New South Wales - Destination New South Wales (NSW)

New South Wales is the first stop for the majority of visitors to Australia. It is home to Australia's unofficial capital, the eye-candy city of Sydney. It also boasts the beautiful Blue Mountains, the voluptuous vino valleys of the Hunter area and some of most awesome coastline in the world.

Tiny, compared to Western Australia or Queensland, it has the largest population of any of Australia's states or territories, housing 6 ½ million people. Four million of those live in Sydney, a vibrant modern metropolis. Once out of the city you can find everything in NSW from world-class ski fields to the red dusty outback.

At a Glance:

Basics: Phone code: 02. Time Zone: EST (GMT + 10) + 1 hour during daylight savings, late October - late March.
Climate: Summer: Dec-Feb, Autumn: Mar-May, Winter: Jun-Aug, Spring: Sept - Nov. Average summer temperature 23degreesC; average winter temperature 12degreesC.
Booze: The most common tap beer in NSW is Tooheys New. The standard measure is a 425ml schooner, but you can also get a middy, 285ml, or a seven ounce, 200ml and pints in many places.
Pubs, clubs and bars: City venues can be very strict on attire, but once you're out of Sydney you can often sit supping in Speedos and flip-flops if you want to.
Sport: Rugby League is the prevailing spectator sport/religion statewide.

Don't Leave Until You've:

- Cruised Circular Quay.
- Climbed the Harbour Bridge.
- Gone crazy in Kings Cross.
- Got burnt on Bondi.
- Slipped down the Snowy Mountains.
- Surfed Byron Bay.
- Breathed in the Blue Mountains.
- Sipped vino in the valleys

Outback and Beyond

Northbound: By the time you reach Gosford and Newcastle Sydney is firmly in the rear-view mirror and you're back to the big easy feel of the beach. Both towns are laid back with pubs and good hostels. In between are surfing hamlets like Terrigal, the mouth of the Hawkesbury River, national parks with great bushwalks and occasional aboriginal engravings, and a series of massive salt water lakes.
Port Stephens has more cute dolphins than flipper's groupie conventions and gangs of koalas hang out in trees getting stoned. Port Macquarie is a really popular resort and a good stop for a breather en route to Brisbane. Numerous sleepy beach resorts, such as the curvaceous Crescent Head, line the coast from here to Coffs harbour where you can try anything from skydiving to white water rafting; whale watching to SCUBA diving.
Blinding bushwalks, beautiful beaches and sleepy river towns such as Grafton and Ballina deliver you right up to Byron Bay, a backpacker's nirvana. This spectacular spot is drenched in sunshine and blessed with beaches normally reserved for Bounty Bar ads. It's populated by surfy locals, alternative types and a transient army of hacky sack-playing travellers. The aquatic activities are so good that even the dolphins and whales can't keep away. Nearby nihilistic Nimbin is the Amsterdam of Australia, full of dopey drop outs.

Inbound: Most travellers hug the coastline, but inland NSW offers a wealth of experiences and surprises, like finding a thriving art scene amid the dry red dust in an outback mining town like Broken Hill, or a miniature Uluru-style monolith at Bald Rock in the lush river-soaked surrounds of New England. Many inland towns, like Tamworth - Australia's country-music capital - have a real Wild West frontier feel. Seasonal fruit picking work is available in the western agricultural belt around Dubbo and Orange, and the scenic area between the large city of Wagga Wagga and the Victorian border is the old stomping ground of the infamous bushranger Ned Kelly. Look out for bizarre landmarks, like a submarine hundreds of kilometres inland and giant guitars.

Southbound: The coastal route from Sydney to the Victorian border is spectacular, especially once you're past the surprisingly nice fishing town of Wollongong. It is a road less travelled, however, with most travellers choosing to hoon straight down the Hume Highway to Melbourne. Taken over several days, camping in the numerous national parks which lie scattered along the shore between Shoalhaven and Batemans Bay - surfing and snorkelling as you go - it is a top trip. Past the sport fishing spot of Narooma and the town of Bega things get pretty remote until you hit the border, but that only makes the wild forests and empty beaches, such as those found in Ben Boyd National Park, more alluring.

Working

Work is plentiful in Sydney, with wages generally being slightly higher than the rest of the country to compensate for big city prices. You must get certified to do certain jobs such as hospitality and traffic control.
The Office: There are more clerical and secretarial roles going begging than you can point your CV at. Contact every agency you can find and keep ringing them. Check street press, newspaper and web job listings. Wages are between $16-$25 per hour and jobs range from stuffing envelopes to working on help desks. As a rule the environment is fairly laid back but you will need some semi-smart clobber.
The Professionals: Source specialist agencies from the Yellow Pages and web search engines. Check street press, newspaper and web job listings. Rates of pay very between industries.
Bobs for Builders: There's plenty of construction going on in Sydney and all trades are in good demand. Check the Yellow Pages for construction agencies and search newspaper and web job listings. Labourers earn anything from $17 per hour + while experienced tradesmen can command around $60 per hour.
Hospitality and Service: With pubs, restaurants and cafes coming out of its ears Sydney has plenty of casual roles up for grabs. Check hostel notice boards, the free street press and shop windows. Pay is around $12-$18 per hour + tips.
Getting Picky: Australia's agricultural economy relies on the annual backpacker invasion to get all its fruit picked and packed. It is a good way to see inland Aussie life and get a good tan and meet new people. You won't earn a fortune (pay is per piece or $10-$15 per hour) but you shouldn't spend much either. The NSW season runs December-October, see boxed info for more details.

Help!