Teaching in Ontario (Canada) is brilliant for a number of reasons; the pension’s reputedly one of the best in the world, and the teacher salary benefits: massage, dental, optometry, even orthopedics! — are something to write home about.
But of course traveling the world is kind of amazing…and a developing–or feeding, for some!–your sense of adventure is exactly the reason you’re leaving home.
Australia does not offer employee benefits. It’s not really a big deal, since most people only come over here for the year–you can probably organize your dental and contact lenses before moving to Australia–and if you are moving permanently, you have to accept the need for ‘extras’ medical insurance cover. It’s just one of those ‘culture shock’ differences.
The Good news:
Your Australian employer will automatically contribute 9% of your salary to your superannuation fund. And another 9% of your salary will be deducted from your salary and invested into your super fund.
If you don’t plan on becoming a permanent resident, you can collect this money when you leave (as well as the tax you paid, by the way). Yahoo!
Tags: Australian teacher pension, Australian teaching, cultural differences, culture shock, superannuation
The Aussie are so hardcore at Customs, they even attempted to capture the drama in a reality TV show called “Border Control“.
Why the Drama?
You see, Australia’s had a bad run of importing foreign material. In the past, it was thought ‘harmless’ to bring in certain comforts from ‘home shores’.
Anyone who’s been up North to Cairns (or read the Lonely Planet’s entry on this) knows about the Cane toads (who were brought in to kill the beetles who were killing the sugar cane–except they were on top of the cane and the frogs couldn’t get to them…) but there have also been ‘great ideas’ for the importing of rabbits, foxes, and a range of plants that have been detrimental to native Australian flora and fauna.
So, sure, we now know the extent of damage that can be done when native items from bacteria to mamals are moved between countries.
What’s it Matter to you?
Make sure you ‘dot your is and cross your ts’ when you come through Customs in Australia.
First of all, of course you have to plan for it to take you a bit of time to get through Customs–usually an hour to an hour and a half on top of your arrival time (depending on when you fly in).
On my new passport returned into Australia I had neglected to include my middle initial that was on my Visa. I was pulled aside. They were pretty cool about it, but I was warned to be a bit more careful.
Another time our boots were hosed down and cleaned (but that was actually kind of nice).
It’s not Thailand and you probably won’t have someone planting drugs on you (hopefully not anyway) but getting stopped is also not that uncommon. It would also really suck if you didn’t expect it and had people waiting on the other side.
All minor issues aside the real deal is this:
READ the signs! When they say, certain items aren’t allowed, they aren’t kidding. If you forget even a grape from your plane’s fruit salad, you can be charged with bringing in ‘fruit fly’ material. The penalties are severe; and it’s all too easy to forget about the apple stashed for a midnight snack.
(Ultimately, we all know it’s getting more strict everywhere. When I arrived in Canada the last time I was home, they sprayed us down while we waited on the tarmac before we were allowed to leave the plane.)
Regarding Mail:
Packages can be held up at Customs for ages too, especially if you are sending food across. You can avoid problems and defaulting delivery if you clearly describe the contents of the package.
Hot Tips – Liquids and Alcohol toting:
You can carry liquids in between domestic flights in Australia–any quantity, and this includes alcohol too. Travelling internationally, however, the same rules apply as in North America (except you usually don’t have to take off your shoes). You have to keep your liquids in bottles under 100 mL and they should be altogether in a sealed bag. You can’t even walk through with a bottle of water you bought in an Airport shop (seriously, I’ve been sent back to dump it out).
If you are going home to Canada and want to take some Australian wines (great idea!) you are allowed to carry 2 750 mLs bottles per person (plus other stuff, but that’s the alcohol allottment as far as I know).
Remember to always bubble-wrap glass (readily available at the Post Shop/Office).
The best thing to do is to be prepared and to be cooperative, of course.
Tags: alcohol on planes, Australian Cutoms, mail to Australia
Knowing when to travel and teach overseas is critical in the decision making process but it can also effect your enjoyment once overseas.
First things first: WHY are you thinking about teaching overseas?
Are you trying to run away from something? Are you bored? Are you unhappy where you are? Is it your only option? If you can say ”YES” to any of these questions, then you might want to rethink your plans.
Going overseas to travel is one thing, but to live and work overseas is a whole other ball game. Keep in mind (that even from the other side of the world) if there are problems at home, they will still find their way to you. Worse, you won’t have your usual friends and family to support you through them which makes it even more difficult.
And, If You Really Are Ready to Teach Overseas:
Make sure you are interested in traveling and teaching overseas because of the adventure, the experience, and please make sure to go with an open mind.
You will have many things to deal with, including new: culture; curriculum; home; school/schools; friends; currency; and possibly language.
