I've been in Australia for two months
Well, the title says it. I’ve now been here for two months. I’m working at [Skydive Maitland][1], which is 40 minutes from the coast and 2+ hours from Sydney. So far, I’ve broke even on my Australian travel/living expenses AND I’m skydiving 3-4 days a week, what could be better? I did 99 jumps in March, normally I do 400 per year. Australia is pretty nice, it is easy to live here and there is plenty to see but it is hard to get places since the country is so big and I need a few days break to go someplace.
How did I end up here? I knew I would goto Australia at some point during my trip since I would be passing by and it is a long way from home. (Sidenote: Of all the travelers at hostels in Europe, about 40-50% that I met were Aussie). In December, I bought my right to work in Australia by getting a working holiday visa. That required $270 and 10 minutes to fill out a form on the internet, overnight I had my approval. So, that was settled, I could now work for 12 months in Australia and show up there within a year. I knew I would be working in Australia because it is a rather expensive country to live/travel in. I thought about picking fruit in an orchard since they always hire backpackers, but skydiving sounded more fun in the end (of course!). So, in January, I emailed a few dropzones stating that I would be in Australia in the near future and looking for work. Crickets… I didn’t hear back from anyone. Fair enough, most businesses will have adequate staffing in the middle of the busy season. But, one place did get back to me some weeks later. Then, it took one Skype convo to come to a friendly agreement and I was looking for flights after. Due to some insane price scheming, there was one flight in two days that was 1⁄2 price of the others (thank you skyscanner.net). That sealed my decision, and I was off…
Onward looking, full time instructor for March and April then become part time in May and June so I can see more of Australia. I have a few road trips in the works, I just need my own vehicle to make that happen. Working on it. After Australia, I’m probably going to Japan or SE Asia like I planned.
Since my sister already asked, Yes, I do see kangaroos nearly everyday..