Australia also has a wide variety of backpacker, motel, hotel and holiday unit accommodation to choose from, as well as excellent camping and caravan facilities. However the most popular method for Working Holiday makers is share accommodation.

Share accommodation can vary greatly in price and quality in the various cities throughout Australia.

The most expensive city to rent accommodation is Sydney. For a room in a share house in Sydney you must budget between AUD$150~250 per week, while in Brisbane the average is around AUD$75~120 per week.

In addition to this you must budget for telephone, electricity and gas charges. An average weekly amount of AUD$50 per week should be suitable.

Most share houses will require a security deposit of no more than one months rental and please, do not forget to receive a receipt for all payments.

To find suitable share accommodation the best places to look are the major Saturday newspapers, University information bulletin boards, English colleges and backpacker hostels.

For any accommodation or homestay enquiries please do not hesitate to contact our student manager at Oz-Study for more information.

The best method for travelling around Australia is by car and although there are some places that require a 4WD most areas are now accessible by conventional motor vehicle.

As many visitors will tell you, cars are not cheap in Australia and you should not buy a very cheap car that will break down quickly.

To drive around Australia will take several months and it will place a great deal of stress and pressure on the vehicle, so be sure that it is in mechanically good condition. You do not want to be stuck out in the middle of the Australian desert with a broken car.

If you purchase a motor vehicle you must be over 18 years of age, have a current Australian or International motor vehicle license, upon purchasing the vehicle you must register the vehicle in the state you are in and you must take out insurance in case of an accident.

As a good hint for all international travellers, a registered motor vehicle trader will complete all of this paper work for you. This is a much easier option, as to do all this paper work, find the correct government department and pay all the required fees can be difficult and confusing.

Most eligible passport holders are able to apply for a Working Holiday visa anywhere outside Australia.

Applicants need to be:

• eligible passport holders
• aged between 18 and 30, and
• without dependent children

Applicants who hold a valid passport from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malta, Germany and the Republic of Cyprus, must apply in the country of their passport.

Taiwanese and the HKSAR (including British National Overseas) passport holders must apply in Taiwan and Hong Kong respectively.

From 1 November 2005, certain working holidaymakers may be eligible to apply for a second working holiday visa.

To be eligible you must have;

• worked as a seasonal worker in regional Australia for a minimum of three months while on their first working holiday visa,
• show evidence of the length of time they have spent working as a seasonal worker in regional Australia.
• obtain a copy of Form 1263 Working Holiday visa: Employment Verification from their nearest DIMIA office.

For the purposes of meeting the requirements for a second working holiday visa, seasonal work and regional Australia are defined as:

Seasonal work: harvesting and/or packing of fruit and vegetable crops, pruning and trimming vines and trees, thinning and trimming flowers and bunches and general maintenance crop work.

Regional Australia: anywhere in Australia except Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, the NSW Central Coast, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Perth, Melbourne or the ACT.

While fruit picking is hard work, it's not too hard. You are usually working in a group of fellow travellers in some great locations around Australia.

One of the best things about fruit picking is that it qualifies you to extend your Australian Working Holiday Visa for another year. You need to do 3 months of seasonal work in a regional area in order to qualify.

Harvest Time	Crop	Areas
Oct-Jun	Grapes & Orchard Fruit	South/West
Mar-Nov	Crayfish,Prawns & Scallops	West Coast from Freemantle to Carnavon
Mar-Jun	Rock Lobster	Geraldton Freemantle
May-Oct	Fruit & Vegetable picking and packing	Kununarra
Jul-Aug	Bananas	Kununurra
Oct-Jan	Mangoes	Kununurra

Victoria

Harvest Time	Crop	Crop Areas
Jan-Apr	Pears, Peaches ,Apples & Tomatoes	Ardmona Shepparton Tatura Cobram Kyabram
Jan-Apr	Tobacco	Murray River Valleys
Feb-Mar	Grapes	Lake Boga Nyah West Swan Hill Robinvale Sunraysia
Mar-Apr	Apples	Buckland Valley Stanley Wandilong Red Hill Main Range
Nov-Feb	Cherries	Boweya Glenrowan Wangandary

New South Wales

Harvest Time	Crop	Areas
Nov-Apr	Orchard Fruits, cotton, onion & asparagus	Bahurst, Dubbo & Orange areas
Feb-Mar	Grapes	Griffith
Year Round	Bananas	Coffs Harbour Area

Queensland

Harvest Time	Crop	Crop Areas
All year	Bananas & Sugar	Tully
Dec-Mar	Orchard fruits	NSW Border area
Feb-Mar	Fruits & Vegatables	Childers & Bundaberg
Feb-Apr	Ginger	Sunshine Coast
Mar-Dec	Wide range of vegetables	Bundaberg
Apr-Oct	Wide range of vegetables	Lockyer Valley
Apr-Nov	Beans	Mary Valley
Apr-Dec	Tomatoes, Other Vegetables & Mangoes	Bowen
May-Oct	Broccoli	Milmerran Toowoomba
May-Dec	Sugar Cane, Bananas& Tobacco	Ayr Ingham Innisfail
Sep-Nov	Tobacco	Mareeba

South Australia

Harvest Time	Crop	Areas
Feb-Apr	Citrus, Soft Fruits & Dried Fruits	Riverland
Feb-Apr	Grapes	Barossa Valley
Feb-Apr	Grapes	Southern Vales
Feb-Aug	Brussels Sprouts	Adelaide Hills
Jun-Aug	Oranges	Riverland
Oct-Feb	Strawberries	Adelaide Hills
Dec-Feb	Apricots	Riverland

Tasmania