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Tuesday 24th of January it was time for another Bunyip tour! This time I will discover Mornington Peninsula, just one hour away from Melbourne. We first stopped at Murray’s lookout, where you have a perfect view of the bay. In … Continue reading
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Yesterday it was Australia Day. On the 26th of January 1788 the first fleet arrived in Sydney. It is a national public holiday in Australia and there are a lot of parties everywhere. I met up with some people I … Continue reading
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When I arrived at Melbourne I heard I was going to do the Neighbours tour, but I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Apparently Neighbours is a popular Australian tv show that has been on television for … Continue reading
Wow did I just love this trip!! I did the 3 day/2 night Great Ocean Road and Grampians with Bunyip Tours and it couldn’t have been better. Our trip started early in the morning and everybody in the bus was still a little bit quiet and sleepy, but that changed pretty soon as we got to know eachother. We had people from all over the world (Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, USA, England) so it was nice mix of backpackers. Our first stop brought us to Torquay Surfcity (home of Rip Curl) where everybody got loose on the discounted surf accessoires.
Then the Great Ocean Road could begin! The road is scenic with a lot of beautiful beaches. Our first beach was Bells Beach, with turqouise water and white sand. Our group started to bond and it was the beginning of my three best days in Australia so far. Together we checked out villages like Lorne and Apollo Bay and we climbed up to the firehouse to enjoy a perfect view. The weather was great all the time and I already started to get a tan 
At the middle of the day I had my first encounter with wild koala’s. They were just sleeping and being stoned high up in the trees, but it’s amazing to spot these Australian animals in the wild! After taking many photo’s we continued with the rainforest walk. Our guide, Duncan, told us everything about the trees and the way they grow, which was really interesting. At the end of the day it was time for the famous Twelve Apostles (rocks that stick out of the ocean due to erosion). Actually there are only eleven apostles left, because the ocean distroyed the other one and a lot more will be destroyed because of the soft limestone. It is beautiful to see what the sea is capable of and it makes you feel just one tiny little piece in this amazing world.
The first day of the Great Ocean Road was perfect and so was the night. We camped in tents and had pizza’s on the beach and played drinking games. The group became friends and the night was sweet.
The second day we woke up early to see the beautiful coast in the morning light. We saw the collapsed Harbour Bridge, played bingo in the bus and enjoyed the view of Warnambool, Tower Hill, a dormant vulcano. We entered Grampians National Park and viewed an informative video about the different view Aboriginals and scientists have on the creation of the Grampians. We stayed the night at the Wilderness Lodge, which was the perfect Australian picture for me. Nobody around for miles and kangaroos hopping at your doorstep! Our guide made us kangaroo beef and Australian burgers with mashed potatoes and spinach. After dinner we sat around the campfire, played songs and watched the many stars in the sky.
Day 3 it was time for me and two other girls to go quadbiking. Steve, the owner of the lodge, did a great job on explaining how to quadbike and we had 30 minutes of practicing before going ‘into the wild’. We tried different kinds of surfaces, experienced how fast a quad can go and drove up to our knees in the mud. We played around for almost two hours while kangaroos were watching us. If you are going to the Great Ocean Road, this experience has to be part of your trip, it was just so awesome! We left the Wilderness Lodge at 10 in the morning to have a look at the Mackenzie Waterfalls and to view other lookouts. Then it was time so say goodbye to our amazing group and tourguide 
Duncan drove off to Adelaide with a few people, while others went back to Melbourne. Thanks to the group and tourguide, this trip will always stay in my memory and I can recommend the 3day tour to everyone who’s out here!
For more tour info check out www.peterpans.com
At 18th of January my alarm woke me up at 6.00 in the morning. It was time for my first real tour with Bunyip Tours! The trip is going to take me to Wilsons Prom, the most southern point of mainland Australia, which is a national park. The bus arrived on time and the group started talking right away. Our driver, Matthew, told us everything about the prom, like the bushfires that have to appear every now and then to make nature grow again. That explained why all the trees were black and burnt (see photo on Flickr). After one hour in the bus we arrived.
First thing I saw was the kangaroos relaxing in an open area. We sneaked up on them and started to make pictures. My first encounter with wild kangaroos and emu’s! We went hiking up to the highest point and I did it all on flipflops, because I didn’t know we had to bring decent shoes. But it’s a really easy track and I absolutely had no problems with it.
When we arrived at the viewpoint, the view was just amazing. White sand beaches and tuorquoise oceans popped up in front of us. We had our lunch at this area and all of us enjoyed the scenery. After lunch we had a little rainforest walk, which was also nice. When we made it down the mountain again, we enjoyed some quality time on Squeaky beach (when you walk on the sand with barefeet it squeaks!) and we could take a swim. I discovered the little balls made of sands by crabs, which gave the beach a special look.
The second beach we stayed at was even nicer than the first one. There were not many tourists and you could really have some time by yourself. The sun even showed herself on this beach so we all got a little tan!
At 17.00 it was time to get to Melbourne, I had a really good time at Wilsons Prom and met a lot of new people!
