Hi

My names mark, im from essex in the uk. Im travelling to oz for hopefully for a year, maybe a second year and would like to know if anyone else is around sep/oct and where most people start. I'll be travelling alone and will be looking for people to make friends with. I will also looking for work eg harvest and construction.

What way do people travel around the country, as i was thinking of starting in the east coast but now having second thoughts as i would like to go to Sydney for christmas and nye.

Im really excited and cant wait to meet new people and have loads of fun.

any info from anyone and people in the same boat would help

thanks

There's Lucinder on 12 months in Aus from UK...where to go and what to do..??!!! Mark but chances are that you will find a heap of other younger people on the same plane on any trip and there'll already be a heap more people you'll find when here already doing the Aussie trek about.

There's a lot of hype about Sydney for Xmas and NYE but what's for sure is that it gets awfully crowded and all cheap accomodation readily booked when they start taking bookings [ about June/July ] so best to get in early iof you want to maintain that plan.

September/October re work is a good time to start up north on the east coast, work available on Atherton tablelands which is hinterland of Cairns and further south in Burdekin river irrigation area, inland from Ayr which is south of Townsville, and then various areas to north/north west of Bundaberg/Childers and about that area too and as you head down through the Sunshine Coast.
Check out Harvest Trail - Harvest jobs - Australian JobSearch

So if you fly into Cairns, a good chance you can get some work to supplement funds as you head down to Sydney or find somewhere great to hang out for Xmas/NYE on the way, for if you do the three months seasonal work for a second WHV, there'll always be the next year.

If you haven't booked flights yet, have a look at Welcome to AirAsia.com, The World's Best Low-Cost Airline for cheap flights ex Stansted in UK to KL and then have a look at Cheap flights - Jetstar Airways as they have some flights out of Asia to Cairns [ might be via Darwin ] or airasia fly KL to the Gold Coast [ just south of Brisbane ] and there's often flight specials of about $100 for Brisbane to Cairns - Cheap Flights & Airfares - Compare Domestic and International Airlines - Webjet.com.au for checking and book direct with the airline.

You could also fly in to Perth on west coast and possibly get some work over that way and then about Adelaide region in SA and on through Victoria and up to NSW but weather up to Xmas time will be far better heading towards Sydney from the north amd then post Xmas/NY you could look south and west for better weather and more time before heading up to the far north of WA and NT.
Pearling industry work can sometimes be available at Broome from about May on for several months.

You will also see in a couple of threads in this section that I mention setting roots down for six months somewhere so you can qualify as a resident for taxation purposes and that can save you a heap in tax - Australian Taxation Office Homepage for details.

You'll have the chance of meeting heaps of people as you travel about and as for travel, there's bus and rail passes and even a limited airpass - Regional Express :: Home which could be a great deal for a month or two of concentrated travel about the SE, and then you'll find many people getting together might fund a vehicle between themselves or someone might already have a vehicle and will be looking for travellers to share the cost.
Wherever you land, get about to a few hostels and have a look at noticeboards.
BUG - the Backpackers' Ultimate guide to budget travel in Australia being a good guide for hostels or Australia's Best Backpacker Hostels - YHA Australia for YHA ones alone.