As you probably already know, I am going to fly to Melbourne, Australia next week and start my work & travel adventure. I am already super excited, but also very nervous and a bit afraid of all the new things that will come my way.
In this post, I want to give you an overview over the plan I have (even tho there isn’t much that I have planned), resources I used and recommend to inform yourself for your own work & travel experience, as well as expectations I have for my gap year.
My Plan
Everyone says that you shouldn’t plan too much (or at all?) because it will end up differently anyway and you can’t be prepared for every situation. But there are a few things that I did plan.
I fly with Qatar Airways on September 20th from Frankfurt to Melbourne with a stopover in Doha, Katar. For the first three nights I pre-booked a bed in a 4-bed-female-Dorm at the Nomads All Nations Hostel in Melbourne.
At the end of October, my cousin will fly to Sydney and we’ll explore the city and probably drive up north to Byron Bay and back to Sydney.
Afterwards, I thought about flying to Perth, Western Australia to explore this area of Australia until I’ll fly to Cains to meet my parents in mid-December.
Then I’ll drive with my family in a Camper down the East Coast, celebrate Christmas and end in Sydney on New Years Evening.
In May I am going to be an AuPair on the Sunshine Coast (near Brisbane) for a family with five kids and I am already super excited about that!
And then I’ll fly to Bali in mid-July to meet my best friends and explore the islands and Bangkok, Singapur, Chiang Mai and Kuala Lumpur before I fly back home.
That’s it – nothing more is planned. I’ll just follow my heart and see where it brings me.
Now I’ll share some great resources to get information, inspiration, motivation and more! I hope that my blog and my articles that I’ve planned for my trip will be a great resource for you as well – so stay tuned!
Books
I am obviously not going to take any books with me, but I made a document with the places I want to go (separated for every city/region) and another one with tips, internet pages and more that I’ll have on my laptop. That way I always have something to do for the first days in a new place.
A guide for your W&T experience in Australia* with lots of info and tips. I wouldn’t say it’s necessary to read a book like that, because you can find all the information on the internet for free, but it’s still a helpful guide.
A W&T diary* with many tips on where to go & what to do, plus a lot of inspiration and anticipation. Many pretty pictures to underline his travels and it makes me really want to write my own diary book!
Another great Work & Travel Australia story* that I really enjoyed reading! I probably wouldn’t recommend buying and reading so many books about it, because it’s not necessary at all, but I already knew for many years back in school that I want to do it, so I needed the time to go faster until I can start travelling :D
This book* tells you about some unexpected different habits Aussie’s have that you may not know. Funny to read and some things I didn’t already know.
I also got a book with the Highlights of Australia* and a Travel Guide for Australia that I used to find must-dos and beautiful places I want to go to.
Helpful articles
- About travelling alone: 1, 2
- Writing an Australian CV
- Costs for one year in Australia
- Many articles on what to pack: 1, 2, 3, 4 (cause everyone has their own preferences)
- and many more articles on what to do on Pinterest!
Websites & Booking
I booked my Open-Return Ticket to Australia here! They offer great deals and it’s super easy.
Hostelworld.com is where I booked my first three nights in Melbourne. But later I found the same hostel for cheaper at booking.com so now I have both apps on my mobile and I’m going to check who has the best deals.
I also signed up to couchsurfing and downloaded the app and maybe I’ll find somewhere to stay for free. And I also want to look into housecarers and trustedhousesitters to maybe find a housesitting job.
To find my Au Pair Family I used aupairworld and I can highly recommend it because there is no organisation or company behind it, so you don’t pay anything to them and you get to choose your family yourself.
Apps
Here are some more apps I downloaded (besides the ones I mentioned above).
- Here we go – where I downloaded the map of Australia so I can use it offline
- Money Control – to budget my money and have an eye on my spends
- Dropbox – so safe important documents
- Bank App – the app to my bank so I can make transfers and check my bank account from my phone
- Spotify – so I can listen to music and podcasts on the go (I have the premium membership so I can download and listen offline)
YouTube
- Minimal packing
- Hostel living
- Travelling alone: 1, 2
- Travelling on a Budget
- this Channel has many great videos about W&T and travelling in general
Expectations for my Gap Year
I know I should let everything come as it should and I shouldn’t have expectations, dreams and hopes for my year in Australia. But that’s just not how I work. I love making plans, setting goals, having to-do lists and such, so I obviously couldn’t hold myself back…
- making lots of unforgettable experiences and memories
- meeting lovely people, travelling together for a while
- leaning to be more spontaneous
- travelling alone, spending time with myself, learning to enjoy my own presence
- being open to new people, opportunities and chances
- growing as a person and overcoming my comfort zone
- getting to know Australia and the Aussie’s not just as a tourist but more deeply
- walking, running, hiking a lot and explore by foot
- still doing yoga and sport on my travel
- learn to surf
- work on a farm and as a fruit picker
- eating mostly plant-based vegan and as healthy & cheap as possible most of the time
- eat the typical Shepherds Pie (veggie)
- trying the healthy vegan food spots in Sydney, Melbourne, Byron Bay…
- living a minimalistic life and learning to feel great with owning less
- eating Acai Bowls with a view over the sea
- watching sunrise and sunsets at the beach
- taking pretty pictures and still posting blog posts frequently
- starting to make videos
- writing a travel diary
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* Dies ist ein Affiliate Link. Wenn du etwas über diesen Link kaufst, bekomme ich eine kleine Provision und du unterstützt mich und meine Arbeit. Der Preis ändert sich für dich dabei natürlich nicht. Danke!