Somehow, I’ve been in Australia for six months now. My year Down Under is halfway done! I honestly can’t believe how fast time has gone. I feel like I just landed a few weeks ago! I finished off the East Coast of Australia in Cooktown, and headed west, through the outback and into Northern Territory.

I typically break down my expenses into three main categories: accommodation, gas, and food. Last month, I added in a sightseeing/other category. I’ve kept the “other” part of this category for the month – although it wasn’t necessarily just a sightseeing budget, but more a collection of random things. I discuss these expenses below!

How Much I Spent in Month 6 in Australia

So, how much money did I actually spend? Here’s a budget breakdown for the month!

Accommodation: $97 = £51 // $62 USD

Gas: $978 = £516 // $631 USD

Food: $541 = £286 // $349 USD

Other: $472 = £249 // $304 USD

Total: $2087 AUD = £1102 // $1347 USD

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Australia Budget Analysis

I drove a LOT this month – down the East Coast to Townsville, thousands of kms across the outback to Darwin, and through Kakadu. Gas was extremely expensive in certain places – the most I paid was $2.47/L at Barkly’s Homestead! I knew this would be the case, but I don’t think I was prepared for just how bad it would be. So, covering a lot of distance, and paying so much for fuel (with no one to split the costs with) absolutely killed my budget this month. I was not expecting to spend as much money as I did!

My food budget was also much higher than I was hoping. I only ate out a handful of times (including treating my friends in Townville, who kindly put me up for over two weeks altogether), but being on the road without regular access to a fridge/real stove is expensive. I was hoping this would be much lower this month!

Thankfully, I feel like my big saving grace this month was my low accommodation costs. Considering I was on the road full-time (no work exchanges or housesits), I spent a very low amount on accommodation. The majority of these costs were campsites in national parks in Northern Territory! I am so SO grateful for friends in Townsville and Darwin for putting me up for so long. It made a huge difference to my budget, and I’m so thankful for having somewhere to crash with a toilet, shower, plugs, and laundry.

I did have some other major expenses this month, mainly getting my car serviced (which cost $267 AUD). Other expenses included in the “other” category were the Daintree ferry ($47 AUD), national parks passes in Northern Territory, and some random stuff for my car and from Kmart. These are necessary expenses, so I feel like it’s important to include them in my budget!

If I’ve learned anything from this month, it’s that traveling fast is expensive. Slow travel is much, much more affordable! I knew this intrinsically, but this is the first month I’ve really seen it in action. I’m really looking forward to slowing down in October and taking my time to travel the West Coast. It’ll definitely help with my gas expenses (at least once I get to Broome), and hopefully there will be a good selection of free camps around WA. And thankfully, I’ve got a housesit coming up in November – so I know my costs then will be much lower!

I hope this post helps anyone budgeting a trip around Australia!

Have you traveled through Northern Territory and outback Australia before?

You might also like my posts:

How to Get a Work & Holiday Visa (WHV 462) for Australia in 2023

Moving to Oz on a Working Holiday Visa: How to Start Your Life in Australia

Australia Budget: Month 5 (August 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 4 (July 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 3 (June 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 2 (May 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 1 (April 2023)

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