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Gap Year Australia?

Travel Info
Hey i plan i go to Australia for a year, leaving early 2008, and i've been looking at the companies BUNAC and OzIntro. Has anyone been with them to Australia and have any reviews that could be helpful to me? Also, with the OzIntro company, by looking at some reviews of it, people have said it's a great company but i've noticed it's very Sydney based and i would like to spend most of my time in Brisbane. If i were to travel to Brisbane after the initial arrival and meetings, would the company still be willing to help as much as they are to people that stay in Sydney? Also, for people that have been to Australia before...have you got any general tips on living/working/social life? Anything would be appreciated...even if its just a small tip on how much hostels expect for rooms. Every little helps as they say!

Thanks!
Lisa.

Travel Tips

I would say forget the companies and do it independantly. I did a year out there and started in Brisbane. A good place to get bar/restaurant work is Southbank Parklands along the river. They employ people on working holidays. A good hostel there is Durham Villa in Laura St not far from the parklands. It is owned by an Irish family and there is a pool there too. Join a hostel association to get better deals and good deals on travel and nightlife too. They do happy hour for backpackers in many places. Sydney is alot more expensive and there are alot of seedy hostels so you will have to pay more for a decent one. I recommend the hostels in Manly or try and rent a room in a flat on the edge of town. If you stay in a hostel you will quickly get to know the night spots and what places do deals on what nights. All is advertised at the hostels. Beware of creepy crawlies and cockroaches and beware of your valuables. The Australian embassy should be able to give you booklets on what to expect as well. I got everything from them about travelling about Oz and hostels etc. I was able to plan my year pretty well before I went. Good luck.
Others

Get your "Young Person's Working Visa" by yourself - first test of self reliance!
Go to the site www.immigration.com.au for everything you will need to know & do.
During the process, check out the various "backpacker" sites.
Check out British Balls online edition for an intro to the lifestyle.
Then turn up in Australia and head to the hostel of your choice in the town of youir choice.
The backpacker hostels themselves invariably have notice boards of jobs on offer, as do the mags and the sites.
Backpacker life is one dazed whirl of eating, drinking, working, loving & socialising - so be ready for it. It is also a fairly trying time of gaining your own independance & identity and learning self-reliance. That, after all, is what it's all about. The visas offer young people the chance to look at Australia and indeed Australia to look at them, both with a view to permanancy or at least an understanding of a foreign culture.