Work and Travel Australia - Best time of my life - Top 10 tipps

For 5 months I travelled across Australia. In Adelaide I bought a car and drove to Cairns via Melbourne and Sydney. There I sold the car again and flew to Darwin. Then I bought a train pass and travelled to Perth by train via Alice Springs and Adelaide. The train journey from Adelaide to Perth took no less than 55 hours. Now I would like to share my personal experiences.

1. accidents:
   To the Germans among us: Due to the many wild animals there is a great danger of accidents. Watch your step.

2. credit card:
   A credit card is essential, I even had two with me. If I lose one, I'm still liquid.

3. sights/nature:
   Take a look at the places of interest and the wonderful nature. I found it sad to hear that some of them only went to Australia for a party and didn't know anything about the "Great Barrier Reef". My highlight: The Great Ocean Road.

4. wild camping:
   You can camp wild all over Australia. I have an extra app for this and never had any problems. In Sydney I parked my car on the side of the road where you can stand for 24 hours. I took a shower in a nearby sports centre.

5. job opportunities:
   It was difficult for me to get a job, because mostly backpackers from Wales, England or Canada were preferred because of their language skills. In the end, I picked tomatoes for a short time, but then flew back home and worked in my home country, where I earned a lot more money per hour (compared to picking tomatoes).

6. Work and Travel Organization:
   You don't need one! On the Internet there is all the information you need so that you can take care of your own visa, etc. Better save the money and treat yourself to something nice down under.

7. travel depression:
   This is no joke. A friend told me about this and warned me to jump from one adventure to the next. He recommended that after half the time I should take some time to settle down for a week and not do much and read a book. He was proved right. After 4 months I was at the Uluru. Before the trip, I was looking forward most of all to wandering around the Uluru and spending the night in the wilderness with a starry sky. I didn't have any motivation at all and the starry sky was really nice but I was in a bad mood all the time and I just wanted to be alone and do nothing. Take your time.

8. language course:
   I also went to Australia to improve my English skills, but I didn't take a language course. I just walked up to people and talked to them. My English has improved tremendously. I don't consider a language course for 2-4 weeks to be goal-supporting, since mostly textbooks are worked through and you only get a small part of it. It is questionable whether this helps you. I think my approach is much more effective. It's free of charge and you can make many new friends.

9. save money:
   In the refrigerators in the hostel there is usually a shelf where backpackers can put down their food, which they no longer want to have or will not eat (because they continue to travel). This saved me a lot of money because food is expensive in Australia. It also makes sense to get together with several people in the hostel and to cook together, because you can save money. Besides, you meet new people.

10th: If you can dream it, you can do it! And if you have any questions feel free to contact me.