After the Easter holidays, I only have six weeks of full-time school left. Doesn't time fly? From then I have about five weeks of sudy leave and exams, in which I'll be revising and working like crazy.
When my exams are all done in late June, I'll be straight out into full-time work to earn as much money as possible before I leave. My results (hopefully good ones!) will come out in August and then I plan to leave in October.
The basic gist of the whole trip is this: I fly out to New Zealand, work and travel there for about three months; then fly to Australia, work and travel there for about eight months; then fly back to the UK.
I'll be working and travelling because it'll be so damn expensive if I just go as a tourist. Being a working traveller also gives you twelve months or so in each country, while the tourist visa only allows you about three months.
I'm going to go with (not like a tour, as such) the Work & Travel Company, who provide a support network for travellers. They have a job finding service, sort out your visas, provide 24 hour help, free Internet access, discounts, orientation sessions and all sorts of useful things that are bound to prove useful when I'm out there.
I plan to visit almost all of New Zealand, from North to South, while in Australia I'll be concentrating on the South and East Coasts, plus a detour through the centre of the country. I'd like to obviously go to the main tourist attractions, but also to sample what it's really like by living and working in both countries. Only then, I think, will I be able to truly get a taste of each.
Current money saved - £2557.72
