With the economy in a slump, finding a good job when you leave university is particularly challenging this year. There will be thousands of highly-educated graduates entering the job market come summer, so instead of battling your way through interviews and living off the bank of mum and dad, head off into the sunset and go backpacking.
Australia and New Zealand are well-established backpacker hot spots that are different enough to feel you have really got away, but not so strange that reading the labels in the supermarket becomes harder than passing your finals.
Other than the initial expense of the flight, you won’t need brief cases full of cash. You can get around easily and cheaply using public transport such as Greyhound Buses and intercity trains; stay in hostels with swimming pools and ocean views for less than £15 per night and explore landscapes that look like paradise on earth by bike or on foot. But some things have, in the past, been expensive such as staying in touch with loved ones back home.
You can easily stay connected with home via email even though these countries are on the other side of the world to the UK, because there are internet cafes all over the place, including in most of the hostels. However, sometimes you just need to hear a familiar and friendly voice when you are in an unfamiliar place, but calling from Australia and New Zealand can be mighty pricey. Even receiving calls from mum and dad is going to cost you many of your hard-earned pennies, but there is one solution.
In previous years it would have been a good idea to get an Aussie or Kiwi sim card to temporarily replace your English one, but this year there is something else on offer. Vodafone are running a summertime promotion abolishing its roaming charges, so you can now use your mobile phones down under and it won’t cost you any more than if you were using it back in Blighty.
This means no new Aussie number to get used to, no extra expense and no complicated calling plans. You can even call local numbers in Australia and New Zealand for the same as you would in Britain so you can easily keep in touch with your new backpacking friends as well as friends and family back home.
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