So you’ve decided to start your adventure in Australia:  amazing!  Australia has an abundance of opportunities when it comes to travel, adventure, finding friends, finding yourself and earning some money!

If you’re visiting Australia on a Working Holiday Visa this gives you a great advantage in that, as well as travelling around this fabulous country, you’ll be able to do a bit of paid work as well to either fund future travels or give you a bit more spending money in Oz.

So what do you need to know about working in Australia?

1. You need a Tax File Number

Whether you’re an Australian resident or just a visitor you need a Tax File Number, or TFN, but you can’t apply for it until you’re actually in Australia.  By law you don’t have to have one, but it means that you’ll get taxed properly (ie. not too much!) and when it comes to applying for your taxback you’ll find it much easier.

The most annoying thing about applying for a TFN is that, even if you apply online, you still need to provide an address to have the document sent to; if you’re getting yours sent to your hostel, try letting the manager or front desk know that you’re expecting something important so it doesn’t get mislaid.

Or you can kickstart your working holiday visa (including TFN and bank account setup) with our Australia Working Holiday Visa Packages!

2. It helps to have an Australian Bank Account

If you’re going to be in Australia for an extended period of time (and with a working holiday visa this could be up to 2 years) it helps to open an Australian bank account.  This way you’ll be able to get paid from an Australian employer without losing any of your wages to transfers and exchange rates and you’ll always have free access to your hard earned dollars.

Again, this is something that you can only do once you’re in the country so once you’re settled hop into the city and choose your bank!  You’ll probably need to take some documents with you like your passport so check with the branch what you’ll need beforehand,  but the great thing is that most banks will happily have your card sent to a specified branch instead of an address so you can just go and pick it up!

3. Beware the Gumtree curse!

Gumtree’s a great way to start your job hunt but for every good, genuine, ‘not-selling-my-soul-for-a-sale’ job, there are usually 10 other jobs promising you the world and more in return for working for their company.  There genuinely are some great companies out there looking to hire backpackers short or long term, pay them a decent wage and reward them with treats or commisions but it becomes really difficult to find them between the less-genuine companies who, in return for a couple of free drinks at the nearest hostel on a Friday night, will treat you like crap for the rest of the week.  Also, check where the company is actually based before you hit ‘apply’ – sometimes the advertiser will pretend to be based in the CBD just to appear in the most search results.  Smeeky sneeky!

My advice?  Steer clear of any Gumtree advert titled “New Funky Company Seeks Loud, Outrageous, Confident, Crazy Party Animals/Sales Guns’ or similar…

4. Expect to get paid between $15 – $24 AUD

There are many deciding factors when it comes to what your employer chooses to pay you (job classification and your age are just two) but if you’re over 20 years old you shouldn’t get less than $15/hour.  When I first arrived in Australia in June 2010 I was earning $22/hour which in comparison to what I was earning back home in the UK, was loads!  But generally things are a bit more expensive in Oz too so it’s all relative!

5. Seek.com.au is a good website for jobs

As we’ve already established you have to be a bit wary with Gumtree, but with Seek you can let you guard down a bit; yes it’s usually the go-to job website for professionals but that’s not to say that you can’t find jobs for backpackers on there too.  I found my first ever job in Australia on Seek!  Be aware that a lot of the  jobs you apply for will be through an agency and use this to your advantage by asking your point of contact if they’ve anything else suitable for you when they get in touch.

6. If you want to serve alcohol you have to learn about it first

Back home in the UK, as long as you can pull a pint, work a till and string a sentence together you can work in a bar but in Australia for some reason they’re way more strict about it so you

need to do an RSA (or equivilent) and get a certificate before you can legally serve alcohol; a typical RSA course costs about $70 and it only takes a day.

The worst bit?  Each state in Australia has a different set of rules when it comes to serving alcohol so you can expect to have to resit your current RSA online before finding work in another bar when you move cities.

