Z - Oz Travel Tips - useful info for travel in Australia

This page is a collection of information compiled that may hopefully be useful to overseas visitors, as well as Australian travellers, in their travels throughout Australia. Perhaps putting this info here will also attract a few international visitors to enjoy some of the theatre on offer in Sydney & NSW....

For Backpackers - Questions to ask your employer before starting work

https://www.travellers.com.au/work-in-oz/employer-checklist/

Australian Government Harvest-Trail Guide

For info on rural seasonal work (eg. fruit-picking work) in Australia. Farm work can be a great Australian experience but please be aware of some of the scams that some of the more ruthless and unscrupulous farms or farm labour contractors in the industry have operated in the past & present. There are some more links about these scams further down the page.

https://jobsearch.gov.au/job/search/harvest

Fair Work Australia - Top Tips For Backpackers & Seasonal Workers - Harvest Trail Campaign

https://www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/helping-the-community/campaigns/national-campaigns/harvest-trail-campaign

YHA Australia Mobile App - Going on a roadtrip in OZ? – The Youth Hostels Association of Australia App available for IOS and Android is the perfect companion during your travels in Australia.

https://www.yha.com.au/travel-and-tours/travelling-in-australia/yha-australia-app/

Free state-by-state Field Guide mobile phone apps for the animals/creatures in each different Australian state take up a bit of space on your phone but once you have them ( for offline use) they are great. Found at either of the following links:

https://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/museum-victoria-apps/national-field-guide-apps/

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2014/06/best-australian-wildlife-apps-of-2014

WIRES App- Wildlife Rescue App - Rescue help available 365 days a year. WIRES app provides a quick and easy way to find out how you can help sick, injured and orphaned wildlife. You can report a rescue directly from the app and access some of the most important information you need to know if you find native animals in distress. You can download WIRES rescue app to your smart phone or tablet to get wildlife advice and rescue assistance from WIRES rescue team 7 days a week.

http://www.wires.org.au/rescue/rescue-app

Questagame (wildlife app) : "a fun game to engage kids to engage with nature"

https://questagame.com/

Emergency Assistance

In the event of an emergency (police, ambulance or fire) dial 000, or, from your mobile phone, you can also call 112.

The Red Cross First Aid app , is great, particularly for offline use ( and free)

http://m.redcross.org.au/content/first-aid-app?m=1

Facts about snake bites in Australia - via Trailhiking Australia website

https://www.trailhiking.com.au/facts-snake-bites/

'Health Direct' - this Australian National Health Services Directory app is very useful if you need to locate a chemist shop, GP/doctor or hospital emergency department which is open

http://www.nhsd.com.au

Wikicamps app is great for finding camping spots across Australia....

http://www.wikicamps.com.au/help.php

Beachsafe App (for Android and IPhone) - provides the public with quality up-to-the-minute Australian beach safety information at all times

http://beachsafe.org.au/apps

"Emergency+" ... smartphone app

http://www.triplezero.gov.au/Pages/EmergencySmartphoneApp.aspx

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732): 24 hour, National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line

https://www.1800respect.org.au/

Daisy - an app for women. Violence against women is unacceptable. Daisy is an app that connects women around Australia to services. Daisy can link you up with a service phone number, be used to search the internet for more information and let you know what to expect when contacting a service. Family members and friends can use Daisy to gather information and support a loved one’s decision making

https://www.1800respect.org.au/daisy/

Sexual Assault Abroad - published October 15, 2016

A blog post by backpacker Bethany Edwards outlining her poor treatment by Victoria Police after being sexually assaulted in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

https://newbrandorder.wordpress.com/2016/10/14/sexualassaultabroad/

Crisis Help Lines

A list of all the different help-lines available for you to call if you, or someone you know, are experiencing a crisis of some kind

http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/finding-help

Headspace - the National Youth Mental Health Foundation providing early intervention mental health services to 12-25 year olds. The service is designed to make it easy as possible for a young person and their family to get the help they need for problems affecting their wellbeing. This covers four core areas: mental health, physical health, work and study support and alcohol and other drug services.

http://headspace.org.au/about-us/

Rocky Travel Blog: How to travel solo and discover Australia like a local

http://www.rockytravel.net/

http://www.rockytravel.net/blog/

8 Tips for the Solo Traveller to Australia

http://www.rockytravel.net/blog/the-solo-traveller-australia/

Tips for travelling alone in Australia

http://www.rockytravel.net/blog/tips-for-travelling-alone-in-australia/

Weather Warnings & Information: The Australian Bureau of Meteorology

http://www.bom.gov.au/

Australian Domestic Quarantine rules for interstate travel.

Travel between various states whilst carrying certain fruits and vegetables is prohibited/restricted by quarantine laws and checks at some state borders.

A particular pest (destructive to agricultural crops) is the fruit fly, whose larvae can live in the skins of fruit and vegetables.

See more about the rules here.

http://www.quarantinedomestic.gov.au

Buy the AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia (produced by AIATSIS - Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies)

Also available at many bookshops for around $25.

Buy online here: http://www.aiatsis.ashop.com.au/c/4326118/1/linguistics-languages.html

Online Interactive Map of Indigenous Australia

http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/map/

http://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/aboriginal-australia-map

Indigenous Australia - great website for info on Indigenous culture of Australia

http://www.indigenousaustralia.info/index.htm

Experience Aboriginal Australia - Australian gov't tourism website

http://www.australia.com/en/articles/aboriginal.html

Meetup App - join a Meetup social group to socialise and meet new friends in many locations across Australia, and worldwide

http://help.meetup.com/customer/portal/articles/886408-download-meetup-for-ios-or-android

Australian Government Apps - a wide selction of smartphone apps produced by Australia government agencies

http://www.australia.gov.au/about-government/apps

"Five tips to help you survive your Australian road trip"

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/04/24/3991664.htm

Government Tourism Websites....

