What You Learn On A Working Holiday In Australia

Fancy a year working and travelling Down Under? Here are some things I found out about Australia, people, working, travelling and not dying.

Walking in an Australian City as backpacker

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You can't walk down a main street, especially in Cairns, without a travel rep asking you what you're doing or what you have booked.

Relax on the beach

Benjamin Jacobs

It's warm and there are huge expansive beaches but don't go in the sea, or go there or there.

You might think being far from home makes you exotic, it doesn't

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Australians will be excited to meet you if you're from a country which doesn't speak English, if you're English, despite technically travelling further miles to get there, they won't care.

Germans, so many Germans

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You will meet so many English people and so many Germans. I met English people who hadn't met any Australians.

Hostels are all about what's free

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Free WiFi is king. As are plug sockets. Having a bed by a plug socket is the dream, get there quick. Also free breakfast. Free rice. Free Pasta. Basically anything extra.

Job hunting becomes a job

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Go on any shared computer, you will find someone's CV. Everyone is on Gumtree looking at the same jobs. It all gets kinda frustrating.

Sometimes if you stop searching, it will come to you

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If you just sit outside a hostel you might get a job.

Actual interaction:

Australian Woman: Hey, do you wanna work today?
Me: Yeah sure

Followed by two weeks moving furniture and some sweet dollar.

Wages are high

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Basic pay is pretty high. 'Award pay rates' rule. Sundays are double pay, public holidays are double pay if not better, night shifts are extra too.

In Sydney, I managed to achieve the holy trinity. Night shifts over Easter holidays. 5 days work. I could have retired.

Superannuation is a supermystery

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You get paid and some of it disappears to this crazy Australian pension or something. Nobody in the entire country understands superannuation or can explain it properly. Nobody. I have no idea where this money went.

Herb life is a dream for some people

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Some people live for weed. These are often English people. All they want to do is get high.

Me: So how long have you been here?
Stoned English Guy: Four months
Me: Ah cool, what have you seen?
Stoned English Guy: Not much, just stayed at the hostel, went to Bondi, smoked.

Like seriously, some people will just work for weed.

So much Australia

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Australia is huge. 12 hours on a bus and I'm only here!

The East Coast is a spectacular conveyor belt of drinking

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If you don't drink, the East Coast might not be for you. Also prepare to feel like just another backpacker on the conveyor. Fraser Island - drink, move on. Whitsundays - drink, move on. Magnetic Island - drink, move on. But when in Australia...

The real predators

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There is some scary wildlife but it normally doesn't care about you. Apart from Australian ants. They are everywhere and will bite you all day long. All damn day.

Also Magpies

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You better not go near their eggs.

It's not always warm

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Down south it genuinely gets cold. Melbourne's weather was 12 degrees, then 28 the next day. Ridiculous place.

Dominos

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$5 Pizza? Yes please. This needs to be global.

Australia is great

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A year in Australia, a great decision.