7. You get paid superannuation

Superannuation (or Super) is money that your employer sets aside for you (in a Superfund) every time they pay you and it’s usually about 9%.  The great news is that, even though Australian residents can’t access their superfunds until they’re at retirement age, visitors on working holiday visas can claim back the money in their superfund when they leave the country for good.  Think of it as a savings account for when you leave and Oz and go home or continue your travels!

My advice? You might work for a few different companies while you’re in Oz – to make it easier to claim back when you leave, have all of your Super money paid into one Superfund.

8. You can claim back some of the tax you’ve paid

Unfortunately everyone has to pay tax but you can claim some of it back at the end of every financial year. In the UK, you might be lucky to receive a tax rebate from the Government without really having to do much but here in Australia, you have to file the tax claim yourself.  The tax year ends in June each year so you can claim back your tax then or as soon as you leave Australia. And with an average refund of $2,500AUD it’s well worth it!

You can quickly and easy claim your Australian tax back direct with us using this link.

9. Personality and willingness to learn trumps experience

This is a pretty sweeping statement but from my experiences in Australia personally, I’ve found that as long as you can show that you’re keen, friendly and willing to learn employers will give you a chance.  Some people come from the school of thought that backpackers are terrible employees and can’t be relied on but, as fas as my experiences go, Australian companies know that you want to earn money, work hard and get the job done so you can keep travelling.  Obviously experience helps but I wouldn’t let it stop me applying for job where I didn’t any in that field.

10. There are lots of opportunities!

Whether you want to work behind a bar, behind a desk or even behind a tractor, there are loads of job opportunities for backpackers in Australia.  Some hostels will even let you stay rent free for working for them!  You can find jobs on websites but make sure you check out adverts on hostel noticeboard and ask people you know are already employed if there are any openings at their company.

Australia’s a great place to work (and play!) and I hope these tips have given you a bit of an insight into what you can expect if you’re planning on working here.

Heading to Australia soon?

Check out our Melbourne Working holiday Visa Packages and kickstart your time down under!

Also Download The Ultimate Guide to Working & Travelling in Australia by award winning blogger Backpacker Banter here!

The post 10 Things You Need To Know About Working in Australia appeared first on RTW Backpackers.

The short version of it is that I’m now single again after 2 years and I jetted off to Ecuador at the beginning of January, signalling the start of my next long term travel plan.

All this change and slight uncertainty has made me questions why I travel and how I’ve ended up on the path I’m currently walking.

And I’ve come to the conclusion that I use travel as a tool to run away and distract myself.

Full Circle

My first gap year to Australia was planned way back in late 2008.

At the point I was with a girl who I’d been dating for just over 3 years, and who was aware that I was wanting to travel. Initially my plans were to head down under for 3months – covering the east coast, Sydney for Xmas and new year and finishing off in Melbourne with some buddies who had moved out there.

A nice simple plan which would mean a brief period of long distance love.

But the longer the relationship went on and the more arguments we had the more drawn out my Aussie travels became.

Eventually it culminated in a massive argument, the ending of a 4 year relationship, a few too many beers and me purchasing a working holiday visa – which landed me in Australia a few months later, where I stayed and played for an entire year.

At the time it seemed like a slightly rash decision to make, but it’s the best decision I ever made. It grew me as a person, allowed me to clear my head and I came home with an exciting future of travel with a beautiful girl who I’d met along the way.

A further year down the line and a whole heaps of arguments later I once again found myself throwing away another relationship to go head back out on the road.

But was I ending the relationship because I wanted to go and travel or was I traveling because I ended the relationship?

Why I Travel

I have pondered on that thought alot recently and on why I travel in general. One of the main reasons behind all my adventures is to surf, it’s been my passion for the last decade and is firmly routed behind most of the decisions I make. I do however tend to use it as an excuse for alot of things – rash decisions included.

I also travel because I want to experience the world and explore the unknown. I want to see new things, photograph them and meet heaps of new people.

But the more I think about it the more I realise that a large part of my travelling experience is escapism.