The teachers who enjoy themselves the most while teaching overseas are those that are willing to ‘give anything a shot’. Being flexible, open-minded, and taking the opportunity to enjoy travelling during your experience is essential.
Teaching abroad is a fantastic opportunity and one you will cherish forever, but just remember to think it through before making the leap overseas.
So after you have considered all of the above, when should you teach in Australia?
Australia’s school year starts at the end of January and ends in mid-December. There are 4 terms during the year with 2-week holidays separating each term and then a 6-week summer break over Christmas. If you are from overseas then you will be looking at casual relief (supply) work or short-term contracts (up to 6 months because that is all your visa will allow).
Keeping all of this in mind, the best time to come to teach in Australia is between April and November. Many schools look for teachers for 6-month contracts starting in July that end in December or April until September. Casual relief (supply) teaching starts up in March/April but really gets busy in May through til November.
The other thing to keep in mind, it will be up to you and your enthusiasm and teaching ability to get schools interested and asking for you each day! For work in good quality schools, get involved and reach out and those are the kinds of teachers that get a lot of work.
FINALLY, some recognition in Western Society on the importance of language.
John Masanauskas’ “Push to help gay pupils with new anti-homophobia policy” (Herald Sun, June 02, 2009 ) reveals the possibility of a new policy to ensure teachers–adults, really–acknowledge all aspects of their ‘Duty of Care’ to protect ALL Students, including SSAY (Same Sex Attracted Youth).
Using the research of La Trobe University’s Associate Professor Anne Mitchell ” a gay and lesbian health expert whose research helped formulate the policy,” we are finally going to start the discussion of how terms like “that’s so gay” negatively affect our youth.
Yes, discouraging the use of “that’s so gay” IS important.
Whether you want to or not, we all know SSA people. But they might not feel comfortable sharing their life with you if you continue to use language that makes them feel stigmatized, or unaccepted.
Language has always been essential in welcoming friendship. That’s why we greet acquaintances with “Good Morning” and not “F%#k off”.
If we ignore derogatory language, we are complicit in perpetuating its use.
If we ignore SSAY, we are saying they are not worthy of acknowledgment.
AND notice boards, books, surveys about bullying and information about SSA people (10% of our world’s population) DO help to make SSAY feel like they are welcome and valued in our society.
How else do we want our children and friends and family to feel?
Tags: Associate Professor Anne Mitchell, Duty of Care, homophobia, John Masanauskas, La Trobe University, language use, MWF Schools program, schools, SSAY, that's so gay, the Herald sun
The leaves that once strewn the sidewalks have now been kicked to the gutter! Or have they?
That’s the Melbourne winter difference–the leaves get to stick around.
After Autumn, the weather doesn’t change that much. The roses will still be in bloom and lemons will be growing on backyard trees.
It is dark now around 5 pm, light at 7:20 a.m. But the shortest day of the year is June 21st (right around the corner) and it will start to get lighter.
The coldest day I’ve had didn’t last past noon, because once that sun comes up it really warms (to 18 degrees Celsius usually).
What Clothing Do you Need?
But still, morning and evening temperatures of 4 and 9 deg. cels. are cold enough to make you want light gloves and a “beanie” (”toque”).
A good scarf is the perfect addition to any outfit as it really heads off that ‘damp cold’ that surrounds you before the sun’s high.
Melbournians walk nearly everywhere; never change their shoes for winter (yep–some Aussies will still be wearing thongs!); and keep an umbrella close at hand in the winter.
But you don’t have to shovel the driveway before work–ever. Oh, and the footy’s on
Tags: beanie, coldest day, Life in Melbourne, melbourne autumn, melbourne temperatures, melbourne winter, winter clothing, winter in victoria
It’s coming around to that time of the year…yet this year I’ve made a tyro mistake.
I was wondering last week why it was so quiet. I didn’t have any marking to do, and I couldn’t be bothered to start writing my reports.
So, now it’s the following week and I’ve got 100 essays to mark and 100 reports to write. And there are 3 extra-curricular activities happening after school.
I’m so scattered I accidentally locked my partner in the house this morning.
Are you feeling this way too?
Here are 3 Tips to make your Report Card Writing a Breeze:
- Don’t wait for your school’s computer program: write your report cards in a word-processor–and ahead of the due date, it will save you a heap of editing time and potential losses at the last minute. I’ve found that school computer reporting programs are usually hard-to-use and slow-to-work…They are also unreliable–I’ve lost whole class sets working between the export-import options (school network to home computer).
- Plan your assessment ahead of the reporting deadlines–and stagger it. I try to plan my assessment tasks in pencil using a semester planner (week-by-week). I do this so I can avoid having all of my classes’ assessment tasks due in the same week–which is a marking bloody nightmare. Not only do you end up in a flurry of stress, but when reports are due more tasks pressing on your few ’spares’ is sure to wind you up in bed in the end: sick, tired and bitter!