Check out the photo’s on Flickr
For more info on tours check out www.peterpans.com.au
If you are traveling and plan to work in Australia you will need an Australian bank account to have your wages deposited into. I got mine at ANZ and they are really helpful towards backpackers. Australian banks require 100 point of identification to open a bank account and your passport is exactly 100 points. However, you have to open your bank account within the first 6 weeks upon arriving in to Australia. After 6 weeks you will also need your birth certificate to open a bank account as the passport drops in points. So be sure you open it right away and your passport will be enough identification. You simply need to fill out all the basic information and have a valid postal address to get your debit card sent to you. A debit card (usually a Visa or Mastercard) can be used at all ATM’s and retail outlets across Australia and is attached to your bank account, so your not using “credit” but your own money.
The most important thing you need to work in Australia is a tax file number (TFN). If you don’t have a TFN you have to pay more tax. Everyone who is valid to work in Australia can apply for a tax file number and the service is free. For more information and to apply visit the Australian Tax Office website
Another important account you need to work in Australia is a Superannuation account. Superannuation is a pension plan which saves 9% of the money you earned during your employment for your retirement. This is paid on top of your salary by your employer. If you are not a permanent resident you can get your superannuation back once you have left Australia. The superannuation form makes sure you will have access to this money when you stop working. For more info about the superannuation check this website. I asked about the superannuation account with ANZ when I opened my bank account and they gave me a simple form to fill out once I got my TFN
Its makes it a lot easier if you get them all at the same time and get prepared early.
Every employer you work for will ask for the above three things:
Bank Account details
Tax File Number
Superannuation account details
For more information just call Peterpans Adventure Travel on 1800 669 424
I am starting to get used to Australia. My jetlag is gone and I am realizing that I’m really doing this! I am surprised Australia is such a clean country; there is no littering at all and everything looks tidy! Last days I had a lot of meetings with Peterpans to get all the right information about my tours (OMG there are sooo many!!). Wednesday 18th of January Peterpans invited me to their Turf Bar party, where we got to spend $200 on drinks. The whole party was sponsored by Peterpans and everybody could win amazing prizes.
The day after we had a nice breakfast and I met all Peterpans Melbourne employees. At the end of the day I had a free entrance to Melbourne Aquarium, which was really awesome! I even got a cute litte penguin animal (thank you Estelle!). The Melbourne Aquarium is set up really well and the scenery is amazing. There is a lot of information about all the fish and presentations every 30 minutes. You have an option to feed or swim with the fish and there is an area where you can touch them. I loved their new penguin section, with King en Gentoo penguins!
After the aquarium I went to Eureka Skydeck 88, where I also had free entrance including the EDGE experience. Eureka’s elevator will take you up to 300 meters within 40 seconds! The view up there is amazing and you will have a different look on Melbourne. The EDGE experience is a cube made of glass where you can stand in. The block will then move out of the building to bring you 300 meters above the ground. It can be quite scary if you are afraid of heights, but I found it really cool! You will see Melbourne all around you which makes it even more special.
So as you can see I’ve been quite busy, but I am enjoying every second!
For more amazing tours and packages in this area go to peterpans.com.au
My first blog from Singapore
One month ago I heard I was the winner of the Ultimate OZ Working Holiday organised by Peterpans GOLD. From that moment on my life changed; I had to stop school, move out of my studentroom and start preparing for my six month getaway. Now I’m waiting for my flight to Melbourne at Singapore airport. At this time I have flown 6 hours from Amsterdam to Dubai, waited 4 hours at Dubai airport, flew 7 hours from Dubai to Singapore and I’ve just passed 8 hours of waiting here. It was a long trip with a busy preparation, but I can’t wait to start my adventure!
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The above text was written about one day ago and now I have arrived in Melbourne and love it here! At my arrival, Danielle and Katie from Peterpans were waiting for me. I arrived at the airport at 9.00, but I had to wait almost 2 hours in line for immigration. The Australian government is really strict so make sure you don’t bring any food or natural products with you! I brought ‘drop’ (a Dutch candy) with me so I had to wait in the ‘special’ line. A dog came to snif my bags, but he didn’t find anything and I was able to walk through with my candies!
So I had an awesome welcome; I was told I am going to receive an iPhone (sponsored by Optus) as well, and I thought this prize already couldn’t get any better!! We drove around Melbourne and St Kilda a little bit to get an impression of the city and then I was brought to Habitat HQ Backpackers, a really nice hostel in St Kilda. St Kilda is the backpackers part of Melbourne, with a nice atmosphere and close to the beach. Awesome to start my trip here!
The rest of the day I slept because of my major jetlag. In the evening we went down to the beach to enjoy the sunset and Danielle and I had Chicken Parma, a famous Melbourne dish, which is basically crispy chicken with cheese and tomato sauce.
My second day I had to wake up at 8.30 to get to ANZ Bank to set up my Australian bank account, which includes $1000 from ANZ and another $1000 from the major sponsors! How you have to set up an Australian back account you can read in my next blog.
After that we went to Peterpans store at St Kilda and I was told everything about my tours. I was so lucky, the lovely cafe next door to Peterpans Miss Jackson gave me a delicious lunch for free, they also make the best coffee!
You can find my complete itinerary here. For now I’m going to explore the coastal area from Melbourne to Cairns for six weeks! I will tell you everything about my tours and upload a lot of videos and pictures. I hope you will enjoy this blog and get inspired to do it yourself!
For more info check out www.peterpans.com