Through my travels I escape the 9-5 grind that many of my friends have become helplessly trapped in. I’m sure this is the reasoning behind many a backpackers decision and something all gap years travellers have I the back of their minds, the postponing of work and ‘real life’.

I also use it to escape the English weather and climate – again another common reason for travel. Everyone enjoys the sun and leaving behind the rainy UK winter, and indeed summer!

It has however become apparent that I use travel as an excuse to avoid alot of other responsibilities, and as the easy option when it comes to making changes, decisions and confronting difficult periods in my life.

Mainly relationships it seems.

So far is worked out pretty well. I had an epic year in Australia and settled into Byronian living – my home away from home.

And this time I’d scored my dream job surf coaching in South America and I’ve also sorted a long term flight ticket that will take me over 18,000 miles through various places on the way to New Zealand.

Both seem like pretty amazing experiences right?

But this travel is underlined with the fact it’s cost me alot. Not just financially but emotionally.

At some point I will run out of places to run to and have to step up and face my fears – the fear of actually having to deal with the day to day issues of normal life and big decisions.

Everyone travels for their own reasons – and I’m sure I’m not the only one who uses it as a way to escape, whether intentionally or not.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see if this latest move of escapism is another stroke of glorious genius or a step too far…I’m sure it’ll entail some fun along the way though!

Have you jetted off to a far flung place to escape, did it help, or did you simply not questions what you were doing?!

The post I Think I Use Travel To Escape… appeared first on RTW Backpackers.

Spend just a few days in Australia and it becomes clear that language barriers do exist….you just have to know how to get round them!

It all starts with a visit to the pub, of course., or  hotels as they’re sometimes called in Australia.  You’re ready to order a pint of whatever it is you’re drinking and suddenly notice something rather alarming;

Wait, those aren’t pint glasses!

No, they’re schooner glasses and it’s basically the norm in Australia for a lager or ale to be served in one.  A schooner is 425ml, about 3/4 of a pint.  A friend told me a few weeks ago that beers are served this way as, if you were to sit in the Australian sun with a pint you’d probably get halfway through and find yourself drinking warm beer (never good) but I also sense it’s something to do with the stricter alcohol rules which Australia also has in place.

There are some pubs where you can buy a pint but you can also ask for something called a pot which holds 285ml  – you’ll often find that you’ll get a free pot of beer with a meal in some pubs as a meal deal.

The above applies to Queensland and Victoria but in New South Wales for some reason a pot is called a middie.

In South Australia and pot is a schooner.

In Western Australia a pot measures 575ml which, being slightly more than a pint, is usually just called a pint by all the English people living there.

Confused yet?

Maybe it’s time for a lie down……but not on the duvet.  Nope, in Australia a duvet is called a doona.

Maybe you wanted to drink at your hostel though instead of at the pub?  For this you’d need to go to the Bottle-O or bottle shop, generally an off license where you can buy 24 bottles or cans in a carton called a slab, a few stubbies (small, 375ml bottle of beer) or a tallie (a long-necked bottle of beer.)

Ooooh and don’t forget the goon; yes, it’s a gross cheap wine in a bag but it’s cheaper this way to get blotto, loose or magotted!

At some point you’re going to have to eat though right?

In Australia a pepper is a capsicum and an aubergine is an eggplant.

A courgette is a zucchini and if you want a toasted sandwich you need to ask for a jaffle.

A chicken is a chook and a lolly is what we’d probably refer to as sweets or candy.

tasty cheese is cheddar cheese and cheddar cheese is that plastic cheese normally reserved for barbeques and kids lunch boxes.

Want a sausage from the barbeque?  Ask for a snag and if you’re having it in between two pieces of bread it’s a sanger.

Many of the food names though are just shortened versions of the original.  If a word can be shortened you can guarantee that it will be in Australia:

Avocados are avos

Brecky is breakfast

Throw another shrimp (read prawn) on the barbie and get a stubbie from the Esky – an esky is an insulated container for food and drinks, usually taken to the beach to keep your beers cold!

That famous Australian dessert, the pavlova?  Call it a pav.

