Now, if you ever wanted to know the power of being an STA Explorer then look no further than the experiences of our Australian Adventurer.

Georgina begins her latest post, Neighbours Night in Melbourne, with these words:

“Best night ever. Let me cut a long story short…”

I’m going to cut it even shorter, because who am I to steal any Alan Fletcher aka Dr. Karl Kennedy related thunder!

The girls of Hip21 had, as of the 18^th, posted about their anticipation of the Neighbours Night which you can read here – make sure to take note of the ‘honking’ reference involving good ol’ Dr. K. Come the evening festivities, and Alan Fletcher or Dr. K (I don’t think he minds), is prepping the stage for his performance in his role as front man and driving force of indie band, Waiting Room. It was at this point he spoke to the gathering crowd:

“Where’s Claire? Who’s Claire that writes the Hip21 blog? Who saw me honking my horn today at Ramsey St?”

At this point the experience is far better described by Hip21 girls themselves; needless to say excitement ensued in epic proportions, but basically Dr. Karl had been reading Hip21, which is cool by any measurement! The joy continued as they were invited back stage afterward to talk Hip21, get signed albums, pose for pictures and discuss his Portsmouth University gig!? All in all they were left with only one conclusion:

“Dr K [is] fantastic! He really is hot stuff.”

We’re not talking yoga or listening to excessive amounts of trance core, no, we’re in for lengthy summers down under and it is Free Spirit, an online publication from Tourism Queensland, that’ll give you the details that might just stir those stumps.

You see, Queensland is actually Australia’s sunniest state and Free Spirit gives you all you could possibly require in terms of information for planning some time bathed in the antipodean rays. At the STA travel site you can get some more details about Free Spirit and what it offers. Here’s a start:

·Top things to see and do
·General ‘know before you go’ info
·What’s hot (and we’re not just talking about the weather!)
·Great working holiday tips
·Exclusive deals and offers
·Stacks of downloadable freebies including a Lonely Planet guide, free Aussie music and a free Natty download!

A natty download from Natty! Also included in the e-zine is a competition with the main prize of a trip to Cairns and Great Barrier Reef, with an Olympus camera thrown in for the preservation of special moments.

As for Free Spirit, well you can click right about here and begin virtually thumbing through. If you’re anything like me, this will begin speculatively and then you’ll land on page four (featuring a surfer) and start thinking “yeah, I can see myself in Queensland…”

Gallivanting students George and Claire are camper vanning around Australia - and their drive to Adelaide and Melbourne sounds like a scary road movie!

After a Groovy Grape wine tour, sampling the likes of Jacobs Creek with some kangaroo steaks to soak up the booze, the girls promptly get stuck in a massive storm on the way to the coastal town of Robe:

our petrol gauge was on emergency low. million miles from anywhere, no towns in sight, no cars, no people, no light for miles and miles, was like somethng out of a horror movie… finally came to a petrol station, which was a huge sigh of relief except for the wierdo in a orange boiler suit!! horror movie!

Surviving unscathed to enjoy Blue Lake, the Grampians mountain range, Ballarat, and the Sovereign Hill olden-days re-enactment town, the girls then unbelievably get stuck again on the Great Ocean Road. You’ve got to admire their cool in a crisis:

So what did me and Claire do, we got in the van and ate chocolate laughing at our drama and traumatic situation. We put bright pink legwarmers on and tied our hair up, after all digging wheels with a spoon is hard work.

Thankfully, the girls were rescued by some grumpy Aussies, and went on to see koalas at both Wilsons Prom and Healesville Sanctuary, not to mention making time for another wine tasting at Domain Chandon. Now happily arrived in Melbourne, they have a final piece of advice for STA travellers in Oz:

STA Explorers Neil and Meg (or, as you and I have come to know them, The Travelling Duo) have travelled their way back to whence they came, Hampshire.

Through their blog, Neil and Meg’s World Travels, they’ve treated us to varied delights and, judging by the content of Neil’s last post, may be dishing out even more, with plans for a soirée across Europe, a skiing trip and Arctic/Antarctic cruise!

