Hi,<BR>My friend and I are planning to spend around 4-6 months in australia starting in mid march. Our plan is - no plan. Except we will arrive in Sydney and plan to stay in hostels and keep a failry tight budget. We do however plan to migrate north eventually ending up around Cairnes (maybe). Anyhow, i was just wondering if anyone had tips on backpacking in general (from 1st hand experience, not the obvious). Also if someone had some "must see" places to go or things to do. <BR>Any advice would be great, thanks.

You'll find loads of backpacking/hosteling tips at the Lonely Planet site - Thorntree. www.lonelyplanet.com.au

Thanks, I've looked into those sites and have "Let's Go" : Australia and stuff, but was just wondering if anyone has some "hands on" pointers that they wanted to share.

Evan,<BR><BR>I did this for almost 2 years, so if you want to ask me anything direct, please email me ... I'm actually really busy at the mo, so that's probably the best way to do it! Also you could take a look at http://www.worldsurface.com - excellent site!<BR><BR>Jenny

thanks Jenny, I'll take a look

Hi Evan,<BR>I backpacked around Australia for two years too. You are soo lucky, I would love to be going back.I travelled with "Oz Experience" from Sydney to Cairns. It was brilliant, and a really good way to meet people. It is a big green bus whick you can get off at every stop all the way to Cairns. Byron Bay was the first stop we took, and this was by far my favourite place. we stayed in a backpackers there called "Aquarius", and I would definitely recommend it. You can usually stay in dorms or get a double room if you want for just a couple of extra dollars.<BR><BR>Out of that trip, I least liked "Surfers paradise". The beaches were really beautiful, but it is really commercialised.<BR> <BR>The Whit Sundays was amazing, as was Fraser island. <BR><BR>I`m at work at the moment, but I have names of all the hostels and places I stayed in at home, so if you want them I can email it to you. <BR><BR>I`d recommend Captain Cooks hostel in Cairns. <BR>we bussed it back to Sydney from Cairns, and it took us fifty hours, so I would definitely recommend flying if you want to go back there.<BR><BR>Anyway,must go and do a bit of work now, but ENJOY......<BR>Wish I was going back

Thanks Jane,<BR>If it wouldn't be too much trouble and you wanted to send me the names of some of the very best hostels you stayed in that would be great. With Oz Experience do you stay on the same bus the whole time (scheduled stop offs) or do you stop and just catch the next bus whenever you want?

Evan,<BR> I spent several months backpacking in OZ in '98. I flew into Melbourne (from New Zealand) and had planned to travel up the coast to Cairns, too. Instead, once I got there, I decided to do the interior: After two weeks in Taz, I went up through Alice Springs to Darwin, around the West coast (diving in Exmouth, which was more awesome than the Great Barrier Reef) to Perth, and then flew to Sydney and up the east coast to Cairns. <BR> I had great experiences every where, but enjoyed the middle of the country and the West the best. I used many different ways to get around - train, public bus, plane, local transport and backpacker tours. <BR> I know there are many people who really enjoyed the Oz Experience busses, but I found that too many of the passengers seemed to be 19-20 year old Brits on their gap year trip whose main interests were drinking and partying. (I'm from the States if you can't tell, and I DID use the OZ Experience system for 3 days to travel from Alice Springs to Darwin)<BR> Other than 22 nights camping and 3 overnight bus trips, I stayed in hostels. If you email me with a specific question, I might be able to help since I kept a fairly extensive log with prices and comments about everywhere I stayed. YHA Hostels are clean, dependable, a little more expensive, but somewhat more sedate. <BR> You will hear about it from other travellers, but you should do a Fraiser Island 4WD trip. At the Whit Sundeys, (Airlie Beach) you should take a trip on one of the old sail boats. As the another writer implied, skip Sunshine Coast - stay at Noosa instead. Byron Bay is a must, but so is a little known town of Coff's Harbour. When you get to Cairns, get out quickly and go up to Port Douglas, and then into the Daintree (Stay at Crocodylus Backpackers at Cow Bay). I envy you - Happy Travels. <BR>

thanks for the great response keith.<BR>I'm off tomorrow! I'll keep some of your comments in mind and email you if i feel the need (thanks). My plan is still basically no plan, as i have great interest in all areas of the country. THanks again, I gotta go finish packing