NOW, about Australia. New country - new continent!! So excited to be travelingggg again!
About Australia:
- 22.8 million people (AUS ranked #52 highest ... for comparison,US has almost 315 million)
- About 88.2% of the population lives in urban areas (as of 2005, so that might be even higher, now)
- Land mass wise, it's about the same size as the US
- >80% of the pop. lives 100 kilometers from the coast (aghhg! Metric system.. 100 km=~62 miles from the coast ... no wonder they are such happy, friendly people!)
- It is the lowest and flattest continent in the world (hello biking!!)
- "Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth, with the least amount of water in rivers, the lowest run-off and the smallest area of permanent wetlands of all the continents." (maybe explains why they all live so close to the ocean?)
- "Australia is richly endowed with marsupials— there are more than 140 species." (!!!)
- Wow: "About 85 per cent of flowering plants, 84 per cent of mammals, more than 45 per cent of birds, and 89 per cent of inshore, freshwater fish are UNIQUE to Australia."
- "Among Australia’s best-known animals are the kangaroo, koala, echidna, dingo, platypus, wallaby and wombat." ....Sounds like I should try to see all of these!
- Interesting history: "Australia’s national day is held on 26th January in recognition of the arrival in 1788 of the First Fleet, a group of 11 ships that sailed from England to establish a colony in Australia."
- "At the end of 2011, export revenue from MINERAL and ENERGY commodities accounted for 60 per cent of Australia's total export dollars"
They speak English! Oh my my! Can't wait to see everything - the public transport, the biking, all the national parks, the Accent!!, the natural resources, the beaches, the food!! (of course!!), how they do energy, what kind of religion is popular, all the natural wonders...
LOGISTICS
VISA / Country Entry & Exit:
I got an Electronic Travel Authority (more info here) for traveling to Australia. It costs 20 AUD, and is just electronically linked to your passport (AKA... no cool VISA sticker). Super easy to get one - took like 10 minutes to browse the site and complete the form. Just for kicks, here are some of the perks of getting an ETA:)- You can enter Australia as many times as you wish during a 12 month period from the date the ETA is granted or until the expiry date of your passport, whichever is earlier.
- You can stay in Australia for a maximum of three months on each visit.
- You must not work while in Australia unless advised otherwise by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
- You must not study for more than three months.
- You must be free from tuberculosis.
- You must not have any criminal convictions for which you have been sentenced for a total combined period of 12 months or more, whether or not the sentence/s were served.
Source: https://www.eta.immi.gov.au/ETA/etas.jsp
Phone/Internet:
I'll be using my iPhone with AT&T again. I'm signing up for the $10/ month for 50 text messages, which I think should be sufficient for most communication I need to do. Turning off the iPhone's Cellular Data will ensure I don't accidentally incur high data usage fees. When in wifi, I can use Skype to call home or call Marilyn if need be. And, in case I do need to make calls while traveling and not in a wifi zone, I just installed the AT&T Call Int'l app, which allows you to call at a reduced rate/minute. And, all this planning may be overkill cause Marilyn mentioned she has an extra phone that I might be able to use once I get there :)
Currency:
The current exchange rate: 1.06 USD = 1 AUD
At least it is close to one, which makes for quick and easy conversions. As compared to the Chinese Yuan, where I'd have to remind myself not to freak out over spending a couple hundred yuan at dinner. Last time, I lost money because I converted money here at my US bank. It was my first time traveling overseas... and I wanted the peace of mind of having some cash with me when I got there. However, I think it's generally better to convert money once you get over there ... cause the country you go to will have tons of whatever currency you need, as opposed to here in the US, where they have to order the currency for you.
Plan of Attack for MONEY:
- Take a couple hundred USDollars with me
- I can convert my USD at Marilyn's bank for a 1% conversion fee
- Use my BOA debt card to withdraw AUD cash from certain ATMs
- BOA is part of an international ATM alliance: I can use my BOA debt card at any Westpac Bank ATM in Aussi and New Zealand. The $5 non-BOA ATM fee will be waived and the conversion fee between USD and AUD is 1% of the USD I withdraw (with a max of $1,000 USD per day limit... ).
- As an alternative to cash, I can use credit cards. My MasterCard has a 1% foreign transaction fee
- I have a Discover card through my parents... Discover (Diner's Club International in Australia), they have a 0% transaction fee..YAY!
This is what I'll look for :)
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| Source: http://www.westpac.com.au/ |
Westpac Banks are everywhere, so no worries there..at least in Sydney. (All the magnifying glasses with +'s inside indicate multiple ATMs in that one area).
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| Don't know how widely-accepted Diners Club is... but I'll use the Discover Credit card since there is no transaction fee!!:) |
Ok, enough logistics funsearch :)
T-1 week till I leave .... More exciting info to come very soon!!
