Jamiemadden7 Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 Hello All, I'm getting Christmas out of the way with then I'm coming over to Australia with my Girlfriend on a years WHV, We are also interested if available to extend our stay by doing the rural work. We have around 5,000 GBP saved up each to come with to get us started, but was also thinking about doing the rural part to start, get out of the way with and also some offer a place to stay so would be pretty ideal for us. We are wondering what people have found the best way to travel and live, Hostels or buying/renting a cheap little camper van? I have read one or two little posts about traveling by a camper van but didn't know how it would work out financially etc, if it helps I'm 27 so know that it would be cheaper to insure/run with me being over the 25 mark... Any help will be greatly appreciated as we are looking at paying for our VISAs sometime this week, and more help would be better! thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quokka2005 Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Thats plenty money! Ive found hostels really eat your money up if you are staying in one long term. I wasted a lot of money on them. If you guys want to save money in one area then could try housesitting or couch surfing. For travelling around if you want to be able to stop anywhere you want then a campervan is probably the best idea. You can either rent from a company or buy one from another backpacker. I travelled down the east coast in a van and camped. On the west coast i travelled in a jeep and camped with 9 other people but i wouldnt go with such a big group again. If you want to do your 2nd year then definitely start it as fast as possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Hi again Jamie, as mentioned since moving down here I have quite a few contacts for farm work so if you fancy the Lockyer Valley area give me a shout. Like Stacey mentioned hostels do eat in to your money. Personally I think a campervan would be a cheaper way to get around as you are going to need some kind of vehicle. Some backpackers use estate cars but you don't see many estates in Oz. Even your transit vans they put a mattress in the back and hit the road. In regards to insurance. When you take out your rego it comes with CTP (compulsory third party) insurance, now it is perfectly legal not to take out any other insurance, however, how CTP works is that if you hit a car and the other driver gets whiplash or injured the CTP will pay all their medical expenses, however, you are responsible for paying all damage to their car. So although I personally recommend you have insurance it isn't a requirement. Another option you could look at is car/campervan relocations. You can often relocate a campervan from one state to another for $1 a day, or they may throw in fuel. The downside to this is they don't give you many extra days to sightsee in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quokka2005 Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 If you dont want to buy a car/van then theres always loads of people offering lifts. Some of my friends used the greyhound pass or a company called loka but they were single people looking to meet other people. Let me know if you have anymore questions i can help with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 After your rural work, if you want to base yourself in one place for awhile, have a look on Gumtree for rooms to rent and cheaper if being able to split the costs with your GF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamiemadden7 Posted September 19, 2016 Author Share Posted September 19, 2016 Thank you all for the advice, obviously it is all greatly appreciated speaking to people having the experience as its really daunting as well as exciting for ourselves, we really want to give it the best possible start so that we can ensure we have the best time when out there. We have some great skills which i think rural will appreciate (background in welding, manufacturing, wind farms etc) and a diploma in health and safety along with the GF having a BA Hons in Early Childhood Studies, I've seen a lot of adverts for people wanting baby sitters etc. We certainly thought that coming over with 5,000 each and then starting rural quickly will then help boost our budget a lot as well as possibly giving accommodation for a little bit while we get our head around the campervan situation. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 You should be fine with such experience. I'd probably go with buying a van way myself. Word of caution though. Get it checked out if not mechanically minded. There are some real heaps on offer. You'll have a ball between the hard yakka. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evets Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 Another thing to consider, is the climates in NSW, VIC and ACT if traveling through winter time. Would not like to be sleeping in a camper van. Spring, summer and early autumn would be good times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 Yes Evets as a great point. Try and plan your route around Australia based on the weather. For example Cairns in the wet season isn't a great place to be, the humidity in Feb is a killer especially if you don't have aircon. If arriving in Feb I would start down the bottom end of the country and work your way up, Cairns, Darwin etc are probably best enjoyed from March to November. Saying that mango and banana season are usually between November and Feb. 'We had a backpacker on here who was a welder and he always had work on the farms, and if your girlfriend is in to Childcare you should do really well and find a job easier than most. That may be easier for you than fruit picking, although I'm not sure if Childcare covers you for the 2nd visa. We have a farmer next to us he told me he will only take on people who have experience and know what they are letting themselves in for. He said so many beg for a job and after the first day he doesn't see them again. Now a way to get experience would be to maybe do volunteer work with somewhere like Helpx but remember volunteer work doesn't go towards your second visa anymore BUT you get free accommodation and it also provides you with experience if asked for it at a later date. https://www.helpx.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quokka2005 Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 Agree with flag - get the van/car checked out. Im afraid backpackers have a rep for ripping each other off with that sort of thing. I agree with pom queen about weather too. I went in february to cairns and although i had a good time if you can avoid that then i definitely would. It was ok when near the water but walking around towns was very sweaty lol, i went around with a face towel constantly haha. I only went because i wanted to meet a friend at that particular time but youve both got your whole year together so im sure youll plan it better than i did. Hope you have a great time, im jealous! The time goes so fast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamiemadden7 Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 Yeah im not too car minded to be honest so will certainly need someone to look over it for me, I have seen that some are from 1985 etc that we could be buying, so pretty old but i guess to be on the road from that age they must be pretty reliable!! That volunteering does sound appealing for the experience to be honest. I'm just a little bit of a worrier thinking that I don't have enough money etc with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quokka2005 Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 You are bringing double the amount of most people so you're off to a good start! Plus have someone to share costs with which helps. My travel buddy got our van from a Australian company that were selling it, he didn't trust other backpackers haha. That's not to say that there wont be some good ones from backpackers. Yeah helpx (volunteering) is a good idea. theres some amazing places on it, I really regret not trying it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamiemadden7 Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 I was thinking about maybe getting a camper over a few months pay but i guess Australians would be pretty against the idea of something like that, I'm certainly excited and hope it is the beginning of my life leading onto more exciting things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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