- Buddy up with someone you trust. It’s great if you can have a buddy who is in your department to read the Word version of your report comments. If they are in your department, curriculum comments will be on par (mind you, parents tend to prefer if you just speak in layman’s terms so they can understand what you have to say about their kid–mostly they are interested in attitude, effort and level of achievement.)
Parents prefer you comment on attitude, effort and level of achievement.
Tags: report card writing tips, report cards, tips, what to put in a report card
I was just looking at the Poll Results that are coming in this week on the latest poll “Best Classroom Management Practice is managed by…”.
Initially, I was actually surprised that the “5 years of more Experience” is rivaling “school leadership” in a neck-to-neck tie. I put in my vote (had to tip that little baby over the edge!)
I mean, I know that’s what we are told in Teachers College: that classroom management comes with time.
But then I always said Teachers College was a lot of codswallop.
Does Experience Dictate Ability?
I don’t think Classroom Management has much to do with time or experience at all.
Certainly, we become more able to deal ‘on our feet’ with poor behavior as we experience the dynamics of more classrooms–but once you learn a few mantras ( that’s really all there is to discipline) then it all comes down to consequences.
It’s not only up to the school leadership team to deliver consequences. As a teacher, we all have the initial responsibility as we strive to build a class rapport, to help our students know where the boundaries are.
On that note, my poll is probably not being quite fair enough to everyone. Oh well, you win some you lose some.
The point is, there are a few mantras that anyone can learn to significantly improve their classroom management.
I’m an expert on High School discipline, so I’m going to gear my answers to this age group. (It’s probably not realistic to try to use reason with a 7 year old–and I recognize that my skills do not lie with Primary aged children).
The key to classroom management best practice is to understand teenagers, in order to get them to cooperate.
How to Achieve Best Practice Classroom Management:
These are my rules:
- Emotionally, teenagers are basically adults. They are aware of social awkwardness and they have a moral code of what is right or wrong. You can reason with them on this note, but if you don’t show respect for their emotions and their own intellectual reasoning, you’ll never get them to cooperate. How many adults would take such a crappy approach? They’d flip you the bird and ignore you, too.
- All students are basically good, kind individuals (1). As such, these teens are pretty keen to have adult approval–even if they act like they don’t (2). Explaining poor behavior in terms of how it affects the teacher is extremely compelling. Most kids have no idea that what they are doing upsets you. If you explain it to them in these gentle terms, they’re very likely to be cautious never to do it again.
- Always discipline 1-0n-1 and with a smile. If you come at someone in public, they are likely to front you. You will be much more likely to succeed if you take a 1-on-1 approach–especially for ‘attention seekers’ (even if they don’t look like text-book cases). Old enough to take care of themselves, and to bail out on ‘family time’ for homework reasons, and to see their parents imperfections–most teens are starving for external adult attention.
- Regarding the Making of Mistakes (3). It’s best to develop them with the student, or to have set rules. But remember, you are there to facilitate their learning and to nurture them. You can’t expect yourself to be perfect; apologies for your mistakes thereby teaching them to as well. Consequences should be fair, consistent and just.
- Follow up! If you say you’re going to give a detention to anyone ‘without their homework’, or ‘without their record book’ or whatever your classroom rules are–then DO IT. Young adults have an acute sense of justice. If you don’t deliver on your word, why should they? You have to develop an atmosphere of trust in your classrooms in order for your kids to want to work with you–that’s real management skill.
Additional Notes:
(1) Hopefully most students you encounter will not have had such a horrible life that they’ve learned never to give adults a second chance. It’s a different story if your teenager has already encountered all the violence and horrible adult liars and knows their game. But luckily, this isn’t the case with most students.
(2) If you have grown up with a reason not to expect consistent behaviour from the adults around you–you’re prety likely to be cautious when you meet new people. I think this leads to many teens/people acting with a sense of disdain for anyone ‘new’.
(3) Keep in mind, that people/teens will always boundary-push. Would you do a homework assignment if you had something better on? Save yourself the headache of learning this Human Truth. Just because a student voices the “this is stupid” opinion–that’s not a reflection of the intelligence of your assignment. Don’t take it personally. Instead, try to find out why they’d use that word. Chances are, there’s something deeper. In my experience, this ‘disengaging’ behavior is often because the task is very difficult and the kid is anxious he/she won’t be able to do it.
Tags: classroom management, discipline, how to help students, teacher experience, teacher skill, teacher stuff, Teacher Talk, teaching responsibility
We all love it.
But in Australia, we don’t wear it.
