Oceania/Pacific Islands back-packing trip

Hello. This is just somewhat of a rough layout.

Being American I was thinking of starting my trip in Hawaii, maybe work there and save up some money for the trip to come. Once I feel I have seen enough of Hawaii/saved up enough money, I would like to make my way to French Polynesia. Do Tahiti and Bora Bora and the Society Islands, and the many other islands within the territory. After that, I would make my way to the Cook Islands for a few nights or so. Then from there, the Samoan Islands. I would start at American Samoa and then head to Independent Samoa, maybe even stay for a month or two, even more (maybe work?). From there I would head to Fiji, stopping first at the Wallis and Futuna Islands (if possible). Maybe once I get to Fiji, I would spend about a month or so there as well. I would then head to Vanuatu Island for a little bit then south to New Caledonia as well, before making a big trip to New Zealand, where I would definitely like to work and stay for a few months, travel around the country, and regroup my expenses. From there, I would then head to Australia and stay there for a few months as well before, possibly work, before heading back to the United States. I would like to do this for maybe over the time span of a year or so.

Of course, a lot depends on if some of my plans are possible, where visas and money is concerned, especially.

Anyways has anybody done anything similar? Can anyone give any advice on the mentioned areas/nations (visa info)? Any backpacking advice? Any tips for cheap travel in between islands? Saving money? Any comments? Any advice or response would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

 

Hey Banx!

Sounds like a wicked trip you have planned.

I have just finished working and travelling around Australia. It was fantastic and I found it quite easy to get work once I got a few good tips of where to look. Probably the easiest work to get when travelling in Oz is bar work. All you need to get is your rsa certificate for this. This is a responsible service of alcohol certificate. You may also need your rcg, which is for gambling. A lot of bars also have gambling facilities. Check out bbm.com for a list of training providers. I found lots of work through this site as well. They seem to have a lot of work in more remote places, for farm work and that sort of thing as well as info about training requirements. Another great site for finding work as a traveller is gumtree.com.au. They tend to be limited to city areas though.

Good luck!

 

I know you can't get onto the Cook islands and Samoa Islands unless you have a return ticket along with a ticket there. It's the only way to get there is with a ticket leaving also.