Need to pop to the corner shop?  Here it’s a milk bar.

And there’s no need to waste your breath asking for a cappuccino, that’s far too much effort, just call it a cap!

And these are just a few of the many ‘Australianisms’ I’ve come across!  Can you think of any more?

The post The Beginner’s Guide to the Australian Language appeared first on RTW Backpackers.

But how can you travel Australia’s East Coast and see everything it has to offer?

1. Take a flight

There are two main budget airlines for domestic flights in australia are Jetstar and Virgin Australia (formerly Virgin Blue), both will get you pretty much anywhere on the East Coast, providing you’re not fussy about having to get a bus or taxi from the airport.

How about flying from Sydney or Melbourne to Ballina where, after a 30 minute bus journey you could be exploring Byron Bay or fly from Brisbane to Prosperine where you can sail, dive and snorkel your way around The Whitsunday Islands?

You can easily plan your trip to Gold Coast with Expedia and try your hand (or feet!) at surfing in Surfers Paradise, touch down at Cairns airport to explore the Great Barrier Reef, stick around Sydney to find the perfect balance between beach and city-living and while away your time in Melbourne with coffee and cake in one of its many cafes.

Flying isn’t always the cheapest option but if you’re looking to get somewhere quickly and conveniently then it’s definitely the way to go.

2. Book a bus journey

Greyhound Australia and Oz Experience both have different packages you can use to travel Australia’s entire East Coast in one go or, if you’re planning on working in Australia or just staying longer in places you like, you can opt for a 12 month pass – just use the calculator on their website to work out how many kilometres you’ll need over the year and you’re away!

The great thing about travelling by bus is that it actually stops at the most popular destinations – you can see the entire East Coast by bus easily without the hassle of airport transfers and departure lounges and you’ll easily make friends along the way.  Prepare for a bumpy ride though!

3. Hire a Campervan

Ah the traveller’s dream!  Riding around the country in a campervan, getting back to nature, cooking on a camping stove, beers on the beach – perfect.  Thankfully there are a huge amount of companies in Australia who want to make this dream come true, for a price of course.

The most popular choices are Jucy, Wicked Campers and Spaceships but there are smaller companies as well.  This is when your negotiation skills come in handy as your try and play one of against the other in a bid to get the best deal: to be honest, it works!

You can also check to see if there are any relocation deals available too – this means that, usually for something ridiculous like $1/day, you can ‘relocate’ a campervan to a specific depot in a certain amount of time.

Campervanning is the ultimate adventure and ensures that you get to see, stay and do whatever you want in your own time frame.

4. Hitch a Ride Part 1

This one takes a bit of courage but once you’ve stuck your thumb out a few times you’ll get used to it.  Obviously hitchhiking your way up the East Coast isn’t the most conventional way to travel and so you’re going to have to get used to being flexible.  There won’t always be someone driving where you want to go and you’ll have to change plans – it could be the best thing you ever did though; meeting new people and living one day to the next without any plans can be exciting!

Obviously if you’re going to hitchhike it goes without saying that you need to be careful and stay safe especially if you’re travelling alone.  Stay in contact with friends or family via text, keep your wits about you and don’t try and hitch a ride in the dark.

5. Hitch a ride Part 2

Wait, didn’t we already cover this?  Well, no.  Scour the noticeboards in any Australian hostel or even just pop onto Gumtree and you’ll find heaps of people already driving somewhere who want a road trip buddy or are willing to take a passenger, usually just for the cost of petrol money.

Again, this requires a lot more planning and a flexible approach but it’s definitely a fun way to meet people, have an adventure and catch a cheap ride!

How did you travel Australia’s East Coast?

The post 5 Ways To Travel Australia’s East Coast appeared first on RTW Backpackers.

