dell.com.au is as good as anywhere.

Hey josem can you recommend any good places to safari somewhere near melbourne or sydney, something reasonably priced where you can actually see animals, and not just sight seeing? Thank you

lol safari, you have a very warped perception of australia

You might be right on that, is there no good place to go on some kind of wildlife safari there? I've never been to Australia so don't really know what to expect, thanks

I've never heard of a tour of the bush that includes much in the way of seeing animals in the wild.

-The koala hides up in trees
-Kangaroos move around at dusk/night
-Most of the other cool Australian animals are incredibly sparsely populated and nocturnal.

Since Australia is so dry, there simply isn't enough water in the ecology to sustain large herds of animals, which makes seeing them in the wild on some sort of safari tour pretty difficult.

For most unique Australian animals, zoos are probably your best bet to see them. If you want to see them in the wild, then it is going to be much tougher.

Thanks josem thats great help actually, I was wondering why I was having so much trouble finding wild animal safaris online, also is phillip island something you would recommend? I saw a few things that go there. You think this would be worth seeing?

http://www.infohub.com/vacation_packages/12252.html

tom. when are you over here? for the aussie millions?

nm, just saw your other thread

Phillip Island has penguins and the Moto GP. If you're travelling to Australia from overseas, then I wouldn't go there for much else.

Ya will be in tasmania jan 9-15, then melbourne 15-27, sydney 27 -31, then fiji 31 - feb 3, I hear there is a lot of nice things to do in tasmania, any suggestions guys? Thanks again for all the help in advance

Tasmania is a host to a whole lot of great "natural" things. I went there a couple of times when I was young (early teens).

Depending on the flexibility of your flights, one idea is to fly into Hobart, and hire a car and drive around the east coast of tasmania, and fly out of Launceston.

If I were to go to Tasmania for a week, the things I would see would include:

-Port Arthur (one of the original prisons for people transported from England, and, in 1997, the site of Australia's worst ever mass murder)

-Cascade Brewery (oldest Australian brewery, imo)

http://www.discovertasmania.com/ has more tips.

Events are listed at http://events.discovertasmania.com/E...haveSearched=y

I have graduated from University 2 months ago , was studying Govermental Management. I am going to Barcelona/Spain next month and will stay there for 4 months to learn Spanish.

After that I want to continue my study and get a master degree on International Relations or Political Science or any other related subject. I am currently checking European countries and universities out but they are usually quite expensive and also cost of life is pretty high there as well.

Is Australia a good option to study and get a master's degree other than all those European countries?

I am Turkish and 23 so i will need a Visa , probably a student visa , a work permit and a residence visa , all three of them. What are my chances of obtainning a visa for all three?

How are the cost of life there? How much money do i need as a student to live a decent life in a month?

I play $100 PLO regularly so i make some cash but while abroad i want to get a part time job and play pokers in my free time. How's the job market? Easy to get a normal student job? Will it pay enough?

I heard and seen on news before that Australians don't like foreigner's much. I also heard there is already a Turkish Community in Australia so there may be already some prejudice about Turks. Would it honestly affect my communication with locals when i am there?

By the way , thank you for doing this.

When this thread is done , you may want to sort all questions and answers and publish it on a website. So much info here.

Education is Australia's fourth largest export industry.

There's a very large number of international students studying in Australia, and I think there will be more opportunities to do so in the near future.

The highly respect universities are all listed at http://www.go8.edu.au/ - they're the ones that would be highly valued right across the world.

A student visa includes work rights (up to 20 hours per week) and temporary residence rights.

If you're looking for permanent residency, then you'll need another visa which will typically only be available after you complete your course.

Obtaining a student visa is virtually guaranteed on enrolment, assuming you don't have a significant criminal history.

This would vary from city to city and depend upon your standard of living. The various university websites will have more information - see www.monash.edu.au (that's the Uni that I went to) and follow the links to information for prospective international students.

