CharlieLou

Hey! I'll head wherever the work is, are you gonna be looking around NSW? Gonna sort out my bank account and TFN this week & start contacting farms to see if there is any vacancies! Fingers crossed I find something! xx

Hi there, Landed in Perth yesterday & whilst I'd love to sightsee all the places I want to visit right now, I'd rather get my regional work out of the way to hopefully secure a 2nd year visa! I know there are tonnes of threads offering advice but not all of it is relevant! If anyone could advise of regional work going (paid) anywhere in Australia as I am willing to travel it would be a great help. Also, any advice on what websites to visit to look for jobs would be good! Thanks Charlie

Thanks guys!! I've spoke with my boss & he is going to pay me early so that's a great help. I'll have just over £2k minimum and there is a chance I could have around £3k depending on if I manage to sell some pieces of jewellery etc. I will be looking for regional work shortly after arriving so hopefully I'll be ok money wise! ​xx

Ah nice one...pretty pleased I have found travel insurance for £100 then....I was expecting it to be a lot more so I am very happy! I'm not going to have all my funds until closer the time when I leave so I might just see what the rates are & make a decision then! I am slightly concerned I'm not going to have the equivalent of $5000 in my account to show a statement to customs...although I've heard that it's rare you get asked for proof of funds...do you think I should make sure I have a statement to show...perhaps borrowing money to have in my account? ​Charlie xx

....have a major case of butterflies!!!! I know I will be asking questions that have already been asked but whenever I reply to a thread to ask for clarification I don't always get a response.....any help/advise is appreciated! I got a quote on-line with Covermore & wondering if I have done anything wrong as it seems to be really cheap at £101.69? I selected the Annual Multi-trip and have gone with Plan A (which is the better out of the 2 options they offer) and reduced to £0 excess......Seems too good to be true! Has anybody else used them and did you get a similar quote? Secondly, I'm heading to Aus with my best friend who is from Perth, she has advised me to take my savings in cash & exchange when I get there as the rate will be better...I have looked & have seen a few rates for 1.483 ish over here, compared to 1.5205 in Aus....I'm undecided whether to sort out here...maybe transfer my funds to an Aussie account or to risk taking cash with me for obvious reasons! I will be staying with her & her parents when I arrive so I'm lucky in a sense that there is no urgency for me to sort everything before I head out as won't be a problem to do when I get there but still doesn't make the decision any easier for me! ​Charlie xx

I have just got a quote online with covermore and wondering if I have done anything wrong as it seems to be really cheap at £101.69? I selected the Annual Multi-trip and have gone with Plan A (which is the better out of the 2 options) and reduced to £0 excess Seems too good to be true! Any help/advice is very much appreciated! ​Charlie xx

I booked with Emirates & have a 30kg allowance with them! ​xx

I'd seen a few people on here had their visas granted pretty quickly but I thought it was best not to get my hopes up of getting mind back so quickly! Was chuffed when I got my email to say it had been granted!! Booked my flights earlier today! Leaving the UK on 29th May, stopping in Dubai for 4 nights arriving in Perth 3rd June!!! Very excited!! When you heading out @Benvo ?

Thanks Joanne - will check them out! :-) xx

So my WHV was granted yesterday! I am beyond excited!! Hoping to book my flights this weekend! My best friend who is from Perth has been in the UK for almost 3 years now & I am returning home with her! We'll be heading to Perth via Dubai, lucky to have a friend who lives there so going to spend a few days with her & will split the long journey up nicely! My friend will be shipping some of her belongings back to Aus & I just wondered if anyone has any recommendations of shipping companies? I reckon we'll be talking about a few boxes, mainly consisting of books and clothes so not huge amounts! Any advise is much appreciated! xx

Applied for my visa yesterday morning and no more than 4 hours later I received an e-mail to say my visa had been granted!! Can't believe how quick and easy it was! I would certainly recommend people to apply on-line direct! Hoping to get my flights booked on Friday!! Excited is not the word!! xx

Ah thanks guys! I don't have a criminal record so hopefully it should go through smoothly! Getting very excited/nervous now! I'll let you know how I get on! :-) xx

@Benvo - did you apply direct? I was just about to post a thread with your exact same question - go direct or with a company? I should be applying for mine in the next few days fingers crossed! Charlie xx

Ah not long to go now! I bet you can't wait to see her and show her why you never came back! Is she visiting on holiday or over on a WHV? xx