The final post sees Neil debating a poser from a friend, who asked what the worst part of the trip had been, (as opposed to the best, which was a question they were concerned Neil would have responded to a-plenty since his return). He was unable to answer, good memories blocking out anything that might have been less pleasurable. Instead, he offers a choice of two highlights from the trip:

“The best thing on the trip was either standing on top of Sydney Harbour Bridge at sunset or watching the dramatic colour changing light show of Uluru at sunrise (better than sunset!). The worst thing about the trip: I still can’t think of one!!”

He even has time to give a nod to STA’s Matt, making the the experience a joy even before leaving:

“The excellent STA Travel agent, Matt, in Kingston who was so helpful giving us advice, recommendations, ideas and not rushing us…”

The advice from Neil and Meg after their experience of a ‘gigantic holiday’? Everyone should do it. And if you want to know why, then rummage through the blog entries that punctuate the journey they took. You can also flick through their Picasa Album for some visual temptation that will lead you to strap on those boots that were made for walking.

Being a bum on Bondi is the act that Tina of Tina’s Travel Blog partook in at the end of May. It may have been a little off season and not really warm enough to disrobe and enter the surf, but it did have atmosphere and, in some circles, that’s all that matters.

Jason of Jason’s Travel Blog (I’m beginning to spot a theme) has left Australia for Fiji, and then NYC. Before doing so, he threw up some underwater photos of his activities from the Reef. I guess that’s him in the goggles!

Then there is Ed and Mary who conclude our watery antipodean wanderers. They complete the trinity by spending their time in Surfers Paradise and Byron Bay taking in the soggy delights of Wet n’ Wild and Seaworld amongst other excursions and witnessing some fights (!).

Working visas worry me. I’ve heard a few scare stories about waiting times and mix-ups, and anything involving officials and paperwork freaks me out. If I wanted to, say, go write in Sydney for a while, I think I’d feel happier finding a desperate old Harold Bishop lookalike to marry me rather than apply for the dreaded document.

Which is evidently nonsense. As soraliah points out on TheSite.org, ‘ive been told its quite easy to get work visas in japan, nz and aus’, and Pill’ed agrees. He’s secured an Australian working visa and has posted an excellent response summarising how to get one and how they work -for example the fact that they last 12 months and only allow you 6 months in each job,and 4 months training overall. He’s got particularly good advice on the pros and cons fruit picking and confirms that:

As for getting the visa, it’s pretty simple, you can apply online or just pop down to your local travel agent. It costs about 100 quid and you won’t neccesarily be granted one, but everyone always is. You have to fill out a form and they can be picky if you have any serious crinimal convictions or anything.

Head on over to add your own advice or to keep track of the further updates on working in Oz that Pill’ed promises to post.

So, tt’s all beginning to sound a bit less scary. And I’m further reassured by the fact that STA Explorer Stevo recently announced on Twitter that he:

used STA to apply for his Aus working VISA. 6 days later it has been GRANTED! *dances*

So have other STA travellers found Aussie visas equally easy?

In her latest post, Death by Dingo, STA Explorer George tackles the tricky subject of all the warnings you get given when you set off on a trip. As she prepares for her own tour of Australia, she’s been told:

Be careful.. Keep safe.. Watch your back.. Stick together.. Don’t talk to strangers.. Don’t jump in cars.. Listen to saftey instructions.. Don’t get stupid.. Don’t drink too much.. Don’t get silly.. Don’t play the fool.. Lock up your valuables.. Wear sun cream.. Blaaaa Blaaaa BLAH - Are we really that dumb?

As she admits, these exhortations usually have the very best intentions, and it’s great to be prepared, but sometimes they just feel like a case of hard-man one-upmanship (my relative was eaten by a dingo, my dingo was eaten by a relative).

George admits she went a bit crazy buying supplies in the STA Travel shop to cover every eventuality but ‘despite all the hidden dangers and even the obvious ones, nothing will stop Hip1 and I from loving every second of our time in Australia’.

What are the worst travel scare stories you’ve been told? Has a piece of advice from a friend or travel agent saved your skin? Or do you find it all just so much scaremongering?