A Belgian woman's account of her time in Australia: "an unforgettable experience"
Last December, Clara won our "Melbourne 2015" competition. Her prize? A round-trip plane ticket to Melbourne with Etihad AirwaysA month of English classes at a school with accommodation included. That's all. Paradise islands, skydiving, diving, all kinds of animals… Traveling to Australia also means discovering countless points of interest on this continent at the ends of the earth. Off to the traveler's paradise, as this young student so aptly explains!
Australia: the safe haven for travel
Whether you choose to go for travel, take English classes (even better with L&T 😉), work on a Working Holiday Visa, or all of the above, Australia is a safe and reliable destination for travel and a complete change of scenery ! A true safe haven. Clara, the winner of our competition, would certainly agree: "I'm so happy to be having this unforgettable experience. It's one of the best trips of my life!"
Learning English in Australia couldn't be easier!
Few or no dialects, locals who take the time to talk to you… Learning English has never been easier than in Australia, like in Melbourne, for example . Many travelers initially decide to take a few classes to improve their level for personal reasons or to find work there. Clara also found this approach very appealing: “ I was in the highest level, so we spent a lot of time chatting and discovering each other's cultures. In my class, there were two Italians, a Mexican, a Slovakian, and three Japanese! I also got along really well with my roommate, who is Colombian. In the first week alone, I was able to visit quite a few places. I watched the penguins returning to Phillip Island, I met koalas and wallabies, I saw Melbourne from the tallest building, I went to Sea Life and saw all sorts of animals—so many exciting things!”
Themed language courses to break away from the ordinary
On the other side of the world, classrooms obviously have a completely different feel. And if you're still skeptical, you can take advantage of themed programs like the English course for the hospitality industry offered in Melbourne, available on our website. It's a great way to enrich your daily life and find a paid job even faster. Because even though this isn't a long and arduous journey thanks to an unemployment rate of just over 5% there, it's still worth giving yourself every advantage!
Traveling in Australia: no time to get bored
Very few people dedicate their time in Australia solely to language learning. This was also Clara's wish, and after leaving Melbourne, she flew to Cairns to begin her journey: traveling down the East Coast. " I first took a cruise near the Great Barrier Reef where I went diving. I was a little anxious at first, but everything went well. The next day, I went for a walk in the rainforest and visited several waterfalls, including the most famous, Millaa Millaa. I then went to Townsville to take the ferry to Magnetic Island, a small island teeming with free-roaming animals! I finally got to see a koala and her baby, and a wallaby and her baby, in the wild. It was magical! I met other young people who were traveling alone, and we decided to spend the day together exploring the island."
After Townsville, Clara settled in Airlie Beach. Her goal: a two-day, one-night Whitsundays cruise (another of our language immersion destinations). "From the boat, we saw whales, turtles, and dolphins! Then, I stopped in Hervey Bay to fulfill one of my biggest dreams: skydiving. What's more, it was a beautiful sunny day with a magnificent view of Fraser Island. It was absolutely incredible. I loved it and I'm definitely planning to skydive again in Belgium! Although, of course, the view won't be the same..."
A territory beyond compare in terms of discovery
This was followed by a visit to Fraser Island, a mostly sandy island where you travel by 4x4 or specially equipped bus, and where our explorer was able to see whales in the midst of their migration, as well as the breathtaking Lake McKenzie. The penultimate stop on her tour was Brisbane, before concluding in Alice Springs to hike to Uluru (Ayers Rock). Australia alone boasts 16 natural sites listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and several hundred national parks. Add to that the third lowest population density in the world (2.6 inhabitants/km²) and you have a truly unique atmosphere!
What if it were you?
For your information, over 1,000 Belgians were in Australia in June 2014 using the Working Holiday Visa alone, an 18.6% increase compared to 2013. Besides being a great way to supplement your holiday budget, as explained in a previous article, this visa option will allow you to experience the country firsthand and have unforgettable adventures like Clara and so many others who have already made it or are about to make their own! What if it were you next?
Did you find this article interesting? Here are some others from our blog on the same topic: