Middlesbrough To Melbourne: A Guide To The Australian Working Holiday

Andy Webb, originally from Middlesbrough, UK, came to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa. With his time nearly up, he takes us through his experience as a working holiday maker, and how the visa lived up to its name.

Where are you currently living?
At the Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood. It’s a heavy metal venue, which I didn’t find out until I moved in. I don’t mind though – the staff and guests there are great fun and I’ll be sad to leave.

How long have you been in Australia?
Since March 2015.

What inspired you to come to Australia?
Lots of things, actually. My sister came travelling here back in 2006 and told me how much she enjoyed it. I was really sold while I was travelling in Thailand and was speaking to other travellers about their stories and the things they’d done here. I turn 30 soon, so I knew there was a clock if I wanted to do the Working Holiday Visa, so as soon as we had enough for the flights, we booked it!

Did you arrive with a plan?
Several plans, all of them vague. I’m a let-the-chips-fall-as-they-may kinda guy, but I’m not totally without direction. Initially we planned to fly into Melbourne and get a job, but I was assured that we’d absolutely fall in love with the city. So instead, we decided to land as far away as possible and make our way there by doing a horseshoe-shaped road trip around the west, north, and east coasts. We did most of that – we drove up from Perth (after a stint on Rottnest Island, a beautiful place) to Broome, across to Darwin, and then straight down through Alice Springs, Uluru, and King’s Canyon.

What have you been doing for work?
I’ve just started my third job in Australia! I worked in the bakery on Rottnest Island when we arrived. It was nice and cool, the pies were delicious, and I miss the friends that we made there a lot. I did another job in Broome, at the Mangrove Hotel. It’s a wonderful spot to see the Staircase to the Moon phenomena – I’m serious when I say that no pictures do it justice. Finally, I’ve just got a job at a hotel as a night porter. It’s strange working nights, but the team here is great and I’m looking forward to getting to know them. I did similar work at home – hospitality, customer service, that kind of thing. The pay is way, way better here though, though I think the demands of you are a little higher than the UK.

What experiences have you had in Australia?
Oh man, so much stuff. I’ve pushed the boundaries of what I thought I couldn’t do, and found interests I never knew I had. The highlights though? In no particular order… Living on Rottnest Island and the road trip we did around the South East of WA. We climbed the Gloucester tree, we hiked through the gorges in Karijini National Park – somewhere everyone should see and experience – it is staggeringly beautiful. We did a flight over the Bungle Bungles (highly recommended), and explored the NT national parks. King’s Canyon was one hell of an experience, though some moderate physical fitness is required if you plan on doing the best parts. Coober Pedy is definitely the weirdest entry on this list, because of its state as a tourist attraction despite being a working town. We didn’t see any other tourists while we were there, but everyone we spoke to wanted to know our stories and were so helpful. If I had a few more months on my visa, I’d go live there for a while. What takes the peach for me, though, is the car we bought, and the freedom that it’s given us. If you tell anyone back in the UK that it takes 4-10 hours’ drive to get from one town to the other, they’d wrinkle their nose and mutter something about how horrible that is, but with my hand on my heart, cresting over a hill to see the road snaking through the vast empty nothingness that is so much of Australia is one of my absolute favourite memories.

Australian Working Holiday Visa Information

Where else would you like to travel to?
Plenty of spots. I’m currently toying between Vietnam, New Zealand, and Cuba. I’ll probably hit India on my way back, regardless of what I do, and I think I might shoot for Canada at some point.

Find out more about Australian Working Holidays, including the visa, travel and work, at The Moving Down Under Event at the Down Under Centre in London on 30th January.

Book your tickets here