You finally got your Working Holiday Visa! But what the hell do you bring when you leave home for a year? How do you balance light travel with plenty of clothes? Which accessories are indispensable? What kind of clothing do you bring if you also have to work there? A lot of questions and now that I’m here in Australia myself, I can easily answer them!
Working Holiday – The Gear Blog
Backpack vs. Trolley
What do you need to take with you on your Working Holiday Visa? I chose this backpack for the following reasons:
- You’re handsfree during travel
- Backpack is lighter than a trolley
- You can ‘stuff’ more in than a trolley
- Handier during minivan trips
- When empty it doesn’t take any space
Don’t you like dragging those pounds on your back? Then a trolley can easily become your choice during a Working Holiday year!
Hand luggage
Perhaps a more important choice than your big bag is your hand luggage. It must be polyvalent. On the one hand it has to go through control and not be too big, on the other hand you want to take as much as possible to the other side of the world. Moreover, you also want to use your hand baggage as a smaller backpack when you go hiking. It would also be nice if the backpack would be waterproof.
A lot of demands for a backpack you’re guessing? Well, there’s a Belgian brand that meets all those requirements while the product is still beautiful! Dew develops waterproof backpacks that have the exact dimensions of hand luggage and this backpack was a real lifesaver during my Thailand trip! Finally, you get a 5% discount if you use NickG05 at checkout!
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Clothing
Perhaps the most overestimated. You break your head over which t-shirts, shorts and shoes you want to bring along and after three weeks in Australia it turns out that you only wear your three favorite t-shirts with your ‘lucky’ shorts. Clothing is available all over the world and can also be bought anywhere for a bargain price.
It’s impossible to prepare for all the climates and all the kinds of jobs you’re going to do on the other side of the world. That’s why this golden tip:
Bring some t-shirts, some shorts, your favorite jeans, your favorite sweater and your most comfortable sports shoes.
Everything else? Buy on location!
Live day to day!
K-Mart, a ‘Primark’ on the other side of the world so to speak, sells t-shirts at 10 dollars, shoes at 5 dollars and pants at 25 dollars.
Op-Shop, a second-hand shop where the proceeds go to the Red Cross is an ideal place to look for working clothes that match your new job. t-shirts for 4 dollars, trousers for 5 dollars and all kinds of random things for a few dollars.
In summary, your luggage looks like this:
- High-quality and comfortable underwear for every day of the week (which can take a beating)
- 3 Shirtless shirt, 3 short sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirt (for the sun)
- 2 Sportshorts, 2 casual shorts, favorite jeans
- Hoodie / Sweatshirt / Vestje (pick one!)
- Teenslippers + Casual sneakers
- 2 swimming trunks
Accessories
Some of the things you should take with you that will make your life easier. I’m quite satisfied with the set-up I had and I would do the same thing a second time.
Packing Cubes
To make it easy to find your clothes in a backpack, you have packing cubes. Sunflake.nl sells them in different sizes and colors and they will bring you to your home.
Solar Panel
You can’t spell Australia without Outback. Moreover, it would be a shame if you didn’t plan an extreme road trip during your Working Holiday in the bush. To make sure you never run out of power, a mini solar panel is very handy. For example, put it on your dashboard and you have all the power you need.
Powerbank
You’d say you’re safe with a solar panel, but a power bank can be a lifesaver during a hike when your battery breaks down. In addition, you can also buy a power bank that’s just as much a music box. Two in one, for the same money!
External hard drive
When you travel, you want to store all your memories somewhere. Furthermore, during a Working Holiday on a transit in Australia, you sometimes come in harsh conditions, so your external hard drive will be able to withstand a bit of stress. With the LaCie Rugged you can be sure that all your footage is safe! LaCie Rugged is shock and fall resistant, so you can rest assured during an extreme hike.
Cable Organizer
It has already become an indispensable accessory during our Working Holiday. When you travel from place to place with different goals, your backpack can quickly become a mess. Finding the right cable from the right electrical device is easy with a cable organizer. Moreover, it saves space in your backpack or trolley because everything is nicely structured.
Footage
Don’t you have it on camera? Then it didn’t happen! Right?
That’s why I thought it was important to buy quality equipment before we started our adventure. I thought it was important to capture both static and dynamic action and to be able to capture a different perspective. Moreover, budget is always the number one priority for me. 
GoPro
Miniscule small, can take a beating and can deliver perfectly high quality photos. The only drawback is the battery that gives up quite quickly. Aren’t you so fond of photography and videography? Then I strongly recommend the GoPro to capture your Working Holiday! I have the GoPro 6 myself, but at the moment I would definitely go for the GoPro Hero 7 with internal ‘stabiliser’!
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DSLR Camera
No matter how you put it, a good camera is indispensable. Are you not completely at home in the camera world? Then I recommend the Nikon D5300, an ideal device to start with and for which the price is bearable. Are you a bit more advanced in photography? Then Yannick can help you here. An additional recommendation is to also buy a ‘Tripod’. You often find yourself in a situation where you want to take a picture of yourself, but no one can help you. With a Tripod you can put your camera somewhere and take a picture from a distance as shown below.
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Smartphone
A saturated market does not make it easy to make a choice. Moreover, the choice becomes even more difficult when you set certain camera requirements. I thought it was very important to be able to take good photos and videos if I didn’t have my material with me. In short, a powerful camera after which I can edit it. So I came to the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Wide angle lens, 40 megapixel camera, night mode, etc. I took some pictures with this smartphone that were even better than the Nikon!
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Drone
Australia’s vast plains give you the freedom to look for a bird’s eye view without a care in the world. When you think you’re in a beautiful environment, it’s always nice to pick up your jaw from the ground after your drone flight. A drone makes you realize how beautiful Mother Earth can be and gives you a feeling of freedom that cannot be compared to anything else. (Okay, maybe a private helicopter can make you feel the same way.)
After pondering for a long time, I did arrive at the DJI Mavic Pro. A device that makes professional footage and is still compact enough to travel with. Besides, I was lucky, as I could buy a White Edition Combo package for €849,00. I haven’t regretted this for a second.
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Workout Gear
You’ve been gone for a year and you don’t want to come back in a round shape, do you? That’s why I decided to bring basic workout gear with me during my working holiday. All you need is a pair of ‘gymnastic rings’ and an ‘elastic resistance band’ and you can train literally anything. Not sure how to get started? Then you can always contact me for Online Coaching.
E-mail to goossenick@hotmail.be and we will set up a program, tailored to your needs!
Literature
What’s a trip without the accompanying Lonely Planet? We left with ‘the best roadtrips in Australia’, a handy book if you want to make a trip between two jobs or during your days off.
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