet.


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    #3
    conor1234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17 ✭conor1234


    thanks mate that helps a lot.but when i arrive in sydney should i just walk around till i find a hostel or can i book it on line beforehand.


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    #4
    macca1983
    Closed Accounts Posts: 180 ✭✭macca1983


    conor1234 wrote: »
    thanks mate that helps a lot.but when i arrive in sydney should i just walk around till i find a hostel or can i book it on line beforehand.

    Book your hostel at www.hostelworld.com. This is the best site for booking hostels all over the world. Stay in a hostel at either Kings Cross or Bondi - that is where most of the hostels are located.

    Chill out in Sydney for a few days and try get talking to a few people at the hostel - lots of people will have the same plan as you to go up the East Coast and you might end up travelling with them. If that does not work out simply get a greyhound bus ticket(they can be bought online) to get you up the coast or else go on the OZ experience (an organised bus tour up the coast, google it and read into it). What ever hostel you stay at will probably provide info on both the greyhound and the OZ experience and will also probably sell tickets for them.

    Go to Sydney,go straight to hostel (don't bother with hotel - will only add to feeling of loneliness), chill out for a few days and make a plan from there.


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    #5
    conor1234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17 ✭conor1234


    thanks mate thats great advice.are the snakes and spiders a real problem over there.


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    #6
    macca1983
    Closed Accounts Posts: 180 ✭✭macca1983


    conor1234 wrote: »
    thanks mate thats great advice.are the snakes and spiders a real problem over there.

    Im not sure if this is a serious question or not... Anyway i'll answer it!! There is no problem with either animal over there. I did from Melbourne to Cairns and never saw either animal.


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    #7
    conor1234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17 ✭conor1234


    thanks.how long did it take you to travel melbourne to cairns.im allowing 3months for sydney to cairns.then come home for xmas and hopefully go workin out there after xmas.did you go on your own or with friends. im most nervous bout not knowing anyone over there but if theres a few people there on thier own maybe ill be ok.suppose if i walk round sydney with a gaa jearsey on i mite meet someone!!!!!!!!!!!


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    #8
    Zambia
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,333 ✭✭✭Zambia


    conor1234 wrote: »
    thanks mate thats great advice.are the snakes and spiders a real problem over there.

    Yes especially arounds Kings Cross ...oh and Bondi Junction. Size of a small child they are...:eek:


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    #9
    Teg Veece
    Registered Users Posts: 550 ✭✭✭Teg Veece


    conor1234 wrote: »
    are the snakes and spiders a real problem over there.

    As long as you remember to spray on whatever spider/snake repellent you use each morning then you won't have a problem.


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    #10
    conor1234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17 ✭conor1234


    haha as long as i dont wake up in d middle of d night with an anaconda chewin on my leg im happy enuf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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    #11
    aido79
    Registered Users Posts: 5,374 ✭✭✭aido79


    I've been in Oz for a year and a half now and have only seen 3 snakes. All of them were crossing the road out in the bush..I actually drove over 1 of them. I've only seen 1 venomous spider..a redback which will only make you sick and not kill you so wouldn't worry about that. Most aussies have never seen a snake! 3 months seems a long time to spend on the east coast. I done it in a month with my girlfriend last year and we saw most of it. You could probably do it in 2 weeks if you really wanted to. You should look into maybe doing some of the west coast as well. The west coast isn't as built up as the east and the distance between place can be huge. You can drive for 4 or 5 hours between towns and not even see a house. Also the northern territory around darwin and the kimberly where the film Australia was made are worth a look. Everyone does the east coast because its easy but if you're willing to make a little more effort then you can see the real Australia. I've probably seen more of Oz than most Aussie's will ever see because they don't make the effort. Workwise things are alittle tight over here but not as bad as home. I'm an electrician in Brisbane at the minute but heading back to Perth next week because I'm finding it hard to get work here. If you want to work as a plumber over here then you need to get a licence. Its normal over here for the plumbers to work on gas in houses over here too. It can be a bit of hassle to get it so it might be worth looking into it. I don't want to worry you..just giving you the heads up. I was a bit lost when I got here myself last year so I know what its like. All in all Australia is brilliant though. Where else can you get 26 degrees in the middle of winter although it does rain a bit too.Hope this helps and if you've any more questions feel free to ask.


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    #12
    Zambia
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,333 ✭✭✭Zambia


    With All due respect Ado just because we have like buildings and people on stuff we are no less "real" than the west of Australia.


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    #13
    daftdave
    Registered Users Posts: 1,082 ✭✭✭daftdave


    Zambia232 wrote: »
    With All due respect Ado just because we have like buildings and people on stuff we are no less "real" than the west of Australia.

    is it just me or does that sentence not make sense ??


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    #14
    Zambia
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,333 ✭✭✭Zambia


    daftdave wrote: »
    is it just me or does that sentence not make sense ??

    Well answer this Waht is the real Australia?


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    #15
    aido79
    Registered Users Posts: 5,374 ✭✭✭aido79


    I wasn't having a go at eastern Australia.The eastern states are obviously as Australian as WA is. It's just that alot of Irish come over here and all they see is Sydney or one of the other big cities like Melbourne and they might as well be at home because all they do is mix with other Irish people and go to Irish pubs at the weekend. They might as well not have left Ireland.


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    #16
    Zambia
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,333 ✭✭✭Zambia


    Ah thats what you meant ...


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    #17
    Dancor
    Registered Users Posts: 3,624 ✭✭✭Dancor


    conor1234 wrote: »
    thanks mate that helps a lot.but when i arrive in sydney should i just walk around till i find a hostel or can i book it on line beforehand.

    Ill recommened Wake Up! Hostel. Look it up on hostel world. The place is huge and full of all different people.


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    #18
    conor1234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17 ✭conor1234


    thanks everyone for all the help ive learned a lot already!ive saved up enough money to last me at least til xmas so i kinda wana travelaround and not work until then.so if anyone has any ideas bout how to spend 3months in oz id love to hear it!also if anyone knows where toget the best deals on flights please tell me.is there anyting really important that people forget to pack?


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