Here’s why: “roots” is actually a verb in Australia..and it has less to do 
with a tree sucking up water than it does a ‘pig’ sticking his ’snout’ into something ‘dirty’.
Uh..yeah. Yuck.
But here we have a new term for having sex in Australia, and I don’t recommend you walk around with a big icon of that word on your anything (shirt, hat, bag) — least of all your bum!
The big “roots” logo across the back of your pants is a serious ‘no-no’.
Think about that, before you bring your favorite “ROOTS” PE outfit to Australia.
You’d be surprised how often the term comes up.
Everyone loves footy in Australia. While you are getting to know someone, it’s typical that you ask them who their team is.
Except as a Canadian, I found this often came out like this:
“So who are you rooting for?”
And I’d basically just asked this total stranger who they were having sex with, en masse, and with a connotation of the fact that they may or may not be getting paid for it….
Yep, not what I meant at all.
In sum, in Australia, if you are “rooting” someone (or far worse, for someone…) than you are screwing their brains out, getting laid, banging, getting it on.
So be careful. Because we’re a prudish nation and we blush easily.
Tags: culture differences, Roots Clothing, Roots in Australia, what does root mean, what to pack to take to Australia
After teaching here for 3 years, I can’t think of an Australian school where the students do not wear a uniform.
We seem to gauge teacher-dress by student dress, no matter what society you are from. So I’ll explain explain what you need to pack when you’re moving from Canada and coming to teach in Australia, based on what the students are wearing in this school.
Private (Independent) Schools:
If you are working at an independent school, you will have strict dress code
www.freedigitalphotos.net
to adhere to. Students will be wearing blazors, ties and full dress shirts and pants.
Thongs style shoes are not allowed. Any teachers who teach in a lab must wear close-toed shoes. You are usually not allowed to have facial piercings (seemingly tattos are more acceptable in Australia however).
You will have to wear a suit (with a tie if you are a man). Women wear the female equivalent, but somehow the clothes that are made for us are STILL not that professional-looking in Australia. Just try to buy a non-turtleneck top that does not have frills or a neck low enough to show both your cleavage and the women next to you.
You will see evidence of Australia’s 1950 mindset in their school uniforms: girls are expected to wear dresses/skirts and boys pants/shorts. And nobody argues about this (and if they do they are made fun of–by adults! …it’s enough to make you want to Guy-Smiley-hit-your-head-on-the-piano-keys).
Catholic Schools
Unlike Ontario, Catholic Schools are considered Private schools in Australia. You will have to look “professional” which is dressier than “business casual”.
Independent Schools:
NOTE: This genre of school gets a bit confusing, because to Canadians, “independent” or “private” schools are schools where the families pay tuition.
However, Australian schools are more similar to British schools, in that they use the term “public” school to mean “private” schools. Thus, your principal might tell you that you will be working at an APS school (Australian Public School) which is in fact, a tuition-paying school.
Public/Government Schools:
In Public Schools the student uniform is at least a shirt and dress pants.
The dress code for public/government schools is often area-dependent.
So make sure you err on the side of “too professional”, rather than have to buy a bunch of suits and tie-outfits over here.
Clothing is expensive, and the material and style is NOT as nice as Canadian clothing.
Sometimes you might get a school that has a limited dress code, from casual (jeans) to business casual.
But most often Public schools have all the same standards (and finances) as independent/private schools, including the same dress code.
Private Schools vs. Government Schools
This is the way it was explained to me:
Tuition-Paying schools are subsidized by the government in Australia. Government schools could probably be on more equal footing if this was not the case (some schools are really impoverished).
Thus, some government schools (primarily those that are situated in higher socio-economic class areas) have learned to cope by having very strong parent associations which allow the school to purchase more resources. They are effectively government schools which are running like a private school.
Does this happen in Canada?
Tags: australian teacher, dress code, teach in Australia, teacher dress code in AUstralia
When I moved to Australia with my partner we had no one on the other side to help us. Even though we had each lived abroad internationally previously—and
Flinders Train Station, Melbourne
even though we were moving to an English-Speaking country—it was extremely intimidating. (But that’s another story you can read about in About the Teach’N’Traveller Blog!) We wanted to make sure we had enough money to set-up our new home and to tide us through the months where we might not have any income. We were so glad we did!
Initially I wasn’t making any money:
I signed up with a recruiting company at the time, but found the CRT work they gave me depressing, and in horrendous schools (where there was literally ZIPPO discipline and follow up from the school leadership). Furthermore, I had already done heaps of supply work in Canada as an “Emergency Supply”. I was tired of supply teaching and I wanted the opportunity to develop a rapport and to teach a full course.
If we weren’t making any money How did We Afford to stay in Melbourne?
