Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
home, which gives house-sitters a chance to sample a slice of local Aussie life.” One Australia-specific site
is aussie housesitters.com.au.
WWOOF
Australia is one of the most popular destinations in the world for WWOOFing, as it has a large agricultural
and cattle industry that relies heavily on the influx of young people who come to Australia to work and
travel. It's very easy to find a job even if you don't have any farm or agriculture experience. The work isn't
great—you'll be picking fruit most of the time—but you'll get free room and board. Jobs are so abundant
in Australia that you are pretty much guaranteed to find a job. You'll get room and board covered, and in a
country where those two cost so much, this is wonderful for your budget!
You'll need a working holiday visa to do this work (they keep everything legal), and Americans under
thirty are eligible to get this type of visa in the United States before they come. You can get more inform-
ation on working holiday visas from the Australian Immigration Board (immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holi-
day), and see Chapter 11 for more information on WWOOFing.
All accommodations can be booked at the booking sites mentioned in Chapter 11 or listed in Appendix
A. Additionally, local tourist offices can help you secure accommodations.
FOOD
Australia is a very up-and-coming foodie place. I fondly remember eating at a restaurant in Sydney that had
no menu—whatever was freshest at the market that day was cooked. However, the food in Australia isn't
cheap—most meals cost $25 USD or more. Originally, I thought I was doing something wrong spending so
much, but as a plethora of Australian friends told me, “We just get screwed here.”
If you cook your meals, expect to pay $70-80 USD per week. For that price, your groceries will include
pasta, vegetables, chicken, and some other basic foodstuffs. Kangaroo meat, which is their version of the
cow, is very cheap, lean, and delicious, and can be a good alternative to more expensive steaks. Because food
costs so much, campsites, hostels, apartments, and even some budget hotels have kitchen facilities for you
to use. As Laurence from FindingtheUniverse.com told me, “Eating out with any regularity will massively
eat into your budget. If you're camping, you should be equipped for cooking for yourself. Otherwise, hostels
always have a kitchen where you can put together decent food yourself at a fraction of the cost of eating out.
Stock up on the cheap food brands at the large supermarkets.”
An average restaurant meal in Australia will run you $15-20 USD for no-frills eating. This includes pub
food, fish-and-chip shops, Chinese restaurants, and quick lunch shops. If you are looking to eat out and on
a budget, these restaurants are your best choice. A meal at a nice restaurant is around $35 USD for a starter
and an entrée, without any alcohol. If you are staying in hostels, most offer meals each night for $6 USD
and under. They call these “Special Backpacker meals,” and the food is typically pasta, fish and chips, or
burgers. It's not very healthy, but it is very cheap.
There are plenty of small sandwich shops where the price is $8-10 USD. Moreover, quick grab-and-go
sushi restaurants abound throughout the country. You can get a few rolls that will provide a satisfying lunch
for $10-12 USD. And you can eat these rolls even if you don't like fish—many are vegetarian.
There are unfortunately few ways to save money on food in this country. If you do want to eat out, you
are going to spend a lot of money. Hostels do not offer free breakfast here either, so you will be spending
money on three meals a day. You need to cook some if not a majority of your meals if you hope to avoid