Australia.com http://www.australia.com/en

Explore Australia by Map http://www.australia.com/en/explore.html

Visit NSW http://www.visitnsw.com/

NSW http://www.australia.com/en/places/nsw.html

Visit Sydney http://www.sydney.com/

Queensland http://www.australia.com/en/places/qld.html

Victoria http://www.australia.com/en/places/vic.html

Western Australia http://www.australia.com/en/places/wa.html

South Australia http://www.australia.com/en/places/sa.html

Australian Capital Territory (ACT) http://www.australia.com/en/places/act.html

Northern Territory http://www.australia.com/en/places/nt.html

Tasmania http://www.australia.com/en/places/tas.html

NSW DISCOVERY PASS - Are you considering travelling (by train & coach) within New South Wales ?

A Premium DISCOVERY PASS entitles you to 6 months unlimited travel ($420 Economy or... $550 First Class) on the NSW Regional Train & Coach Network. It really is VERY good value.... the DISCOVERY PASS actually INCLUDES trips to Melbourne and Brisbane....from Sydney. Excellent!

http://www.nswtrainlink.info/deals/discovery

YHA Australia - Youth Hostels Australia has a network of quality hostels around the country

https://www.yha.com.au/

Travel Tips from YHA Australia - worth reading!

https://www.yha.com.au/travel-and-tours/travelling-in-australia/travel-hints/

Links to websites of 250 newspapers throughout Sydney & New South Wales

https://sites.google.com/site/theatreinsydney/publicity-help-for-your-theatre-production/250-websites-of-nsw-print-newspapers

Wotif App -find accommodation & flights -

https://www.wotif.com/app

AirBnB app & website - find short term accommodation across Australia

https://www.airbnb.com.au/

Trip Advisor App - find accommodation, restaurants, cafes +++ more....

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/apps

Yellow Pages Business Telephone Directory - to find businesses....

http://www.yellowpages.com.au/

Whitepages Telephone Directory - a combined Business/Residential & Gov't Agency national telephone directory

http://www.whitepages.com.au/

Yelp App - The free Yelp mobile app describes itself as "the fastest and easiest way to search for businesses near you"

https://www.yelp.com.au/mobile

Water Safety in Australia - website with some very useful information for travellers who may be unfamiliar with Australian water-environment conditions.

http://www.watersafety.nsw.gov.au/home/

"Water Safety - When swimming at any patrolled Australian beach, always swim between the red and yellow flags. This is the safest part of the beach for swimming and is monitored by lifesavers who will assist swimmers who are in trouble. If you need help from a lifesaver, signal for help by holding one arm up and waving. While you wait for the lifesaver, try to float on your back and stay calm. When in northern Australia, never swim where crocodiles are known to inhabit. Dangerous jellyfish also inhabit the waters in northern Australia during the months of October to April."" See also : the Beachsafe App (for Android and IPhone) - http://beachsafe.org.au/apps

State-based Fire Safety apps and info

For bushfire info app FIRES NEAR ME in New South Wales (showing fires near you) could potentially save lives

http://www.firesnearme.com

QLDFires App on iTunes - info on current fires in Queensland

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/qld-fires/id576245922?mt=8

FireReady App - Victorian Country Fire Authority

http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/fireready-app/

South Australia Country Fire Service App

http://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/site/news_and_media/cfs_smartphone_application.jsp

Western Australia Fire Alerts and Warnings Map

http://www.dfes.wa.gov.au/alerts/Pages/alertsmap.aspx

See also, Bushfire Warnings, the sites and apps you need

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2013/01/bushfire-warnings-the-sites-and-apps-you-need/

Bushwalking websites (bushwalking = walking in wilderness/forests)

http://bushwalkingnsw.com/

http://www.bushwalkingnsw.org.au/

http://www.bushwalkingaustralia.org/

http://bushwalk.com/

http://www.aussiebushwalking.com/

http://www.greatwalks.com.au/

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/australia/things-to-do/bushwalking-in-australia

TREK - safety information on bushwalking from NSW Police

http://www.trek.nsw.gov.au/

"Basic bushcraft crucial to outback survival, says expert bushman"

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-09/back-to-basics-bush-skills-needed-says-expert/7312064

Bob Coopers Outback Survival Course (and shop) - near Perth, Western Australia

http://www.bobcoopersurvival.com/

And this US. Army Survival Guide app (at top of the list) is a good one... for offline use in emergency situations

http://appcrawlr.com/android-apps/best-apps-army-survival-guide

Tesltra Phone Coverage in remote areas - for mobile phone coverage in regional Australia (outside the main cities) ... i think Telstra network is generally best

http://www.telstra.com.au/coverage-networks/our-coverage

Prepaid sim cards can be bought.

QUEENSLAND EXPLORER PASS - ....in Queensland.... but for overseas travellers only... Queensland Rail have a 1 month unlimited QUEENSLAND EXPLORER PASS ($300) and a 2 month pass (for $389) which is actually less than a return economy rail trip from Brisbane to Cairns....

https://www.queenslandrailtravel.com.au/Planyourtrip/Railinformation/Pages/Rail-Passes.aspx

Australian English & Slang

http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html

http://blogs.acu.edu.au/international/2160/8-essential-australian-slang-expressions/

http://www.australianexplorer.com/slang/phrases.htm

https://thingsaussieslike.wordpress.com/speaking-aussie-style-2/

What is a 'road train' ?

http://www.shorttraveltips.com/what-is-a-road-train/

"Five tips to help you survive your Australian road trip"

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/04/24/3991664.htm

Nullabor Net

http://www.nullarbornet.com.au/