First of all, there are a number of ways to conserve in cash, keeping money for the important things—like traveling Oz! But we’d planned for our trip overseas to be about traveling (even more than teaching). We brought with us some travel cash and some funds we saved in order to get us through the initial lack of income. There were a few start-up costs/differences to Canadian expenses that we hadn’t thought about either. You can read about those on this blog too.
How Not Planning my Schedule Around The Australian School Calendar Affected my Income:
Another reason I didn’t make any money was that I didn’t know about the teaching holidays when I came to Australia at the end of August. I arrived at the end of Term 3 (so I could enjoy my summer holiday in Canada). Naturally, the schools were going right into a 3 week break in September, returning in October I teach high school. Term 4 is consists of review and exams. (The Year 12s only have 2 weeks of classes!)
I Started Making Money…When:
I had to be a bit more flexible and take a job teaching Year 8 that I wasn’t
My First Adventure, WA
interested in so much—but I really wanted the money and ultimately, it was a great chance to get my foot in the door and get some experience with the foreign curriculum. It seriously enhanced my already-pretty-good-resume.
All-in-All, I recommend:
- You’ll have to also plan for the cost of flights and medical insurance. These can cost between $2000-3000. Usually this is the money you save first. If you have been planning to come to Oz, this money will be taken care of already. But what you should also bring is…
- Don’t stress about money when you arrive in a new country. Bring about $4000 start-up cash. Remember: you are coming to travel first and foremost. If you don’t have this attitude, you’d be better off staying in Canada to work.
- When you sign on a rental lease in Australia, you have to pay a bond. You’ll need to bring some money for this too.
If all this money saving scares you, you probably really need to re-think your reasons for moving overseas.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s TOTALLY possible to save money while teaching in Oz—I’m living proof. But, don’t forget: you probably get a job teaching in Timmins, Ontario – or any other small town. You are moving to Australia to TRAVEL and EXPLORE—do ease your adventurous side. The bang-a-rang kick is: that you’re a teacher, so you can make money in your profession at the SAME TIME! So save the peace-of-mind-cash and come and enjoy yourself. Because, this place is amazing. **NB: You can also save on these funds by coming at certain times of the year. Of course, you can also make more money at certain times of the year. Leading Out will tell you all about how.
Tags: cost of moving to australia, jobs in australia, moving to australia, saving money teaching, saving money to come to Australia, teaching in Australia, when are there more jobs in australia, when should I move to australia
One of the Best countries in Asia…
Hopefully, you’ve read about all the reasons I love Vietnam. Here are some things to be ‘weary’ of though, so these potential ’surprises’ don’t disappoint you.
Vietnam isn’t really ready for Western tourism…
Toilets (mostly) have been upgraded to “W.C.” (Western toilets) and the few squatters that remain are an option for the locals. Of course every now and then you can expect to squat, but usually in little towns public places and restaurants only. Hotels and even the (horrid) trains have flushers.
I say trains are “horrid” for a few reasons:
- Don’t expect to sleep on a train (they blare TV–but if you get a “sleeper” and you share it with friends (4-sleeper) that is pretty good and you can sleep)
- Don’t expect the train to be clean (”apple juice” (?) spilled along the floor = common)
- Don’t expect to pay the same price as the Vietnamese (eg. the Train staff will charge you 1000% more than the locals in keeping with the “short nose, good price” mentality).
Don’t expect hotels to have VISA or debit machines. Tailors regularly do, but the hotels expect everyone to pay in USD or VND (dong) in a massive tax dodge where they keep claiming that they “normally have VISA” (they don’t) and they claim that it is “just broken today”.
Also make sure you do your own math and check the VND to USD conversion rate yourself.
Also, always write down what price they quoted you for laundry price/kg, and they you hold them to it…and that they don’t confuse your bill with “your friends”….
the whole “checkout” affair from even very nice hotels is a bit dodgy.
Booking Tours can be seriously tedious. For instance, in my 2007 Tour Guide Book of Vietnam, they caution you against using booking with the “wrong Sinh Cafe”.
Since this publication however, about 100 other “Sinh Cafes” have opened up! And let me tell you, some of them are WAYYYY WRONG.
There is no “patent” law or business registration regulation in Vietnam to disable other companies from taking the same name.
As such, a successful company can be mimicked MANY MANY times–and with ZERO control over the quality of their product.
You might hear that “Sinh Cafe” is conscientious, reputable tour agency. But make sure you get the right address–and that they haven’t moved.
You have to be really careful booking tours–at the best end, they will provide everything they promise for the quoted price–but at the worst end, they will take your money and hoodwink you without any law protection or cleft of conscience.
This is the trickiest part about tour booking. Use your own judgment and rely on the advice of travelers. As a traveler–make sure you post about the services, accommodation and customer service you experience (eg. Trip Advisor).
