vickymills

a good travelling thing is shorts/trousers, they are trousers with zips below the knees to take the lower bits off, so you have trousers adn shorts in one. There are similar tops where the arms come off. They are designed for walking and are a great space saver item I think. Mine were north face ones, I managed to get them at an outdoor factory outlet so I go them cheap otherwise they can be on the expensive side but worth it I think.

Also they are made of material that dries really quickly good for washingf on the go.

V

mlbonner

I camped at both those places (in a swag no less!), at Uluru there is actually a hostel. However its the only one, costs twice what you'd normally pay and is often booked out!

SydneyStace

I bought a "round the world" ticket & was in Aus for about 9 months of the year & I found that taking jeans was a pain in the arse because they took up more room than say cargo's in my backpack & if they didn't try in time when moving on - eeooww not good to mix with clean clothes. Also a good thing I took was a linen bag for dirty laundry to keep it seperate from clean clothes.
I think that whatever you take, you will get bored with them & either swap them with other backpackers or ditch them & buy new ones.
We took some travelling clothes detergent. We got it in Tesco's & it's a little tube of detergent to wash your clothes when on the go. It came in very handy & I would also get a first aid kit with needles & intravenous drip as you never know if you will need it!! And you know it will be steralised!
One last thing, remember to put sunscreen on the tops of your feet!
Have the best time of your life!!
Stacey

bondipom

Everything at Uluru seemed to cost twice as much. The campsite can be booked in advance. I still haven't tried the swag thing.

mlbonner

Having it done it, I would be happy to never do it again Not that it shouldn't be tried, sleeping under the stars is great, it was all the new 'friends' i made during the night which put me off!

Badge

You need one pair of jeans to be in with a chance of looking trendy - if, that is your thing, down the Coogee Bay Hotel - or whereever.

badge

JayDeee

Unless you are planning on camping I wouldn't bother with a sleeping bag. If I see anyone coming in my hostel with a sleeping bag, pillow or duvet I very nicely take it off them and store it away from the building until they leave. bed bugs travel from hostel to hostel on peoples personal sleeping equip,Pretty much most hostels will be the same.

Just to help you relax bedbugs are not a huge problem in winter however this summer there has been an epedemic.

Kala

DianneH68

Thanks for that. I was debating whether or not to get one having read the advice on here.
Think I'm going to wait til I get there, and if I find I'm in desperate need of one I'll buy one over there.
Also means I won't have to lug it around with me to start with which will be a bonus.
And thanks again everyone. Now have loads of ideas of what to take (but will probably still end up with ten times too much )

bondipom

Do you provide sleeping bags, sheets or duvets? I remember wishing I had a sleeping bag rather than the duvet cover I had when I first arrived in Sydney in Sept. I guess the bed bug stuff has changed matters.

DianneH68

I've been looking at those silk liner thingys for your sleeping bag on ebay and you can pick one up for about £16.
Apparently you can use these to sleep in instead of a sleeping bag so think I might get one just in case - it won't take up much space but could come in useful in an emergency!

HiddenPaw

August at Uluru the temp was down to 2 degrees overnight. Backpacker accomodation there is small dormitories (like 4 beds per room) and a trek outside to the toilet...absolutely bloomin' freezing (well, almost) if you needed to go in the night! But I just slept in layers. Kings Canyon also has dormitory accom - both expensive tho.

Definately take something to combat the backpacker-bed-bugs!

Top End was scorching hot even in middle of winter - July/August. Shorts and singlets there (altho a lightweight long sleeve layer to protect from mozzies at dusk is essential).

Have a lovely trip. We did the hostels thing at 32...hubby was a 'fridge and aircon' man before but now is a complete convert to roughing it!! (both much prefer camping to hostels tho)

DianneH68

Oh yes, that's another thing. mozzies. Anyone got any recommendations of what anti-mozzie spray/cream to use?

mlbonner

My personal preference is spray/pump rather than cream. There are a couple of good brands out here, but it'll depend on how badly you get bitten to whether you need the industrial stuff or not

DianneH68

Reckon I'll go for the industrial stuff to be on the safe side!