Right ho so I’ve only just started to write a travel blog
and thought I would put ‘pen to paper’ a few weeks before I leave to get into
the vibe.
I haven’t really done any serious travelling ( the usual holidaying,
a 3 month stint in Estonia and a 3 week stint in Peru which I heart so much! is
about it) so I guess I’m what you could call a novice…oh dear, but ‘I laugh in the face of danger’(whilst
screaming and running away)…and generally laugh in the face of most things
really so I’m sure I’ll be fine, yes?...well I guess we’ll see!!
So I decided after having this never ending nag about the
need to leave these dismal shores that it was a now or never time for me to
take the plunge and head off for warmer climates.
I had always wanted to do the years Working Holiday in
Australia and so this is what I set out looking into.
The timing coincided well with my career as well, as an
Actress. I had always been wary of leaving London in fear it would be
detrimental to my working towards becoming an established actress. I was constantly
working on no and low paid fringe productions and short films and basically any
projects I could get my hands on over the last four years and recently finally secured
2 commercial jobs. However, I felt that I was starting to become resentful of
the take take take of the industry and London in general and that I needed a
bit of a ‘time out’ from the industry (not the acting), this coupled with my
confidence in knowing I would be able to slot back into it when
I returned led me, once again to the conclusion that now was the best time to
embark on my adventure. So I did!
So the research began. Where do you start these days
researching anything? Google of course, I must say if in doubt ‘google it’ is
prob one of my more overused phrases! So I compiled a list of a variety of
companies and sat down to sieve
through all the information and have a think about what it is that I wanted
from my trip.
I came to these conclusions:
·
I wanted to meet new people
·
I wanted freedom and flexibility to kind of go
where the wind took me
·
I wanted the possibility to work as and when I
needed to in whatever industry I fancied
· I wanted to see and work in the acting industry in Australia and ultimately base myself in the best city for this (my assumption being Sydney or Melbourne)
After receiving various brochures etc I thought it would be
best to speak with someone who knew what they were talking about – cue my (now
friend) Pj at STA. Being an Aussie himself he had a good insight into the land of
Oz (omg I’ve just twigged that the Wizard of Oz is about Australia?! Is this
right…? How did I miss this for most of my life…) and so he offered helpful
hints, suggestions etc and gave me some brochures to have a nosey through.
I decided for me the best first step was to book my flights,
so I pondered the exact dates I needed to leave and once I had made this
decision booked my flights via STA (they price match and offer a £20 money off
voucher if you book an in-store appointment with them so they’re quite good to
consider booking flights with.)
After this I looked at and continued to compare the Working
Holiday packages on offer by a variety of groups. If you are considering doing
this it’s good to look around and also have in mind what it is exactly you want
to gain from doing an intro week. For me it was being in a group so I had some
‘ready made’ friends and also ensuring I went with the company that provided me
with the best job pack/opportunities. Other factors that influenced my decision
were the Hostels each company were using (general reviews, safety/location of
area based in etc) and the activities (if any) that were included.
After spending way to long making a decision and a few
nights dreaming about it I finally settled with the 7 night Sydney UltimateOz,
which I upgraded to the 10 night package as I will be arriving on a Friday. I
can let you know if it’s any good when I complete it in November!
Visa wise I went via STA for this too, although you can do
this yourself slightly cheaper online, I just didn’t like the whole
officialness of it and wanted help being guided through the process to ensure I
got it!
I have a rough idea of what I want to do when I first get there, after the intro week I plan to go
up/down the East Coast and then back into Sydney for Xmas and New Year...but until I land I'm not making too many set plans, after all this is an adventure!
(if you would like to read more about me as an actress you
can visit my blog at…. and my website www.laurenwigmore.co.uk)