The Vietnamese proudly tout their rave reviews (eg. Lonely Planet recommendations) and they are VERY internet saavy –word of mouth carries clout, so use it–and spread it around!
Tags: debit vietnam, sinh cafe vietnam, sleeper train, squatter toilet, tour booking vietnam, train travel, vietnam toilets, vietnam train travel, visa, VND to USD conversion, W.C., western tourism
I’m not going to lie– I went to Vietnam to shop and enjoy the sun. (I was hating the fashion and was ‘over’ the winter in Melbourne.) On top of that, I’d been working every weekend, teaching all week and most nights. Against my normal routine, I didn’t even do much research for this trip. I needed a vacation so badly that even though I wasn’t sure what I would get, I was ready for it.
The Fairy Stream
I LOVED it! The people, the colours, the landscape, the climate and the language (you can pick it up–get a phrasebook!) all make Vietnam a place I would readily go back to for a holiday. It was one of my best back-packing experiences and as a group, we had so much fun.
As a westerner, slight female, I generally felt safe (of course, I was extremely cautious about staying safe at all times and never did anything to invite danger).
If I were to go back, I would see Saigon and stay another week in Hoi An–definitely one of the best cities I have ever visited.
However, I think 8-10 days is long enough (after 3 weeks, we were really really ready to head home). If you are looking for a bare-brass back-packing experience, it’s an amazing country. If you are going on an organised tour with a travel company–it’s an amazing country.
But if you are used to Western Comforts, there are some things you should keep in mind… (return to this site on April 26 2009 to read this post–or, Subscribe by RSS to get the post delivered to you!).
Tags: hotel bills in vietnam, internet in vietnam, toilets in vietnam, Travel, travel review, travel stories, vietnam dong, vietnam hotels, vietnam review, vietnam travel, VND to USD conversion, westerners in vietnam
I didn’t really hold back at all when I went to NZ: I did everything I wanted to do.
There are a lot of tours to do. If you want to have a similar holiday to me (you’re pretty adventurous; you plan to do more than one tour in every location; and you plan to try everything you possibly can) then you should budget for about $1000 in tours alone. OF course, if you’re trying to do it on the cheap, here’s an area you can be more moderate in.
One of so many awesome NZ tours!
However, here are a few more tips to saving the ‘cash-oh-la’ without missing out on the ‘oooh la!’
- I flew into Christchurch, rented a car with 3 other travelers. Do not underestimate the value of travelling with companions–it is SO much cheaper (and I’m not talking about cheap, like stiff your friends with the bill because that’s not cool. I’m talking about genuine bill-sharing.) Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: camping Australia, camping NZ, cheap holiday, cheap travel, holiday planning, save on travel, traveling trips, trip planning
Here are a few key terms and some points to note about accommodation in Oz and NZ (Australia and New Zealand):
- Self-contained: this is one of the Australasia’s best gifts to tourism. They contain a full kitchen (what you need to cook ‘with’, ‘in’ and ‘on’: pots, utensils, stoves/fridges). You will literally have everything you need for a cozy stay (towels, linen (They call this “Manchester” here) and hopefully a ‘car-park’ (a.k.a. “parking space”). If you are traveling in a group of 3 or more and plan to save money by cooking at home–definitely search for these.
- Hostel: Can be quite similar to Italy’s hostels (Europe in general). Make sure you do your research/hostel. If it is a YHA it should be in good condition. There are a serious variety in quality, but if you look at the traveler’s comments then you should be ok. After some experiences in Vietnam, I learned that you NEVER BOOK ONLINE ACCOMMODATION without going to Trip Advisor first! Make sure there is parking and breakfast, and find out where your bathrooms will be located.
- Motel/Hotel: These are basically the same thing in Australasia. Hotels are typically more upmarket-but make sure you look at the star-rating (on a 5 star scale, just like North America) to make sure which quality you are getting. I don’t tend to prefer anything less than 3 -star for the cleanliness can decrease signficantly with each star). Usually each room will have tea and coffee making facilities.
- Caravan Parks: these are the equivalent of Canadian “car – camping” grounds. They include toilet/shower facilities, usually a kitchen/bbq area and a small shop. They often offer Cabins which can be a great deal for a double room at $45/night (but you might not get a private bathroom or linen in this price).
- Resorts: these are more up-market. If you’re going to stay in one, make sure you get all the trimmings: spa, parking, massage upgrades, free bottle of wine/champagne on arrival, and 4-5 stars. Note that only really a 5 star place is full-on luxury. 4 star can be pretty average in NZ and in Oz.
- Studio: This is an open-style apartment.
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You will be cooking and sleeping in the same room. You will likely have a separate washroom area. Often these will be combined with “self-contained”.