Incomprehensible station names, crazy interchanges and around 7 million passengers a day; taking the Moscow metro can prove pretty daunting for a first-time visitor to the Russian capital. But let’s be frank, this underground system is the mother of all metros. Its beautiful chandeliers, mosaics, sculptures and statues make it an attraction in itself. And it’s not all about its looks. The metro is also cheap (60 Rubles will buy you a ticket valid for 5 trips city-wide) impeccably clean and trains surprisingly run on time. Spanning almost the entire Russian capital it’s by far the best way to get around so here’s how to do it…

Get through the door

It may seem a little obvious but making it through the incredibly heavy doors without getting a broken nose is the first challenge. The constant piston action of trains pushing air through the tunnels creates some sort of vacuum meaning the doors swing shut so you’ll need to use all your force to push them open.

Learn the lingo

If you’re not familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet, its crazy shapes and symbols make reading the station stops pretty impossible, as they don’t tally with the English names on your map. Learning the language is obviously the best way around this but getting your hostel/hotel to write down the name of your destination in Russian should help you to identify where you need to go.

Use your hands

If you haven’t succeeded to learn the language (see above point) then you’ll need to revert to age-old sign language to buy a ticket from the kiosk. Tickets are either sold individually or in groups of 5, 10, 20 or 60 so use your fingers to signal how many you want. The price is usually shown on the kiosk window (thank god numbers are universal) so you’ll know how much to hand to the woman. Smile is not included.

Ignore the sleeping woman

At the bottom of each escalator there is a glass cabin and inside sits a woman. Her job is to sit there all day looking up at the escalator, monitor the comings and goings of commuters and make loud speaker announcements to anyone who does not obey the escalator rules.  She is usually fast asleep but even so, don’t look her in the eye.

Ask younger people for advice

Do not expect Muscovites to speak anything other than Russian so swatting up on a few key phrases  (such as “how do I get to Red Square?”) is invaluable for getting around. As in most European countries, the younger generation is more likely to have studied English at school so if you need help, try approaching someone who looks fairly youthful.

Keep your passport on you

Don’t be surprised if you’re stopped by the police and asked to show your identification. It is standard practice so don’t start blubbing as soon as they appear but you will need to produce your documents. If you don’t feel comfortable carrying your passport with you, a photocopy should suffice.

And finally… Take your time

With stained glass windows, Swarovski-dripping chandeliers and mosaics expounding the benefits of a healthy communist life, the metro stations are architectural marvels in themselves. Make sure you book in some time to simply go from stop to stop and gawp at the grand designs. You wouldn’t do that in London and New York now would you?

Have you been to Moscow? How did you find using the metro? Any tips you’d add to the above?

The post How to Use the Moscow Metro in 7 Steps appeared first on RTW Backpackers.

• You have the sudden urge to wear anklets/foot jewellery/random bits of string
• Drinking excessively on a weekday is completely normal
• …and being sober is an odd sensation and kinda painful!
• Beard growing, dreadlocks and general hairiness are actively encouraged (sometimes referring to both sexes!)
• When you won’t spend $4 on a meal, but will blow $20 on booze without a second thought
• You’ll haggle over 10baht with complete stubbornness – despite it only being 30p
• Suntan cream and bug spray are your biggest expenses
• Trying to sleep in a room where people are having sex is something you just deal with
• The swimming pool DOES count as a shower (failing that public beach showers are the way forward)
• Wifi is the deal breaker when looking for a bed for the night
• Sleeping in a van at the side of the road is living the dream

  

• Shoes are no longer part of your day to day dress code
• …and wearing a tshirt is “getting dressed up”
• …you also genuinely can’t remember the last time you wore socks!
• Jumping out of a plane is a standard day out
• You post status updates on Facebook for no other reason that to annoy your friends at home
• You have no idea how much money you actually have – but you’re sure it’s enough
• Smelling your clothes is how you pick what to wear (aka “sniff and see!”)
• This rule also applies to food!
• The free food shelf is a gold mine
• You have 800+ Facebook friends but can only really remember a handful of them
• You’ve perfected the squat toilet technique
• Tiger balm cures EVERYTHING
• Your iPod is your most treasured possession
• If its free, you’ll take – regardless of whether you like/want/need it!
• You save money by putting apples through as onions on self serve supermarket tils!
• You can tell anyone the price of booze and where happy hour is…but have non clue about what the time is

