Australia: Expensive? You're kidding, right!!
by Jonny Blair
Who told you Australia was expensive? Someone that didn't do it on the cheap like me...
I've lost track of how many people that have told me that Australia is an expensive place to travel. They must be living the luxury lifestyle if that's the case. Australia, if anything was one of the cheapest places I have ever travelled round, so much so that I made bucketloads of money when I was there, indeed enough to take 4 months off work. People, and particularly young backpackers are clearly going to the wrong spots, or perhaps ill-informed, badly prepared or simply spending money in the wrong way. Here's 12 reasons to prove the myth wrong, all from my own experience of living in Australia.
1. Sleeping - OK, yes, hostels are great, but you have to take a break from them. Don't be spending your entire time in hostels getting drunk! Camping is by far the best option for living and travelling cheaply in the land down under. You can find a cheap tent for $15 - 20 and in some places you will be able to camp out for free. Make your cheap tent your home for the next few months as you "backpack" and camp your way round Australia. Lots of campsites have toilets and showers too, and some of them are even close to places where you can get part time and temporary seasonal or harvest jobs.
2. Eating - If you really want to eat out, head to pubs that have $10 steaks and similar offers. They often also give you a beer or a soft drink as part of the offer. A useful hint I used while in Australia is checking out pubs or bars that offer cheap big meals and monitor the times they apply. I noticed that most of them are around lunchtime - that's when they have the most specials. Come on it's hardly a big deal to transfer your biggest meal of the day from dinner to lunch. You can easily just eat cereals and toast for breakfast. And you're a backpacker so don't be afraid to head into Hungry Jacks or McDonalds for a cheap breakfast. Hungry Jacks also offer unlimited refills on drinks - so why not take your flask in and top it up? They're won't chase you out you're a paying customer. McDonalds also offers free wi-fi. You can always fall back on good old vegemite sandwiches! One of my favourites!
3. Transport - Don't be getting flights around Australia! I lived there for a couple of years and I never used an internal flight. Use the bus company Greyhound and book them early, even better idea is to hook up with others, get a car and off you go on a road trip - you have a car now which you should equip for sleeping in and stay on or near campsites with it. Cut your costs by sharing petrol and sharing lifts to work. Also if you are getting a Greyhound bus get it at night so that you save money on accommodation. These are simple and obvious things by the way but often neglected by travellers. Other good places to look are hostel notice boards and local travel websites. Gumtree and Facebook can also be useful.
4. Apply for and get a valid Working Visa (of some sort) - You're going to an isolated country so if you are eligible for a working visa - get it - you're likely to be offered work anyway, I cannot understand those who go there and don't bother getting a working visa - even if you are only going for 2 months, you can easily pick up a bit of temporary work in Australia. Temporary jobs are available everywhere and only a fool would arrive in Australia without the options to work. In a week you can easily earn over 1000 AUD, as I was doing.
5. Don;t pay entrance fees into places. There's a host of FREE things for you to see and do in the land down under. For example - hiking, fancy dress parties (make your costume), beaches, walking round cities etc. Some museums are even free as is walking along Sydney Harbour Bridge. Save money on wildlife viewing too. Australian marsupials such as kangaroos, wallabies and koalas can all be found in the wild for free so don't be paying entry to theme parks. A decent spot to see Koala Bears is Kennet River on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. Kangaroos and wallabies are hard to miss if you get out of the cities...
6. Money saving coupons, tokens and vouchers - Seriously these types of coupons are everywhere and most travellers miss them. Try picking up leaflets and magazines in bars, travel agents, bus stations, airports etc and you will be extremely surprised to hear that they often contain money off and free entry vouchers. Sometimes you even get a free beer - head to the bar to get your free beer then leave!
7. Woolworths and Coles value brands - i remember meeting a couple of English girls moaning about the price of everything in Australia while drinking Del Monte orange juice for breakfast along with Kellogg's Cornflakes! If you can't take yourself down a rung or two for a few weeks or months by buying the value brands, then you honestly have no ground to stand on moaning about the price of things!
8. Don't Go To Nightclubs after 10pm - At weekends and after 9 or 10 pm most bars and nightclubs tend to charge entrance fees and put the price of drinks up. Why bother paying more for your drink. If you really must go to a club, go on a weeknight and head in before 9pm. But honestly the best option is to head to the Bottle Shop (Liquor Store/Off Licence) and get a takeaway (carryout) and drink at the hostel or campsite with your new mates. These nights are often the best!
9. Don't Spend Too Much Time On the Internet - Facebook is great and all that but seriously you didn't go to Australia just to tell other people where you are and what you're doing. So stop moaning about the price of the internet - yes it costs a lot so don't pay it - simple. Here's a few alternatives (if you have brought a laptop with you) - eat at McDonalds and use their free wi-fi, buy a coffee in an internet cafe that has wi-fi (at least you have a coffee for your money), stay in a hostel that has free wi-fi. If you don't have a laptop - borrow from travel buddies if you really need to get online. And a long term cheaper option is to buy a USB stick which acts as a wireless internet modem - this is only recommended if you plan on staying in Australia for a while.
10. Try not to book things in advance. Despite what you hear - don't be bookings too many things in advance. Advance bookings normally mean deposits and in Australia your plans change a lot so that hostel you just booked a night in for 2 weeks time might just be a wasted deposit as you've met another group of backpackers doing a road trip and now you're going with them. Only book something if you are 100% SURE you'll be doing it.
11. Laundry - The obvious is to wear the same clothes over and over again, and hand wash them. Done that myself manys a time. If you really feel the need to use laundry - get 2-3 cotton buds on sticks and stick them in the coin slots in the machines to get free laundry. Most of you reading will know this trick. A well known travellers "secret".
12. Fake student ID - Again things become cheaper when you pull out a student card. Nobody really cares if its fake or not. Give it a risk and save some dollars.
So all in all - get yourself to Australia and do it on the cheap. It really is a wonderful country to explore your way around. You will just love it.
Go to Australia, economise, live cheap and love it. You'll probably have better fun than those you don't and come away moaning about the price of the wonderful land down under.
For more resourceful advice on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/dymu3vp">doing Australia on the cheap</a> check out Jonny Blair's resourceful travel, work and lifestyle site <a href="http://tinyurl.com/d739bzx">Dont Stop Living</a>.. This article, <a href="http://www.uberarticles.com/home.php?id=1747219&p=68737">Australia: Expensive? You're kidding, right!!</a> is available for free reprint.
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