- B & B: They serve you breakfast, included in the price. Usually each room will have tea and coffee making facilities. Sometimes the B&B will provide you with breakfast making provisions in Australia/NZ. But usually it is more traditional, where the ‘hosts’ serve you breakfast, etc. It’s great if you really want to meet the home owners, not so great if you prefer to sleep-in and be independent (which is why old-people usually frequent these places more than the young.)
What does your accommodation really offer you?
If you liked this post, check out my New Zealand Top 10 Places to visit.
Tags: accommodation, accommodation types, Australasia Travel, Australia accommodation terms, holiday accommodation, New Zealand, NZ, NZ accommodation, Oz, trip planning
Hostels are pretty great in NZ. They are clean and rather affordable. Their deal 
is pretty much the same as you would get in Europe. For $20-25, dorm rooms include continental breakfast, linen (depends), shared toilets–or you can get a double room with a private bathroom for about $50-60.
If you’re after a double bed and a bit of privacy, I recommend you go to a campground and rent a cabin. You can get these in the off-season starting at $45. But you have to negotiate what the terms are as these change depending on the Campground.
If you go the Camper-van route, you will still have to pay $20 for a campsite to use a toilet/shower.
Motels/Hotels will be at least $100/night, usually more.
Remember that the NZ dollar is even cheaper than the Aussie buck, so for Canadian money, you are saving quite a bit on the prices!
Tags: hostels, hotels, New Zealand, NZ accommodation
Top 10 Best Places to See/Things to Do:
- White water rafting down Kawarau River (LOTR Fans: Pillars of the King scene!) outside of Queenstown. This is great for all abilities and with two tours/day, you can easily get on one during your stay by booking at the “i” site. Despite the open-ability range, there was still plenty of excitement with a banger of a rapid at the end! You can even choose to jump out of the water and roll down the blue river.
- Horse Trekking outside of Queenstown: the company we chose offered us a 2-and-a-half-hour ride across 15 rivers and streams after climbing mountains–it was insane and all for about $69.00. I had never been on a horse before but by the end I was cantering and even getting the rhythm of the trot! This was one of the best travel days of my life (we rafted in the morning and horseback rode in the afternoon!).
- Franz Joseph Glacier Hike (photos above): We did the full day hike–no helicopters, no need. The Fox glacier is cool, too. But we hiked 14 kms in 8 hours up a massive height. We even had to pause so the guide could re-direct our route through the ice by swinging a 20-pound axe and literally ‘carving’ a new staircase. We drank the most delicious water melted fresh off the glacier. There were waterfalls pouring off nearby rocks.
- Seals and Dolphin sighting in Abel Tasman: we intended to kayak but after the exertion of #1-3, we passed. Still, the cruise up the Abel Tasman pulled us close enough to smell the fish-lunch on the fur of the seals. We also managed to get off some impressive dolphin photos.
- The birdlife: you see some really rare birds in NZ, like the Keas (parrot looking). However, the hawks stole the show for me. There were so many! Such that we would have them racing above us as we drove under them along the highways.
- Milford Sound Road: visiting in January, this route up to Milford itself was a mountain scene of wildflowers and blue rivers pouring along the bottoms.
- Blue Pools: this is a roadside stop on the way to Franz Joseph–don’t miss it! You cross a swingbridge and then come upon a body of glacier water of the deepest blue I’ve seen.
- Thermal Pools (Hanmer Springs): in this cool Alpine Village you can refresh your overly exerted thighs and lower back! There are both sulphur and non-sulphur pools, but the sulphur ones get up to about 42 degrees celcius–fantastic! They are open pretty late too, and you can get passes that allow you to come and go all day long.
- Blue Rivers: everywhere you drive you cross over white-rock bottomed rivers that reflect the sky. They beg you to photograph them as much as possible.
- Avon River, Christchurch: rent a punt boat (and driver!) and have them pull you in the Old English way along a very shallow river. You’ll feel like you’re Anne of Green Gables based on the costume worn by the punt-master but with the English style of the town and the ducks paddling beside you, it’s a one-off experience you shouldn’t miss.
Related Posts: Holiday Accommodation; One Thing I loved in Each Australian State.
Tags: New Zealand, Top 10 Travel
As we all know (and you’ll soon learn) Melbournians love their food. And even if you’re not a “foodie” (DEFINITION: Aussie slang for “someone who loves food”), you’ll soon become one.
Eating out is incredibly popular, but so is cooking from home.
Although I was eventually Kitchen Manager at my summer camp in Ontario, my largely-known secret is that I have never been that knowledgable about food. (Admittedly, I was most famous at Camp for seasoning all food with hundreds of cloves of garlic…good times!!!) :p
But soon wow’ed by the dinner parties of my Aussie friends, I know own 13 food magazines, a recipe scrapbook, and one fully-bound recipe book.
