Australia: For Less, Of Course

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If I had to sum up Australia, I would have to use the phrase "wide open spaces". The beautiful and strange landscape, and wildlife, are combined nicely with likeably, wonderfully, old-fashioned (underneath) Aussies. There weren't many easily had bargains when I went, mostly because of a serious lack of competition in the Australian business landscape. Everything seemed to be owned by Kambrook or Arnott's. Things like that don't faze the intrepid cheapskate; and I soon got my bargain groove on with some old favorites and some new tricks especially for Oz.

Before you go: There are a whole lot more air carrier players than come to mind right away. For example, I liked a well-known discount carrier's package offer, but was really surprised to see prices with an Arab carrier for $350 less - I wouldnt have thought to look there. Asian airlines -of course- its Australasia, after all- are another avenue to try. There are some standard things I do no matter where I'm headed, like 1)set up a hotel and parking package for free parking throughout my trip (instead of handing a fortune to the -scary- airport lot), Stay123's site is very good for these package deals and 2) absolutely take care of my phone call situation before I find myself penniless after just one overseas hotel call. You can either set something up with your cell carrier for a travel plan, just make sure they're hooked up with vodaphone or virgin or telstra, the only carriers in Aust.,or use apps for totally free calling over the internet. You haven't even landed down under yet, and already you're ahead with just those 2 moves. And for air travel between major Australian cities, Tiger Airways, Jetstar and Virgin Blue are almost always cheaper than Qantas. In terms of glamour, Tiger is the airborne version of a suburban bus service, but it’ll get you where you need to go.

Here are 5 more ways to beat airline costs within Australia:
Compare fares on a fare comparison website like webjet before you book direct online with any airline.
Fly on Saturday afternoons, Sunday mornings, Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the cheapest flights.
Fly without checked baggage.
The airport trains from Sydney and Brisbane airports are quick and convenient, but if you’re three or more people it can be cheaper to take a taxi into the city.
Be aware that some budget airlines fly to Melbourne’s Avalon airport - Buses from here to the city take longer and are more expensive than buses from Melbourne’s main airport, Tullamarine.

A road trip starting from $1 a day
Campervanning is a fantastic way to get to Australia’s wild places. Sleeping to the sound of surf and waking up to a chorus of kookaburras are quintessential Aussie experiences. And if you’re really flexible, you can get paid to do it.

Seriously: sign up for a relocation rental. The relocation company assigns you a vehicle, a route, a timeframe, and sometimes even a fuel allowance. Right now, you could take a six-bed motor-home from Alice Springs to Adelaide in five days for $1 a day – and receive $150 towards fuel. The mileage allowance of 2000km is almost enough to get you to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and back as well – you’ll pay slightly more for those extra kilometres. Here’s how:
Check out www.standbyrelocs.com
Plan your itinerary carefully to be sure the mileage allowance covers what you want to do
Read the fine print
Fill the fridge with fresh fruit and vegetables before you hit the outback, where prices rise dramatically
Swap drivers regularly so everyone gets a break – you don’t realise how big Australia is till you get behind the wheel



Top 10 free museums and galleries

Looking for culture – or, as it’s known locally, culchah? The permanent collections of Australia’s major museums and galleries are absolutely free to visit. Admission charges kick in only for special travelling exhibitions.

Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Queensland Museum, Brisbane
Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Museum of Australia, Canberra
NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) International, Melbourne
Ian Potter Centre (National Gallery of Victoria) – Australian art, Melbourne

Top five free wildlife experiences
Spoiler alert: you won’t see kangaroos hopping down the main street of Sydney. But you don’t need to pay big bucks for zoo admission to see Australia’s native wildlife, and you don’t need to go far to see it in its natural habitat either.

Tidal River campground, Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria
Tidal River is especially popular with wombats, and they’re not shy of humans. It’s 225km south-east of Melbourne.
Zumsteins, Grampians National Park, Victoria
About 270km north-west of Melbourne, Zumsteins is to kangaroos as the mall is to teenagers.
Bennetts Ridge campground, Euroka, Blue Mountains National Park, New South Wales
Only an hour from downtown Sydney, kangaroo sightings are virtually guaranteed here in the mornings. ($7 vehicle fee)
Depot Beach campground, Murramurang National Park, New South Wales
It’s the photo op that brought you to Australia: kangaroos on the beach. Murramurang is about 280km south of Sydney ($7 vehicle fee)
Alligator Creek campground, Bowling Green Bay National Park, Queensland
Wallabies (the cutest you’ve ever seen), not alligators, are the draw at this campground 366km south of Cairns.

Cheap sleeps

If you’re not lucky enough to have a mate with a place to stay, there are still plenty of options for accommodation that doesn’t cost the earth. Check out the online deals for ‘mystery hotels’ – try Wotif or lastminute.com.au. You won’t know exactly where you’re staying until after you’ve paid (and it’s non-refundable), but there are some serious bargains to be had if you’re flexible, especially at the four- and five-star level.

You’ve heard of Australia’s famous surf beaches, but you might not know that Melbourne has more than 15,000 couch-surfers, and Sydney has more than 13,000. Couch-surfing? It’s on online network of hosts offering free beds to travellers, and travellers looking for free beds. About 70% of couch-surfers are aged 18 to 29. Find a couch at couchsurfing.org.Prefer a whole house, not just a bed? House-swapping is also an option if you’ve got a place of your own to offer; in exchange, you could end up in a three-bedroom townhouse near Bondi Beach, a rainforest hideaway near Cairns, or a surfside spot on the Great Ocean Road. Try aussiehouseswap.com.au or houseswapholidays.com.au.



