Last minute as usual! - Ellesmere Port, United Kingdom
Ellesmere Port, United Kingdom
Welcome to my blog :) - I thought I would start this blog to keep a diary of what I have been up to because I have the memory of a fish, keep my family up to date and maybe even give other young people some tips on what to do and probably more so with my luck what NOT to do when planning an adventure.
I have been thinking of going to Australia to travel around for about a year now, and finally booked yesterday! My Mum and I went to a STA travel branch in Chester on Bridge Street to book flights as I know that they get really good prices for people under the age of 26 with top airlines like Emirates. I booked a one way flight with Emirates for £590 (1 stop at Dubai) which leaves at the end of this month.
I decided to book on to the OzIntro trip which is a really good company who sort out lots of stuff for you (including visa/bank account/tax file number for if you decide to work/sim card for your phone/free wifi etc), they pick you up from Sydney airport when you arrive (6am-10pm), and give you accommodation for a week along with various different trips throughout the week with a group of around 14-18 people who are all travelling on their own also. I think some of the trips are a boat trip, Sydney aquarium, beach & BBQ day where you have surfing lessons (although I have a shark phobia so am a bit dubious about that one) and hiking in the Blue Mountains. This full week costs £469 at the moment which I think is worth it just for getting to know Sydney and other people travelling on their own.
So I booked flights yesterday, had left my passport at home by accident (good start) and also hadn't applied for a visa yet which can take a few weeks to be granted... You can get a 3 month or 6 month tourist visa for quite cheap, or a 12 month working holiday visa in case you want to stay longer and work to support yourself. I decided on the 12 month just in case. I could end up only staying a couple of months but just wanted to be safe! The women in STA wanted £330 for me to do my (12 month working holiday) visa application through them, and were taking advantage of my limited knowledge around visas for Australia telling me that they were the cheapest. I remembered OzIntro said they would charge £279 for the same so I said to the women that I had seen that, and they then looked online to find that the Australian Immigration website was selling them for £300 if you did it yourself. So I said I wouldn't do it with STA. They were also pushing a very similar trip to OzIntro which was in fact cheaper but I didn't trust that the lady had my best interests at heart and had been warned by one of my friends who went travelling to Australia & New Zealand to book flights with STA but NEVER BOOK TRIPS!! She said that they were so overpriced for what they were. So I said I wouldn't book that with STA either.
Since my Mum and I had booked these flights for the end of November it sort of dawned on us that I need a visa ASAP...and to get a visa I need my passport...so we rushed home and for the next few hours turned my room upside down, searched my car and everywhere else and couldnt find my passport ANYWHERE! I woke up this morning and booked an appointment at the Liverpool passport office tomorrow morning to get a new passport which would cost £103 and take a week to come, then about 2 minutes later found it inside the lining of one of my handbags! I am an actual idiot. So we booked my visa through OzIntro which took about 2 minutes and costed £279.
Next job was sorting travel insurance for the duration of the trip which covers the activities I might do while I am away (surfing, bungee jumping?, shark cage diving?!). I got quotes for loads of different insurance companies but Atlas Direct was the best at £121 for the year which also covers any medical costs, if you lose your baggage or miss a flight etc etc. STA wanted £400 odd, and OzIntro was £200 ish for similar cover. I also checked what vaccinations are needed for Australia (forced by my Mother haha!) and you should have a combined tetanus, diptheria, polio vaccination apparently, I've had one in 2005 so I'm alright because they apparently last ten years.
Feeling a bit nervous already as it is only 26 days away but still have so much to do before I go like finding a backpack that I won't fill with loads of rubbish and collapse underneath, booking accomodation for over christmas and new year in Sydney because it is meant to be practically full up already(!), and loads of other stuff. Last minute as usual!