I still can’t cook. But here’s hoping you might fare better!
The Best Part of Grocery Shopping in Melbourne–Buying Fresh!
Although you can get Fruit and Veggies at the grocery stores, the most wonderful part of really realising you live in Australia (and the most environmental) is to shop for your produce at the markets.
This is one of my favourite weekend morning or afternoon events in Melbouren as everyone loads up their wheelie carts and heads off to patronise their regular Fruit shop. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: foodie, Life in Melbourne, melbourne groceries, melbourne grocery stores, melbourne markets, Moving to Melbourne
Victorian teacher salaries are competitive with Ontario’s. You can live perfectly well on a teacher’s salary in Melbourne if you are attentive to a budget. I know quite a few people who travel as much as they like and go out as much as they like on a teacher’s salary: I’m one of them.
But many teachers do not want to be committed to a full-time position when they come to Australia to travel. On a Working HOliday VISA there aren’t any working restrictions.
Making money by not Teaching: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: australian working holiday visa, cafe capital, Life in Melbourne, minimum wage, tutoring in australia
Here’s my Favourite Thing in Each Australian State:
Tags: Australian tourism, Ayers Rock, Barossa, Buchan Caves, Canberra, Fraser Island, great ocean road, Jenolan Caves, Kata Tjuta, Kates Berry Farm, Mardi Gras, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Swansea, Tasmania, Tassie, The Olgas, Uluru, Victoria, WA, Western Australia
On my first day of a Canadian teacher’s college in 2005, we were told that 95% of teachers quit teaching within their first five years.
Consider the differences before you leave Canada
I haven’t had the same experience living and teaching in Australia.
I really believe this is because in Canada, there is so little time to “recover” from long days and 20 week terms. As much as I love teaching, I often feel like an open drain, with a tap constantly running.
The Australian holiday term gives both the students and the teachers more frequent breaks from each other, allowing students to mature throughout the year, and for the relationship to be more productive.
Yet, there are a few differences in the Australian school day that would irk some secondary teachers, unless they are prepared for them.
Three Differences you should be prepared for: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: preparing to teach in australia, teaching differences, teaching in Australia, unions in Australia
Most of us don’t realise how much we spend on a typical weekend. But you’re not the only one if you find yourself going through 5 twenties too quickly. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: financial, get what you want, saving money, saving money on a teachers salary, saving to move to Australia
Looking at the Poll Results for “I won’t Move to Australia Because…” survey I was running on this blog – we had an overwhelming response to “money fears”.
Well, that’s a downright shame—for such an easy fix! I think my experience can help assuage your fears, and help you get what you want.
7 Financial Steps to affording your trip to Australia—without being financially irresponsible Read the rest of this entry »
Melbourne, Australia
Hey, Teacher: What are you Doing with your Life?
Are you tired and overworked? Do you feel drained in January? Do you look forward one week off in March to return in March and feel exhausted? Has a 20-week term got you down? Here’s the answer: MOVE TO AUSTRALIA!
WARNING: this is not a sales pitch, this is pure enthusiasm. I used to teach in Ontario, and then I got out of there! No jobs? There’s lots of teaching jobs in Australia. Insufficient recovery time? It’s sufficient in Australia.
What’s ‘the Catch’? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: holidays, move to australia, school holidays, school terms, teacher holidays in AUstralia, teacher salary, terms versus semesters, thinking about moving to Australia
The CBD explained:
CBD: Central Business District.
The CBD is a neatly grafted square of streets. Most of the hills have been levelled. The city was once very muddy as it slid down into the banks of the Yarra River/swap. There were the Yarra Falls (which can’t really be seen anymore) and the Docklands made the area very marshy. Of course, it also rained a lot then and they didn’t yet have tar to make roads. Apparently a lake used to form every Wet/Winter season around the top of Elizabeth Street with muddy banks 6 feet high.
In the “more-or-less” historical text “Bearbrass” the author writes that when they were reconstructing these roads in the 20th Century, a pair of 17th Century men’s boots were dug up from the street, surely having been sunk in the notorious quick-mud of this street during the time. It’s pretty hard to imagine up that up past Southern Cross (Spencer Street) Station there were sheep grazing!
SO basically, the CBD is a grid of downtown core Melbourne streets.
How to Understand the East-West streets: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: CBD decoded, downtown melbourne, getting to know melbourne, streets in melbourne
The Internet works totally different in Australia compared to the rest of the world.
In Singapore and Vietnam, you get free internet in the airports and hotels—which best articulates of how prolific our dependence, and expectations, are of the internet.
However, in Australia, they have managed to make people pay per/download. It is ludicrous I assure you.
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