Here are some of the lesser known things you can do around Australia for free or next to nothing, starting in Sydney and then going beyond:

1. Coastal Walks – You can do the gorgeous walk between the famous Bondi around to Tamarama. On the walk along the coastline you can check out the colourful Sculptures by the Sea (29 Oct - 15 Nov 09). On the northern side of the city there's also the Manly to Spit walk.

2. Kuringai National Park - Depending of course where you're staying, and providing the weather is co-operative, any of the local parks dotted in and around the cities make for a lovely place to stop, watch the passing scenery and have a bite to eat.

3. Hyde Park – Free to walk around and catch the annual Noodle Markets and art lining the central walkway of the park during October.

4. Centennial Park – Free to walk around but only a small fee to yee-haw it on horseback!

5. Sydney's Botanical Gardens - Free to roam around and get a beautiful aspect of the harbour, opera house and bridge all in the same photo. You'll experience the local fruit bats, ibis and cockatoo's in close proximity to the CBD.

6. Homebush - Home to the Sydney Olympics in 2000, this a great place to walk or cycle.

7. Circular Quay - A great place for sight-seeing and taking in some local culture.

8. Bondi Beach – In many respects Bondi is the epicentre Australian lifestyle (sun, sand and surf). However, parking at Bondi is notorious and the parking stingers will pounce on any offenders! Ideally park your vehicle at King's Cross or Bondi Junction and catch the bus over for your day at the beach.

9. Tap Gallery, Darlinghurst – Free exhibition of "fringe" art and cheap drinks.

10. Free Pool Tables – Be on the lookout for a number of Sydney CBD bars and hotels offer free use of pool tables including the Roof Bar, every Tuesday until Saturday after 5pm or the Golden Barley, 167 Edgeware Road, Enmore on Tuesdays after 7pm. Also check out Nag's Head Hotel, 162 St Johns Road, Glebe for free pool tables all day Sunday.

11. Mardi Gras (Sydney) - fantastic colourful & lively, it's a yearly spectacle that you can catch early March.

12. Luna Park (Sydney) – It's free to get into Luna Park but if you want to experience one of the rides it'll cost around $10.

13. Combined Pass or Discovery Triple Pass – Save up to 20% off full price admission for the Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Tower (including OzTrek) and the Sydney Wildlife World.

14. Sydney Opera House – The iconic landmark on Sydney's harbour. You're free to roam around outside but a 1 hour guided tour inside will set you back $35 for adults. Save up to $6 when you book it online.

15. Visit the set of Home & Away – That's right, drive up to Palm Beach on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and you can wander around where the beach scenes of Home & Away are filmed. Time it right and you can watch the show being filmed too!

16. Kincumber Mountain Reserve, Central Coast – Check out the historic Aboriginal carvings and axe-grinding grooves which can be seen at Kincumber Mountain Reserve amongst the 700 ha of undisturbed rainforests.

17. City Ghost Tours – At the Rocks (Sydney), Picton (Sydney's south), Quarantine Centre (Manly) and Melbourne, not to mention at places like Port Arthur in Tasmania

18. Queen Victoria Markets – Melbourne's Queen Victoria's market host an eclectic mix of food, art, clothing and home wares (to name but a few) worth a stroll-through.

19. Melbourne’s Free City Tram - Melbourne is home to the free city circle tram which you can hop on and hop off anywhere along the route.

20. Haigh's Chocolates, Adelaide – Situated in Adelaide, Haigh's offer a free 20 minute tour of their chocolate factory along with free samples afterward!

21. Hobart's Salamanca Markets - Not to be missed if you're in Tasmania.

22. Bus Depot Markets, Kingston, Canberra – Check out the excellent quality hand-made foods, crafts and art

23. Floriade, Canberra - Held each September in Canberra it's a beautiful month floral display that you should check out if you're passing through. Entry during the day is free.

24. Koala Hospital, Port Macquarie – Port Macquarie is situated half way between Sydney and Brisbane on the NSW Mid North Coast. Get up close to injured koalas and kangaroo's for free.

25. Byron Bay Lighthouse – Visit the most easterly point in all of Australia and practice your pointing pose. The lighthouse is free to look around as are the walks.

26. Minyon Waterfalls, Byron Bay – Surrounded by rainforest. Free entry to the national park with plenty of places to hike and picnic.

27. Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast - A lovely place to spend the day browsing, shopping and walking around in the open air.

28. Gold Coast Theme Parks - Various theme parks are located on the southern end of the Gold Coast – Dreamworld, Movieworld, Seaworld, Wet'n'Wild and White Water World. The parks are a real hit with little kids and big kids. Save money by purchasing a combined pass.

29. Frasier Island, Queensland – Visiting this world heritage listed tourist destination is a real must but expect to pay around AU$300 for an island tour.

30. Great Barrier Reef – There's no ultra-cheap way to see the Great Barrier Reef due to the sheer size of the reef and distance needing to be travelled. However, a couple of hundred dollars will take you on a fishing charter off the reef.

31. Federation Walkway – It won't cost you a cent to stroll along the 620m Federation Walkway. Open 9 to 5 everyday, the path weaves through the grey gum canopy and affords you views of the Kings Park botanical gardens, Perth, Western Australia.

32. Bibbulmun Track, WA – This is only for hardcore trekkers! The long-distance walk trail is a world-class, 963 kilometre trek that stretches from Kalamunda to Albany.

33. Sunset at Cottesloe Beach, Perth

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Photos

Princess Theater, Melbourne
this is a perfect example of the wealth of victorian architecture you will see in Melbourne

Melbourne
"Meet me under the clock" has been said by Melbournians since forever.
check out the (blurry) tram