Some Direct Tips for Your First Trip to Australia
Before traveling: when applying for a visa, it is important to show that you have funds to pay for the trip. On my first trip to Australia, I came on a student visa, and the second, on a tourist visa. In both cases, an important part of applying for a visa is to show that I have funds in a bank account to finance my activities. I know of several cases where it was determined to refuse a visa!
Upon arrival at the airport: declare everything! And try not to bring “complicated” products
When asked if you have dairy products to declare, state it! It just means that you make a check mark on paper and then the customs officer will ask what’s in your suitcase. The truth is that you depend a little on luck to let it pass. Don’t load expensive food store products that you will later regret losing.
Australia is a vast country!
For example, driving by car from Sydney to Melbourne takes about 12 hours on the beach, and from Melbourne to Perth there are 36 hours of travel! (Yes, three full days and nights of them). To travel Melbourne – Perth – Darwin – Brisbane – Sydney – Canberra – Melbourne (some of the largest cities), Google Maps calculates 138 travel hours and about 12,748 kilometers. This is without reaching places like Uluru (the great sacred stone in the middle of the country) or the Great Barrier Reef (near Cairns, northeast Australia). And of course, on this route there will be national parks, beaches and beautiful villages where you want to stop and camp or spend the night.
Don’t miss out on the beautiful cultural expressions of indigenous Australians
One of the mistakes I felt I made on my first trip to Australia was not knowing the cultural expressions, history and current realities of indigenous people. Right at the end of my first trip, I went to see a ballet company called “Bangarra” that combines the narrative, rhythm, and forms of expression of native people with contemporary dance. They are amazing!
In addition, you can internalize yourself with art and original design forms, with their history from documentaries, books and museums, and with the people themselves if you visit the places where they live and practice forms of ancestral land management. While there is no complete consensus within the scientific community regarding the time this community lived in Australia, artifacts were recently discovered in the Kakadu National Park dating from 65,000 to 80,000 years ago.
About visa
Australia tourist visa allows you to take classes and work experience without renting or volunteering for up to three months. The only thing that you cannot do with a tourist visa is to work in a rented way in Australia. To work for up to 20 hours a week, you can have a student visa if you take a diploma, an English language course, and other types of graduate and postgraduate programs. If you arrive in the country on a student visa, your spouse can accompany you and work full time. Another option is a work & travel visa.
Airlines
There are several low-cost airlines in Australia: Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Tigerair. I have flown with the last two, and the service is relatively good. The thing to remember is that they don’t need to use the city’s main airport. Also check that your ticket includes luggage or just a handbag!
Thus my experiences and tips, hopefully can add to your horizons!
