Backpacking Tips     

Backpacking in Australia

If your backpacking dream is to explore Australia then there are some things you first must learn. Coming from the United States to Australia will be expensive to being with. The airfare can cost you fifteen hundred dollars in peak season, if you are leaving from Los Angeles, or eight hundred if it is off peak time. The main cities throughout Australia include Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin, Sydney and Canberra. Any of these cities will have many attractions to see including many museums, art galleries and zoos.

Canberra is the Australian capital. This amazing city has much to offer to the backpacker. First there are the cultural aspects, the art galleries and museums, and then there is the lake that divides the city in half. This beautiful man made lake is named after the American who designed this magnificent city.  Then surrounding the city is bush land that allows the backpacker access to many outdoor adventures including bushwalking, ballooning, rock climbing, horse riding, paintball, and bobsledding.

Darwin is very different as it sits near the tip of the Northern Territory. This is somewhere worth seeing as it combines the traditional and modern aspects of the country. The weather here is very different. The summers can be in the high eighties and very humid. But this is also the rainy season and so tourists tend to stay away from here at this time of year. But in the winter the days are still in the high sixties, low seventies with very little humidity. The winter is the time to see this part of the country.  The Nationals Parks are a sight not to be missed. Central Australia is where the driest weather will be. In some places water becomes a precious commodity.

Another important thing to know if you are considering backpacking in Australia is that their seasons do not coincide with those of North America or Europe. They have summer between December and February. Their winter starts in June going through August. This is an important detail when you are planning to backpack around a country. You want to make sure you arrive in the right part of Australia at the right time of year. If you want to get around Australia quickly you have the two airlines, Qantas and Virgin Blue, buses or trains that can help with transport.

Buying a guidebook, or maybe two, would be a very good idea. This will tell you what attractions are open for you to see as well as explain climate issues, money differences and maybe even explain the odd phase used in Australia that North Americans just do not seem to understand. The slang there is very different.

As well there are a few dangers when backpacking across Australia.  Between November and April there are cyclones; at least six a year. These are very dangerous. You should also watch out for the snakes, the spiders, the jellyfish and the crocodiles. Be careful, think safe and you will enjoy this adventure.