Visiting Australia...from Canada!

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mark verkaik
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hey all, i'm not sure where to post this so MOD's move me at will. I'm looking for some help. My girlfriend and I are considering coming over to Australia from Canada for an extended period of time. We are planning on staying probably for 3 months or so depending on how things go. We are also planning on working while we are there.

So why am i posting this? Well in the interest of saving money, etc I'm wondering if anyone knows anyone who would be willing to take us in for a few days or weeks or someone who knows where a decent place to stay would be. I'm also wondering if anyone knows where the best place for a couple of young Canadians would be able to find decent work so that we don't go into debt.

Any thoughts or suggestions are helpful!

we are pretty nervous about making the trip considering the cost of just getting there!!
 
For real I'm going to show up on your door step and say "You said i could come over" and you'll have to do something with us! haha!

As long as you have cards for trade, you are always welcome. Anyway I have got 2 spare rooms in my house anyway just in case I have got guest.
 
As long as you have cards for trade, you are always welcome. Anyway I have got 2 spare rooms in my house anyway just in case I have got guest.

Well i don't think the cards will be making the trip haha!! I may take you up on this just so you know!! :p
Where are you guys thinking of heading?

We'd like to see as much as possible. It's a long way to go to miss anything. That being said we aren't exactly rich so as much as we can within our budget. We'd like to venture over to New Zealand as well! We have no pre-determined starting point or any real plans made so any suggestions and help are welcome!
 
If you go to New Zealand, hire a camper and drive yourself around. You can park up in caravan sites which are around $30 a night for a powered site or less if you just park on the side of the road ;)

New Zealand is small enough you can drive around each of the islands (but don't think about going across the north and south islands via car - the ferry costs for the car alone will kill you!)

Australia is a whole new kettle of fish. Probably a good idea to do some research and decide where you want to go. To give you an idea, it's a 10 hour drive from Sydney to Brisbane (but only an 1 1/2 hours by plane) so it's not like you can just hop in the car and drive up the road. What do you want to do/see.
 
Yes we have had a few friends underestimate the sheer vastness of Australia.
Maybe if you let us know what time of year you are coming, what sort of work you are hoping to get.
Fruit picking is always a popular job part time for backpackers.
 
I remember when i was in Townsville a parcel went haywire and ended up with a post office in Brisbane. The postal worker on the phone (somewhere in vic/tas) was wondering if we could trundle down and pick it up....
 
Yes we have had a few friends underestimate the sheer vastness of Australia.
Maybe if you let us know what time of year you are coming, what sort of work you are hoping to get.
Fruit picking is always a popular job part time for backpackers.

We are thinking about coming within he next few months..probably sometime in october or november. As far as work goes, i don't think we are going to be overly picky! No pun intended (fruit picking). I love being outdoors but i have fair skin haha so don't burn me tooo badly aussie sun!
 
Yes we have had a few friends underestimate the sheer vastness of Australia.
Maybe if you let us know what time of year you are coming, what sort of work you are hoping to get.
Fruit picking is always a popular job part time for backpackers.

and also the cost of living :(

like everyone's said so far, have a plan of where you intend to stay and what you'd like to do first since there is vast difference between going to Sydney/Melbourne to going to Perth/Adelaide/Brisbane/(Hobart) or Darwin
 
and also the cost of living :(

like everyone's said so far, have a plan of where you intend to stay and what you'd like to do first since there is vast difference between going to Sydney/Melbourne to going to Perth/Adelaide/Brisbane/(Hobart) or Darwin

Ya...cost!! Anyone else willing to have someone stay with them?
 
Even if you have trouble finding free accommodation with forum members, backpacker hostels are cheap as dirt. My wife and I used to use them when we stayed overnight in Adelaide..admittedly we use hotels now but for travelling they are pretty cheap.

In terms of picking fruit, if you have a wide brimmed hat, plenty of sunscreen and a light long sleeved shirt you should be fine. It's hot and can be hard work but it's worth it, especially for the ice cold beer at the end of the day :D
 
We are also planning on working while we are there.


I will guess you have already looked at the appropriate visa information, if you land at the airport here without it and say you are here to work you could be sent back on the next plane. If you are aged 18 to 30 then a Working Holiday Visa is what you will need. There is a cost and you might be able to apply online or through the Australian Embassy, Consulate, near where you are.
 
I will guess you have already looked at the appropriate visa information, if you land at the airport here without it and say you are here to work you could be sent back on the next plane. If you are aged 18 to 30 then a Working Holiday Visa is what you will need. There is a cost and you might be able to apply online or through the Australian Embassy, Consulate, near where you are.

Yup we've looked into the cost and we are both between 18 and 30....It's hard to decide where to go when we really don't know a lot about australia or really what we want to see haha

@nathanblack & anakinleo - really? kind of inappropriate i think.
 
Yup we've looked into the cost and we are both between 18 and 30....It's hard to decide where to go when we really don't know a lot about australia or really what we want to see haha

@nathanblack & anakinleo - really? kind of inappropriate i think.

Not at all. I've got spare rooms anyway. Once you get a better idea on where and when you planning to visit, just drop me a PM. Cheers Alex.
 
In Feb my sister and her boyfriend started their journey around Australia...they plan on spending 3 years doing it. They've been stopping and working along the way. They stopped and did Hops farming in Victoria for about a month which also gave them free accomodation. Currently they are in Alice Springs and she is doing some waitress work and he is handymaning it at a local resort.
 
If you make it the gold coast we may be able to catch up,We can talk about our green collections in person.:cool:
 
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