I'm saving to go to Australia and just wondered if anyone had anything they'd like to share to make my trip easier and more enjoyable.

Thanks!

Just remember that it costs extra to bring that beautiful 6ft surfboard home with you.
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I went for a month, from dec 08-jan 98.

A couple of things i would go for: go to Sydney, and do the Bridge Climb. It's amazing.

And go to the barrier reef and go snorkling and/ or scuba diving.

Be careful of the sun in their summer. Australia has the highest number of Skin Cancer in the world. I got burnt badly on Bondi Beach.

If you're driving at night, be very careful, the kangaroos are suicidal. We came within inches of hitting one.
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My niece went to Australia on a gap year after finishing school three years ago before she started studying at university. She got a position at a school at Toowoomba - I can't remember the name of the school, but I could ask her if you want me to - can give you my niece's details too if you'd like, I'm sure that she'd be happy to chat to you about her experiences over there.

I know that the year became a very long one for her and she battled with home-sickness despite the fact that she was helping a lot of girls at the school in the hostel and trying to help them to cope with their feelings of homesickness as well!

She was paid (not a big amount) but it helped her to pay for some of her expenses over there, while my brother and sister-in-law sent her money every month to help her.

She looked after the youngsters in the hostel (I think she got time off every third weekend) and she also had duty training the girls for various sports - that helped her with her present studies (she's doing Sport Science) - so she managed to keep ultra-fit too.

She went on all sorts of trips with the girls, which meant that she got to travel round the country as well and didn't have to do that at her expense.

My brother (her dad) works for an Australian company (although he's based here in South Africa) so a lot of his colleagues are based in various places in Australia, and when she had a weekend off, she went to stay with them - that way she also got to see other parts of the country and they took her to see the sights wherever she was. She was very lucky that way.

Contact me and I'll give you her contact details.