Hello,

I am new here and not sure I belong, I am still in my late 30s with only a few grey hairs :)

I am going to travel Australia for a year on my own. It will be a mix of camping of my station wagon and housesitting and picking up work where I can to keep the funds moving.

As you can imagine there don't seem to be many people my age doing this trip which is where my confusion lies. I dont want to do it totally on my own, having this community to ask questions of and learn from is going to be an invaluable tool. 

I also dont feel like I am part of the backpacking community, so do I fit in here or does someone know anywhere else I might fit.

Bec 

OF COURSE YOU FIT IN HERE!! and welcome to you.

You don't have to have grey hair or be a certain age to join our forum, just a common interest in travelling this wonderful place we call home.

Ask any question you can come up with and there will be someone on here that will provide you with an answer.

In turn, your experiences will help the next Newbie.

Welcome again and hope to see more posts from you real soon.

welcome bec, lots to read here and lots to learn. Hope we meet up on the road sometime next year.

Hi Becsworld,
first may I say your never to young darling to learn. All your got to do ask any question and our members will come to your rescue.
 let me tell you there is allot to learn.
Question: are you working on your travels mate.
Cheers
Mick

-- Edited by Mick17 on Sunday 14th of November 2010 02:06:47 PM

Thanks for the welcomes, its scray and exciting all at once. I am initially housesitting in Melbourne for a short-time then a couple of weeks on the road before I am due in Mildura for another 6 weeks of housesitting. I hope to secure some work during that time, motel cleaning, house cleaning, child care, decluttering, admin if I can, whatever is legal and morally ok. I need to come back to Adelaide to get my car and start my 2 weeks on the road. I am debating whether to do a few days on Kangaroo Island and then back to the mainland and go east on the coast and then up to Kimba and through to Mildura that way. Otherwise the option is West along the coast and the Great Ocean Road then up through Victoria to Mildura. This will be done in early December. Any suggestions? Bec

Hi Bec Daughter with the same name, she got the wanders at 19 yo, first time she left home it was all the way to WA. I was also unsure if I fitted in here. Had the grey hair (well white really) and only 50 yo. But as all ready said all are welcome as is your advice to some that are slightly your senior. We never stop learning cheers blaze

Hi Bec
I love KangarooIsland, not that i have seen much of Oz to compare it with mind you. To me its a pretty special place and it makes sense to start local.
Good luck om your travels.
ccb 

Welcome Bec, of course u fit in, all u need is the passion, age doesn't matter...by the sounds of it u have it like us all on here....Have fun, enjoy....

Welcome from me too Bec.

Wish I'd still been single at your age.  I tied myself down far too early.  You get out there and see as much as you can while you're still young and fit.

Cheers,
Sheba.

Howdy Bec from me and the 'kids' Enjoy your travels and freedom.

Hiya Bec,

Welcome to the forum...............and no you are not too young to fit in here, after all we were all your age once...........and there is always L`oreal for the grey hairs lol.

I've asked heaps of questions on this site and everyone has always been willing to help and offer great advice.

Kangaroo Island is a great place to visit............I've been there many times and there are some great beaches to visit..............also the locals are friendly as well.

I look forward to reading of your travels.

Keep Smiling

Hi Bec, I'm pretty new to this forum as well and have learnt heaps just reading as much as I can, and getting motivated by reading about others travels etc. I'm 41 and have a few grey hairs too... so I consider myself a grey nomad in training at least!!

Welcome from me too Bec. If this is what you want to do, you just do it. I've been doing it for years, one way or another. When I was married my ex and I did a trip to Qld. Then I was single and headed to KI and had a great year from what was going to be 2 weeks holiday. I had 2 jobs. In the Council office and the Ozone Hotel doing bar work in the evenings. Then I moved to Pt. Lincoln and found work there. Then I met my partner of 9 years and we travelled together and worked on prawn trawlers in the Gulf for a season. Then we stopped and had 2 babies. Now they're grown up I'm doing it again, alone again, and loving it. I'm also coming out of retirement to go back to work. It's probably wise to have a job to head to if you're depending on the income. There are lots of leads these days on the internet, word of mouth and friends of friends etc. It sounds as though you've done some homework on this, so I reckon you'll do okay. You just have to cover costs and you're in front all the way. All the best to you, and safe travels.

Thanks so much for the continued welcomes. Cruising Granny, thnakyou so much for sharing your journey with me. Its amazing and to be honest I'd love to spend my life travelling, why go back to nothing. I am hoping to get Austudy and study externally. If I do that should help me financially. I do have access to some money and I should be ok but definitely keen to work - but not necessarily longterm buried in a capital city just existing. I'd rather be somewhere different, meeting different people and doing something different to the ordinary. So a question, what is the best ay to get work in an area. I am going to Mildura mid December for the entire school holidays and would like to do some work while I am there. Should I just wait till I get there or email off my resume and a cover letter to places? Most of the places I imagine wouldn't have email, am I better off just arriving and knocking on doors? Bec

You could write to their local information office and ask what seasonal work is available. I'm sure they would know.

Much of the fruit block and vineyard workers are allocated by local agencies. Many of these workers are overseas backpackers. You could try your luck. It is best to have a job lined up each time you move on. Many casual jobs don't rely on resume'. It's more about a chat with the employer, or word of mouth along the way. The "who you know" rather than "what you know". If you're really prepared to work you'll be ok. The outback roadhouses change staff fairly frequently. You work hard, you play hard if you want to, you meet lots of people, work with all sorts, make friends, earn reasonable money with no where to spend it, and you live on site. Rural and outback schools are often looking for support officers. They train you on site for each position for each student's needs. What will you be studying? What will you do with the qualification? Austudy isn't such a great income, it just subsidises your living. Maybe you can get jobs in your field of study to apply the practical to the academic. Or stick a pin in a map, then find a job in that area, and go, go, go!

-- Edited by Cruising Granny on Wednesday 17th of November 2010 08:11:30 PM

Welcome

Try these sites for work around Aus

http://www.greynomadsemployment.com/

http://jobsearch.gov.au/harvesttrail/default.aspx

http://www.noboundaries.com.au/

Now don't let me hear that you are out of work

I went over to Shepparton today and on the way, about 40 ks out of Echuca I saw a sign. Tomato and Cherry pickers wanted. May be worth noting for next year.

No good HW, they only do Tomato's and Cherries every second year. lol

You would come in and spoil my info wouldn't you wombat, cheeky devil. haha!! Very clever trees, and plants.