Planning my first solo adventure to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji... help greatly appreciated :)
This is my first time writing on a forum so forgive me if this does not come out quite right. Basically I'm 21 and have always imagined travelling. Recently I've been questioning 'what is actually stopping me?' and the answer....nothing. So I am hoping to set off and travel Oceania/Australasia for a few months, mainly Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. Im a little nervous as Id probably be a solo traveler and am female and well... you hear stories.
Any advice you could offer on time frames, how to go about planning, places to visit etc would be greatly appreciated and I'd love to hear about your experiences.
Thank you!
Reply to this Hi Melissa,
Welcome to TravelBlog, and congrats on the decision to go travelling!
You've chosen three countries which, while not as cheap as somewhere like South East Asia, you won't have any language difficulties which will help you ease into things. The nerves are perfectly understandable, but you'll surprise yourself at how quickly you gain confidence once you hit the road.
What's the maximum time you'd be able to stay away? Do you prefer to see a little of a lot of places, or is taking things a bit slower more your style?
Reply to this You have found the right place to ask questions! As for expenses mentioned by Jo, many take part time jobs that allow for earning some income, while also fitting into a local community and seeing the surrounding area. Single women bloggers who have or are doing this include:
melintheworld,
Forget 9 to 5,
jawilso, and
Tina International, not to mention those on a semester abroad. I could go on, but I suggest that you do further research by clicking on Oceania, then Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand to see blogs posted by fellow TBers about their experiences in those countries. You shouldn't have to read many blogs to find out that what you want to do is totally possible and extremely rewarding. Make sure you blog about your trip! And when my wife and I visited these countries we had a wonderful time visiting with fellow TBers, including Jo above.
Reply to this To add to Bob's comment, feel free to send a private message to people who look as though they're in areas you're travelling to, and see if they're still in the area. By looking through the Oceania threads you'll pick up on the permanent locals as well.
Most of the bus networks have hop-on-hop-off style passes which give a lot of flexibility. In NZ try;
[url=http://www.intercity.co.nz[Intercity
Naked Bus
Bottom Bus
Kiwi Experience
The main domestic airlines;
Air NZ
Jetstar
If you have questions after reading some of the blog entries, ask away :-)
[Edited: 2013 Jun 21 03:23 - Jo Trouble:16935 ]
Reply to this Hello Melissa and welcome to travel blog!
You've got a great trip planned. Now all you need is some time and money.
My first solo trip was New Zealand. It is a fantastic country to get your feet wet. The people are so friendly and the beauty of the country is amazing. I've been to NZ twice. Each time I stayed for 4 weeks. When I go back I will stay at least 6 weeks if not 8. There is so much to see and to do. You'll find mountains, rivers, glaciers, penguins, sheep and amazing people. Don't rush through NZ.
You may want to read some of our blogs.
We spent 2 months in Australia and again it was not enough time. Australia is very large. We went diving on the Great Barrier Reef, explored Sydney which is one of the great cities of the world, we loved Tasmania, we took the train from Sydney to Perth, loved our time at Ayers Rocks and Alice Springs.
We went to Fiji before we started blogging. It is a series of 300 islands. You'll need to do some research to see which island has the personality you are looking for.
We went to Australia in 2007 and the exchange was not good at the time. We had difficulty sticking to our budget because prices were higher than we expected.
Let us know if you have any specific questions.
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