Digitalis - I think I might try do my research with the hostels & stick to the recommended ones and if I find myself in a less than desirable hostel, will have to resort to alcohol so I don't care about my surroundings lol! Wow, I love that you went on a tourist Visa & have been there ever since Xeneminie! On my first girls holiday I didn't want to go home so I didn't! Stayed & worked in Greece for the Summer & ended up doing another 2 seasons! Not quite as crazy as a holiday to the other side of the world & not coming home though! If I go to Bali, it will be with my friends family & they will be staying in a nice hotel/resort so I'm sure I will love it! My friend has warned me that Bali probably won't be as I imagine it to be, but none the less she has had some awesome holidays there! Some of my friends are going to be in Thailand for Christmas & New Year...I would love to meet up with them but it's all money permitting so I haven't committed to anything! xx

I have no shame in telling you I have just had to google 'woofing type job' haha! Yeh I really want to get it done as soon as possible because a year will be up before I know it! As much as I'm looking forward to staying with friends I know in Aus and seeing how they live & where they socialise, I'm really looking forward to staying in some of the hostels & meeting like-minded people! I've never stayed in a hostel before so that will be a new experience! xx

Do you think it's best for me to try sort out regional/volunteer work before I head out? I'm heading to Perth first to stay with my best friends family (she has lived in the UK for the last few years & is going home when I go over) She wants to show me around where she grew up etc & we might be going to Bali for a holiday in June & then I would be keen to start working towards getting my 88 days completed & get it out of the way so I can enjoy the rest of my time there! Lucky that you could get sponsored by your boyfriend! It's easy for me to say this now but I reckon if I were offered sponsorship by an employer, I could stick it out the required time. I'd rather be in Aus doing a job I don't particularly love than in the UK doing a job I don't love! Although hoping I don't live to regret saying that ha! xx xx

Thanks for the advise everyone! I've just applied online for my renewal so just awaiting my form to sign & return! It's only £77 which is less than I thought so that's a bonus! ah that's really good to know Xeneminie! So would that be volunteering in areas that have been affected by floods for example? I will look into that, I'll pretty much do anything I am able to qualify for my 2nd year as I have a good feeling that 1 year in Aus won't be enough for me!! How long have you been in Aus now? And wow, amazing that you're becoming a citizen! That would be a dream come true for me but unless I was sponsored by an employer but I'm not on the set skilled list so not sure how likely that would be! xx

Thanks Rupert! As much as I'd like to avoid the cost of a new passport at the moment with saving, I do think it will be less stressful than sorting it out in Aus! Plus I would be gutted if it affected me getting a 2nd year visa! xx

I'm planning on going to Aus May/June for a year on a WHV & I hope to complete 3 months of regional work in this time so I can apply for my 2nd year visa. This could potentially mean being in Aus up until June 2015 but my current passport is due to expire Aug 2015. I know when applying for my 1st year WHV I need to make sure my passport doesn't expire within 6 months of my planned date of return, would this apply when applying for 2nd year? Not sure if I should renew my passport now & get it over with - but I'll need to do that before I apply for my visa! Head is spinning thinking of all the possible scenarios ha! Any advise is much appreciated! xx

I'm 27 going on 28 unfortunately but thank you for the recommendations....always welcome!

I haven't booked yet - waiting for my bonus to come through! So thank you, I will be sure to check Virgin & BA out before booking! I know I should attempt to to travel light but it's not going to happen! My friend who is returning home when I come to Aus will be shipping some of her belongings so I might send over some shoes & bags with her....they're the worse for taking up space & weight allowance! Are you over in Aus on a WHV or sponsorship?

I'm really looking forward to staying with my friends in Surfers Paradise! I have a feeling I will want to spend alot of time there but it all depends on money and work! My friend who lives there is originally from Perth and she LOVES Surfers!

Maybe enquire to see if you can pay extra weight allowance now rather than at the airport, it's usually cheaper if you pre-book. My friend has been away from Oz for 2 & 1/2 years so she may just want to get settled back into home life, although I know if she has the money she would like to visit some places with me as she hasn't seen much of Australia. I'm looking forward to being able to stay with my friends & experiencing their lifestyle and also being able to travel and stay in hostels meeting like minded travellers. Yeh I will be working, farm work to be able to apply for my 2nd year visa and then I would like to try get a job with a possibility of being sponsored although I don't know how likely that will be as I don't have any qualifications on the preferred skill list. xx

Firstly I'll be going to Perth to stay with my best friend and her family. They're going on their holidays to Bali in June so I may join them! I've got some really good friends who live in Surfers Paradise so will be going to stay with them at some point! I want to do some farm work to be able to apply for my second year visa so need to fit that in as soon as I can. I have a long list of all the places I want to see but no plans as of yet on when and how long for etc! Are you out there at the moment or planning on going? xx