Australia

My Australia travel summary:

Visited: February 1999, June 2023, February 2026

Duration of visit: 101 days (1999 – 85 days; 2023 – 13 days; 2026 – 3 days)

Capital city: Canberra

Population: 28.3 million (2026)

Australia travel blog reading time: 3 minutes

• Picking-up grapes and pears to earn money for further travelling.
• Beautiful cities of Melbourne, Adelaide and especially Sydney.
• Sunrise and sunset at Uluru and The Olgas.
• Swarmed by flies whenever I stopped in the bush.
• A laid-back and easygoing way of life.
• Learning to play the didgeridoo in Alice Springs.
• Excellent camping facilities where occasional visitors are in the minority.
• Second visit in 2023 to guide kids at Asian FLL robotics competition.
• Three-day stopover in Brisbane, including a visit to the Gold Coast in 2026.

The Land Down Under has captivated my interest for numerous reasons. From Uluru and Sydney to unique wildlife, vast bush landscapes, Canberra, and the Great Ocean Road, Australia felt endlessly fascinating.

Following a 15-month journey across the Americas and a year-long internship at home, I felt a strong desire to explore the world again in 1999.

Asia was my main destination, but I added Australia because it was nearby, felt exotic, and offered a good chance to earn quick money. I started my Asian Big Tour in Melbourne, then continued through Australia, Southeast Asia, China, and all the way to India. During this 15-month journey, I traveled through most countries in the region and spent nearly three months working and travelling across Australia by bus, car, and motorhome.

I returned to Australia twice later. In 2023, I organized a trip for a group of Slovenian children and their parents to attend the Southeast Asian FLL robotics competition in Sydney. In 2026, I spent three days in Brisbane during a stopover between New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

My first visit to Australia combined travel and work, as I couldn’t save enough during my internship in Slovenia. Picking pears and grapes on Australian farms was probably the hardest job I have ever done. The intensity, speed, and persistence had to stay high if I wanted to save money, especially when I was paid by results, not by the hour.

I was naïve at the beginning, didn’t know how the system worked, but managed to save considerable amount of money that enabled me to travel through Asia for a year.

From a visiting perspective, I enjoyed all destinations that were on my bucket list. From amazing nature along the coast to endless bush and Uluru mountain, I was thoroughly impressed by Australia.

Easygoing people, a strong here-and-now attitude, and plenty of ways to earn good money made Australia feel like a place I could live. If it were just not so far from Europe, and if I Australian football, cricket, and rugby were not the most popular sports, I might have stayed.

Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide are top destinations for visitors, but also perfect places to live and work. The quality of life in Australia is high. Many opportunities for all professions, races and ethnic groups. The importance of free time and high level of coexistence with the nature reflects in happiness of average Australians.