Unemployment is currently at a 30 year low, but rising slightly.

Over the long term, the demographic aging of Australia will make finding and holding a job much easier.

If you speak a language to a high level other than English, PM me - my employer is currently seeking staff.

I think that this is a non-existent issue. I think I made some comments in the first few posts that are now a couple of years old about racism in Australia.

Thanks, that's kind.

A few friends of mine are looking to rent this place for a while: http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1229907450

im looking at the area on google maps and it looks kind of unique for sure. Do you have any thoughts/opinions/advice on that property/area? Seems like a good time for people from europe to come to australia due to the exchange rates?

I don't know much about that area, but know that it is very popular. I'd be wary of renting properties before you see them.

Hi, Im going to Aus and NZ for a year at the end of January. Ive decided to make a 100 things to do in '09 list, kinda as a way to make sure I dont fall into any patterns, keep me moving etc. I havent set an itenerary, but I aim at least to goto Sydney, Melbourne, do the Brisbane to Cairns trail, and goto NZ. Would you be so good to recommend 5 things that I absolutely must do in '09. They could be specific places to go, tourist attractions to see, sporting events to attend etc etc, pretty much anything really. Many thanks in advance.

-Australian Rules football game, preferably at the MCG. Let me know more about approximate timing and I can suggest a good big game

-Great Barrier Reef

-Climb Sydney Harbour Bridge

-Bungee Jumping in NZ

-Surfing at Bondi Beach

JDPriest,

If the timing is right, go to a State of Origin rugby league game too, preferably the one in Brisbane.



Josem and others,

I'm in Sydney right now in the CBD (on Liverpool Street between Pitt and George to be exact). I love it here, tons of Thai/Japanese restaurants, cool studenty/backpacker bars, shops and cinema nearby. If I were to move to Melbourne, what would the exact equivalent be? Just somewhere in the CBD again I assume? If you know of an exact street or cool apartment building, please feel free to share it. I'm willing to spend $500 at least, maybe more. A good swimming pool in the building is the only real deal-breaker. Thanks!

The place defiantly looks nice, a little bit out of the main street area (Hastings Street) from what I can tell, you might need to get taxis back home if your going out etc. but it is probably better to be slightly away from the main/busy area.

You will love the exchange rate at the moment, def a good time

Yeah thanks for the input guys

Josem;

Thinking of taking a girl of mine here for Spring Break(March 14th).

What are my best options? Not necessarily a girlfriend, but I would only be "with" her throughout the trip. I'm 20. I also like the beach

How long is this for?

Seems like a long way to come for just a beach...

But Great Barrier Reef and Sydney would be two good things to do. Plenty of photo ops around Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House would be nice.

Melbourne has Formula 1 Grand Prix around that time.

Great Barrier Reef will be good for snorkelling, swimming, etc.
Anything in the southern side of the CBD would be good - Bourke St, Collins St, Flinders St, or the cross streets near there too. Southbank would also be good, but not so much studenty/backpacker bars.

There's also a heap of stuff in the inner suburbs of Brunswick (bit alternative) or Prahran/Windsor (bit "nicer")

thanks man

Josem

I have a friend who has been bugging me to visit him in Tasmania. (Can't recall the town,sorry)

He told me Taz pwns Oz on many levels.

Is he full of crap or should i pack my bags?

If you like nature - bushwalking and all that - it's a nice place.

The island isn't very big, and it's not going to be an expensive time down there.

Just wanted to thank everyone who helped me out a couple of months ago when I was going to Sydney. We eventually found a great apartment right down by the beach and had a great time.

I'm actually considering returning there to study in the fall and I have a couple more questions. Am I correct saying that University of Sydney probably is the best school for something like Business & Administration? What are the differences between the schools?
What's the best way to go about finding a place to live? I guess I'm kinda flexible - would be willing to live in a dorm, share an apartment with a couple of ppl or whatever.

And also, why do ppl say "how you going" instead of "how you doing"? I found that hilarious.