Starting Point in June - Where to go?

[RyanG91]

Okay so I am finally starting to plan my travels seeing as I am at now almost exactly a year away from beginning this adventure!

 

Firstly, apologies for the long post, thank you for reading if you get that far!

 

I've got to be in England until May 2016 so the obvious choice would be to leave for Australia in June. The original plan was to arrive down under and immediately find regional work so that I would be eligible for a 2nd year visa should I want to take it at the end of the first 12 months.

 

Ultimately, I only want to make a "rough" plan, I know too well from a previous visit to Aus that if you make a solid plan, more than likely you won't stick to it. What I am going to be doing after I complete the three months regional work is a mystery at the moment. I may find myself up in Cairns as doing a PADI course is on my bucket list amongst other things in QLD. Or I may find myself living in Sydney for a few months or even back in Adelaide (where I feel at home).

 

I'm not going to be travelling with much money to begin with, approximately $5,000AUD after everything is paid for. So I'm keen to work to build this a little before exploring the country rather than eat too far into the pot straight away. I know it may be pretty difficult to "save" when/if this new tax law comes in next year but I'm pretty good at living a basic life already so think I will be okay.

 

Seeing as I've picked the start of winter to travel, I've drawn a shortlist of destinations as to where I could fly into and then head to seek work using the Harvest Trail Guide. They are as follows:

 

Adelaide - Head to Berri/Renmark area or slightly further east to Mildura.

 

PRO: Familiar with these areas as have travelled through before. There seems to be quite a lot of harvest work starting in these regions in June (according to the Harvest Trail) and if I can recall correctly, the road between Mildura and Adelaide is pretty much lined with orchards and farms (drove it myself in November 2013) so would be tempted to suggest that work might be easier to find around here.

CON: Weather is an average of 15 degrees with approximately 15 rain days a month (living in Bournemouth, this is rather nippy to me). This is concerning seeing as a lot of adverts I've seen state that you can't work in the rain, therefore losing a days pay.

 

Brisbane - After arriving here, head to Byron Bay/Lismore/Carboolture.

 

PRO: Again, seems to be a lot of harvest work starting here in June. Temperature average is around 21 degrees (thats more like it!!) with roughly 7 days rain per month.

CON: I imagine Brisbane is very popular with fellow backpackers at this time of year due to the climate and general location. More backpackers there are, less chance of securing work (in theory)

 

Townsville - Doubt I could get here without taking a domestic flight from Sydney or Brisbane (cheapest) but anyway, Ayr, Giru and Bowen seem to have a lot of harvest going on in June.

 

PRO: Again, climate is very good, 25 degrees.

CON: Pretty much same as above, imagine it is even more popular with backpackers looking for work than Brisbane area.

Perth - Head south to Albany/Frankland/Denmark

 

PRO: Harvest situation looks pretty decent in this areas, temperature is a happy medium between 18-20 degrees.

CON: Not sure on popularity, also hadn't planned WA in my travels to far (even though a lot of it is absolutely stunning)

 

So I guess what I am really after is other peoples thoughts? Maybe someone is planning on going this June and has a rough plan of action. Or someone who has been and had the experience first hand?

 

Thank you to anyone who had given me 5-10 minutes to read this

[starlight7]

What about Cairns if you like the warmer weather? Or even Darwin? You certainly wouldn't get cold there!