  

• …or what day of the week it is (see airport transfer concerns!)
• The only local language you know is how to swear, order a beer and chat up girls/guys at the bar
• You have a massive craving for things like PG Tips, Heinz Baked Beans, Peanut Butter….
• You steal toilet paper from places simply so you don’t have to buy it
• Being able to juggle, dread hair or play with fire suddenly seems like a good career path
• “I’ll do that tomorrow” actually translates as “I’ll leave it to the last minute or forget”
• You can name every possession you own
• …and where in your bag you need to locate it at 3am in a dark hostel dorm
• Which also means airline baggage handlers are your arch nemesis
• A 31 hour bus/ferry/train combo is preferential over the extra $40 it’ll cost to fly there in 3 hours

So how many have you guys ticked off – or is that list simply making you wary about hitting the road?!

The post You Know You’re a Backpacker When… appeared first on RTW Backpackers.

Lust – Amsterdam, Holland

Amsterdam is as notorious for its red light district as it is for its for its quirky, artistic and ultra laid-back attitude. Hordes of scantily clad women (and men) line the streets of the Wallen acting as a huge draw for punters and window shoppers across the globe to ogle or indulge their fantasies.

Pride – Los Angeles, USA

The city of angels; where fake boobs, big hair and compact noses are more commonplace than hot meals. From the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to the uber-chic boutiques of Beverley Hills, LA is the place where people spare no expense to look their very best.

Greed – Las Vegas, USA

From all-you-can-eat buffets to never-ending drink re-fills and all-night gambling, the Nevada desert town is the ultimate Sin City. With everything in abundance and no check on time it’s hard to stop.

Envy – Dubai, UAE

A city of superlatives, Dubai boasts the most expensive, the biggest, the grandest, the tallest… of just about everything. From its super-sleek mall boutiques to its decadent hotels, be prepared for the green-eyed monster to rear its ugly head.

Gluttony – Paris, France

Where else can you indulge your food fetish than in the capital of haute cuisine: Paris. With secret street markets, bistros, cafes and restaurants aplenty, eating and drinking in Paris takes on a very new dimension.

Stand on the wrong side of the escalator during rush hour or walk slowly down the street and you’ll see a cloud of red mist rise above commuters’ heads. What’s more during the north London derby be prepared for friendly football rivalry to turn somewhat sour.

Sloth – Barbados, Caribbean

The locals pride themselves on their relaxed and laid-back lifestyle so you’d be excused for taking things a little slower here. From catching some rays on the beach to wiling away the afternoon in a hammock the most you’ll have to move is to flag down the waiter for another rum cocktail.

The post Best Places to Indulge The Deadly Sins… appeared first on RTW Backpackers.

Seems like there is an upside to the economic global downturn after all.

Singapore Airlines, in a bid to attract more tourists to Singapore, is offering hotel rooms for just £1 a night.

If you choose to stopover at the minute Asian country en route elsewhere you can snap up the deal at a snazzy hotel such as the Grand Pacific and get a free transfer. All for less than a cheeseburger.

And any additional nights will be discounted by up to 56 per cent.

As the airline serves onward destinations across south east Asia and Australasia including Koh Samui (Thailand), Penang (Malaysia), Adelaide (Australia), Hanoi (Vietnam), Siem Riep and (Cambodia) it’s a pretty good deal. Plus flights to Singapore are currently only around the £400 mark.

Sean Tipton of the Association of British Travel Agents – The Travel Association said: “The travel industry sometimes offers amazing deals like this outside of peak periods when demand is low and many hotel rooms and airline seats are unoccupied.

“If you are lucky enough to be able to travel when these offers are around you can make some incredible savings.”

Fancy taking up the offer? Do you think Singapore is worth visiting as a backpacker? 

The post Travel News: Singapore Hotel Rooms For Just £1 appeared first on RTW Backpackers.