One of the travel questions I get most are about Australia. After having travelled there 3 times, living in Sydney for 2 years and working as an Australian Travel Agent, I love to answer any questions about this amazing country.
Before writing here on The Travel Tester, I used to have a Dutch travel blog. I launched it when I started travelling for the first time, sharing my adventures as an inexperienced backpacker and giving new found travel advice on the way. Much to my own surprise, I got a massive response to it. And it wasn’t just my dad and uncle reacting on my (almost daily) stories with heaps of sarcasm and witty remarks.
Even today (7 years after the launch of the blog) I still get compliments from readers enjoying my writing style. I also still get lots of questions from both nervous and excited travellers-to-be about travel planning, scheduling and experiencing their own holiday.
Got questions about travel planning?
With so many great travel resources already on the internet, my goal with The Travel Tester isn’t to be just a travel guide. Others are so much better at that. I don’t do well with budgets myself, most world countries -or even continents- I haven’t been yet and I am definitely no expert on insurances, travel hacking or even finding a bus stop in place I’m new to. I usually figure it out as I go along.
There is one place, however, that I do know quite a bit about. It’s country I’ve visited on three separate trips. The country I lived in for 2 years. The country I worked in as a hostel receptionist and travel agent. It’s Australia.
Preparing for a trip to Australia
You can ask me pretty much anything about this amazing continent and I love to share my thoughts, tips and own experiences with you. Having travelled all around Australia myself as well, I feel comfortable enough opening The Travel Tester for any reader questions about trip planning, itineraries, budget questions, ‘must-do’s', top sights and other burning topics you might be interested in.
Whether you want to go backpacking in your gap year, make a road trip in a campervan, go fruit picking or looking to experience life on a ranch, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions you might have.
Question
“I love to visit Australia, but it’s something I’ve never done before. I’ve never been outside of Europe and used to having organized holidays. I love to see more of the world and think it’s good for personal development, but I really don’t know where to start.” – Frederike
Answer
Hi Frederike,
I think that by sending me this question you’ve already made the first step! All it really takes to find the courage to travel is to have a desire to explore the world, even when you don’t know yet how and when you will do it.
As a kid I used to dream for hours about visiting Australia. I read every guidebook, collected koala images (oh yes) and wrote school projects about them, I even made a website for myself with sights and activities to do in Australia. In high school, a friend of mine took the step to actually visit the country and I read all the stories he e-mailed us. I really wanted to go there as well, but the opportunity for me came only after graduating from university in July.
I had a prospect on a full-time teaching job (filling in maternity leave) in January, on the school I was doing my teacher training. That left me with a couple months to fill… Something sparked inside of me immediately. I just felt it: this was the moment! I decided to leave in September and return in December. 3 Months in Australia, with some days before and after as a stopover in Tokyo. A trip I’ve dreamt of for so long, all organized in about a month before departure!
I’d never travelled alone and never outside of Europe either (only as a really small kid), and I am not usually the type of person to talk to strangers and go out to organized things. But I wanted to go so badly, so I just took a deep breath and did it! The whole trip turned out to be literally life-changing. I made more big trips in the years after and even moved to Sydney for 2 years with my boyfriend (met while travelling!). Just to imagine that I would have missed out on all this if I had not followed my dreams…
Hopefully you will find the right moment in your life to make the trip you’ve always dreamt of. It is not impossible, you can do it (yes, also alone) and it will teach you so much about the world and about yourself. You will know when it’s the right time if you keep listening to yourself and grab the opportunity when it presents itself. Go for it, you won’t regret it!
- Nienke
Leaving for my first solo trip ever: I don’t know who was more nervous: me or my parents! But after arriving in Sydney, everyone relaxed and enjoyed the amazing ride!
Please send me your Australia questions! I’ve visited Australia 3 times, travelled all around the country and lived in Sydney for 2 years, working as a hostel receptionist and Australian Travel Agent. I love to answer any questions you might have. I’ll do my best to answer to my best and current knowledge, or help you find the right resources to prepare for the trip of your lifetime. I fell in love with Australia, and I know you will too. Talk to you soon! You can post your questions in the comment section or mail me on thetraveltester@gmail.com
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