Australia Travel

Preparing for the trip down under

Once the student visa is approved, “excited” is the most commonly used word described by the students to express their feelings. But it is also not uncommon for lot of students to start feeling nervous about their trip down under.

Rightly so, it is not easy to prepare for an experience that will perhaps change your life forever. Therefore, we have taken every possible step to ensure that your preparation is as comprehensive and smooth as possible.


What to pack?
Most airlines around the world have a baggage limit of 20kg (44lb). Therefore, it will be important to prioritise your needs.

Family photos/mementos
It is worth carrying few mementos from home that will provide you with comfort at the time of reminiscing.

Clothes
Australia experiences four seasons in a year. Summer season that is experienced during December to February, autumn between March to May, winter from June to August and spring between September and November.

Most of the international students arrive in Australia in February, which coincides with the end of Australian summer and start of the autumn season. If you too are going to start your course at this time, you will feel comfortable in a pair of jeans, t-shirt and a light jacket.

However, if you arrive in Australia for the second academic semester in or around July, you will need some warm clothing. Long-sleeve t-shirts, jumpers, sweaters, coat etc will help you cope with the cold winter weather.

You can also carry your mp3 player, mobile phone and other electronic equipment to Australia, but you will either need to a carry a power adaptor suitable to Australian sockets or buy a universal power adaptors in Australia.

Food
If you are planning to bring some food to Australia, you must ensure that Australian quarantine rules are followed. These quarantine rules are very strict and plenty of food items such as fresh, dried and pre-packaged foods get stopped by the quarantine officers on arrival. Severe penalties are also imposed if you fail to declare your food items upon arrival.

Documents
Although the excitement about meeting new people and having fun on Australian beaches would be the first thing on your mind, you must also not forget to carry your documents. Ideally, you should have a photocopy of each important document to avoid disappointment in case of losing them during your travel. Photocopies of documents such as confirmation of enrolment, passport, visa, flight tickets, insurance policy details and credit cards, ATM cards should all be kept in a different luggage as compared to the originals. It is also a good idea to keep a soft copy of these documents in your email inbox.

Money
It is advisable to carry some cash in Australian currency for the first few days as things like opening your bank account, cashing your travel cheques may take some time. There is an abundance of ATMs in Australia and the most commonly used cards such as VISA, Mastercard are easily accepted. However, you will need to contact the bank that issued you those cards to confirm the fees that will incur for those transactions.

Leaving the liquidity benefits of cash aside, it is also important to create a balance between cash and traveller’s cheques. Usually, international students carry between AU$1,500-$3,000 in traveller’s cheques in their name which helps them settle down in Australia as soon as possible.

You must also be aware of the custom restrictions in bringing money to Australia. Currently, anyone bringing more than equivalent of AU$10,000 must declare this to the custom officials upon arrival.     


Security issues
Another point that every international student should take care of is the security of their luggage when they arrive in Australia. Although you may be asked to open your luggage at every security point upon your arrival, it is still important for you to lock your luggage properly.

You should also be aware that you will be held accountable for the luggage you bring to Australia, even if it is not yours. Therefore, you must take very high precautions if you decide to carry someone else’s things to Australia. Australian government takes a very strict stance on its treatment of people carrying illegal products to Australia, even if they don’t commercially benefit from the product. Therefore, it never hurts to be extra careful.


Insurance
Every international student is required to have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the duration of their stay in Australia. OSHC is medical insurance that helps international students pay for visits to doctors while their stay in Australia. If an international student extends his/her stay in Australia by enrolling in another course, they are responsible for extending the duration of OSHC too. As compared to many other countries, medical expenses in Australia can be very high. Therefore, it is paramount to have some sought of medical cover even if OSHC doesn’t apply to you while you are in Australia.

Apart from medical insurance, you should also consider travel insurance for your travel to Australia. Minor hiccups during the journey such as flight delays or cancellations, losing your wallet etc can end up costing you a lot of money and stress if you are not properly insured.

Remember that OSHC will only help you with your medical bills while you are in Australia, if you need medical assistance during your travel or at the country from where you need to catch a connecting flight, OSHC may not be able to help you. If such situation occurs, you will be glad that you took out travel insurance.