Traveling while Studying in Australia

 Hello everyone,

My name is Kaylyn Dosch and I just finished up my sophomore year at Griffith University in the Gold Coast of Australia. It was truly life-changing and an amazing experience. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested. I specifically lived in the Broadbeach area and it was the perfect mix of beach life, early morning workouts, sunrises, outdoor activities, and an inclusive community. You are also close to popular spots such as Surfers Paradise which is known for its nightlife. I found housing through SIA, which I will talk about in my next blog, but for this blog specifically, I wanted to talk about traveling in Australia!

Australia is super diverse; from the beautiful beaches, the reefs, the rainforest, and the outback. I think it is so worth putting a little extra money aside to explore all it has to offer! You can find cheap tickets for weekend trips through Jetstar and Qunatus. They are super strict with bags and other things, but they are the cheapest flights. Not only does Australia have a lot to offer, but you are super close to so many other beautiful countries such as New Zealand (I really recommend going), Indonesia, Fiji, etc. 

My favorite places that I visited in Australia were Cairns, Whitsundays, and Noosa. My friends really loved Tasmania, but it was June, so it was winter there and it was a bit too cold for me lol. The Gold Coast I would say didn't really get cold in the peak of winter (June), except for early in the morning.  

The Great Barrier Reef is found in both Cairns and Whitsundays which is such an amazing experience! For traveling to Cairns I used a company that my housing suggested which was so worth it. It books your whole trip from the hostel, the tours, and other activities.

The name is G’day Australia Travel which I highly recommend!

The next place that I would recommend is Sydney. For Sydney I went with my housing program SIA and met everyone that I would be living with at the apartment complexes which was amazing and ended up being who I traveled around with. Sydney is a super diverse city and has a lot to offer! My personal favorite thing was the zoo. You get to see and experience all the different animals of Australia!

Noosa is a quiet surfing town with amazing views and scenery. It is an amazing place to relax and just soak up the sun. I took the tram to get there and where me and some friends booked an Airbnb. 

I also visited Bali, Indonesia before leaving for Australia and it was an amazing experience. It is a bit of a flight from Australia (6 hours), but if you were to fly from Hawaii it would be about 18 hours. If you plan ahead you can also find super cheap flights here and once you get to Bali everything is super cheap. Most nice and full meals are at a MAX $10.

Lastly, one of my favorite places was New Zealand! Me and a few friends went for our Reading Week (Like our winter break) and explored both islands. It is truly jaw-dropping views and something that feels surreal. We booked through Jetstar and then rented a car to travel through New Zealand to see the most that we could. We booked hostels to sleep in at night.

Overall, I think it is important to make the most of your time in Australia and explore while you are there. Time flies by and you will be wishing you had more time in the end! Make sure to soak it up and most importantly don’t forget you are still there for school so make sure to keep your grades up and be involved in activities.