Australia General Tips by darthmilmo

Favorite Thing: I have a strict philosophy of never trusting any visa that doesn’t come from the horse mouth so I have included the Australian Immigration webpage here. Check out the many options available today. There are over a dozen countries that share a working holiday visa to Australia. This is one of the best options out there as it allows you to work for up to 3 months with any one employer. You can stay for up to 12 months in Australia using this same visa. Otherwise, the tourist visa doesn’t allow you to work and only allows you to stay for 3 months.

Click here to go to the official Autralian Immigration webpage


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Favorite Thing: Australia is divided into six states and two territories*. The States are New South Whales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. The Territories are Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory. Despite recent elections, the Northern Territory is and prefers to remain as a territory, choosing not to become a state for the time being.

*As of Dec 2003


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Favorite Thing: One of the advantages of traveling in a developed country is the abundance of great national and state parks. Most of the parks offer a range of amenities such as picnic tables, toilets, showers, camp grounds and more.


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Favorite Thing: I left out one interesting piece of the Outback that I wasn't too sure where to include so here goes. As you know, the region covers towns that are separated by vast distances. These are connected through various paved and unpaved roads. The only way to move goods between towns is through the use of massive Train Trucks that are not to be seen anywhere else on Earth. They are limited to 53 meters in length by law now. This means that they can have up to 4 separate compartments plus the vehicle itself! I did came across several of them as I went overland from Cairns to Darwin and then down the red center to Adelaide. For safety reasons, these massive trucks are not allowed within a few 100 km from major towns such as Cairns and Adelaide though.


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Favorite Thing: The best way to learn about them is at the Royal Flying Doctors Museum in Alice Springs. I haven't said much about this laboring non-profit organization. Australia's center is so vast and under populated. Consequently, there are not too many doctors in the region. Even a simple injury can result in a death if untreated. In 1928, a missionary at Cloncury, Queensland came up with the idea of using the newly emerging airplane and radio technology to provide a doctor for those in need. It didn't take much for the service to catch on and spread around Australia. Eventually, it got assistance from the Government and the blessing of the Queen of England (hence the term Royal). The Royal Flying Doctors fly operates throughout the country. It saves the lives of thousands of people per year. They not only offer their emergency service. They also offer clinics every other week to different regions. They also provide a medic kit to a member of each community. If something goes wrong, an Australian or foreigner alike can call the Royal Flying Doctors for assistance. Most of the time, they have what they need to cure the illness on that specialized med kit. Other times, a doctor on duty might make the call to send a plane over. So, why didn't they use a helicopter? The distances are so large that it requires an airplane to get around. Helicopters can't cover as much ground. It was an interesting place to visit.


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