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Australia: It's a Country, not a Panacea
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29-09-2008 11:15pm#1This is just inspired by some of the negative criticism I've heard from some posters here, and some people in general, about Australia and New Zealand. This criticism for me is mainly borne from poor expectation management. I figured I wanted to address some of that, in the hope it may be useful to the "I'm considering going to Australia, what do you think?" posters who may stumble across it. I'm going to focus on Oz, because that's where I live.
Australia. What's good about it? Well the weather, for starters. The landscape. The scenery. The relaxed attitude. The opportunities.
What is it not?
You will not step off the plane, onto the tarmac and into a party. Big cities in Australia are very like big cities in other countries - they are full of people doing their day jobs and getting on with their lives.
Grunt work is easy to find and grunt wages are adequate to live on - but save some cash before you get here so you can afford to do interesting things - don't just come over with a couple of grand labelled 'drinking budget'. Earn your drinking money, save your fund for things like transport and doing the sort of paid tourist shenanigans that are what makes the whole point of travelling to another country.
If you're not interested in sightseeing, you have no hobbies and you don't make friends easily, Australia is not going to cure you of that. If you're not remotely interested in taking photos of new places and wacky people, if you've never seen the inside of a museum because you couldn't care less, if the power of nature bores you, you can't swim, you don't like walking and you're not interested in watching or playing a sport, there's no point coming to Australia and waiting for mad and interesting things to do to knock on your door, because it will not happen.
You won't make friends sitting in your room - and even if you're in a hostel, you're going to have to get to the kitchen and the communal areas and you are going to have to start a conversation with somebody!
A lot of people who do the 'travelling thing' are in their mid to late 20s, and often it's a long time since they've had to make new friends. It's a skill you forget. It involves stepping out of your comfort zone. Even if it means practicing some openers in front of a mirror "Hey, how are you. Do anything interesting today? ...sorry, it's just that I'm travelling with just one friend (or on my own) and we're a bit stumped as to what to do. Do you know of anything you'd recommend we try?" and use things like that to get conversation going over the shared food prep benches in the hostel.
Usually at this age, we're just used to grinning and nodding at people because we've got our own set of mates and we don't need others, so while we're polite and civil, we forget how to actually involve someone in our day. We fall short of the extra step - You haven't been surfing yet? Me neither. Do you want to try it next week sometime? I could do with the moral support, to be honest! The first line is an opening for them to befriend you, the second is a dose of the guilts so they can't say no.
Be prepared to be knocked back as well - making new friends in adulthood is worse than dating in your teens!
You have to speculate to accumulate - you may have to spend some cash doing some group activities in order to meet people. Once you HAVE some friends, THAT'S when you can fill your week with cheap and easy things to do, with your new friends. If you do something like a three day trip somewhere scuba diving, and you get on really well with another traveller, exchange phone numbers and make a plan to do something ELSE with that person if they're up for it.
This may sound tediously obvious, but I see a lot of "Got here. Had no plans. Had no place to stay. Everything didn't fall into my lap like I expected, and now I think this place is crap."
It's the company you keep that will make any travelling experience fun - not the intrinsic pleasure of the activities you undertake.10
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Minesajackdaniels wrote: »Be prepared to be knocked back as well - making new friends in adulthood is worse than dating in your teens!
oh man, feeling that one strongly lately.. oddly encouraging words there
unfortunately, im not travelling at all. been in nz for a total of a year now, and have spent one weekend in akaroa, and less than 48 hours in kaikoura, a day of which i spent vomiting.
but aye... ill just think of it like those teen times all over. 0 -
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Crumble Froo wrote: »oh man, feeling that one strongly lately.. oddly encouraging words there
unfortunately, im not travelling at all. been in nz for a total of a year now, and have spent one weekend in akaroa, and less than 48 hours in kaikoura, a day of which i spent vomiting.
but aye... ill just think of it like those teen times all over.
What the hell have you been doing??? I managed to see the whole country in a year, and used to go away a lot at weekends, or at least take day trips.0 -
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One Cold Hand wrote: »Very good post Majd. It's probably more applicable to NZ. Smaller country with smaller towns, and sometimes the locals aren't too friendly.
Also I travelled for a few weeks on my own, and I found it useful to avoid the bigger backpackers like Base etc. The smaller ones tend to have more people that are just on their own. It's easier to get in with people in a similar situation than larger groups.
I always find its the oppsite in smaller places. I found people were much more friendly in the smaller towns and cities in NZ than I did in Sydney for instance.
I also found that in the bigger hostels there were bigger groups of friends travelling and they weren't too bothered about making more friends as they had their own, whereas the smaller hostels had people that were happier to meet others and go out for a drink.Also, off topic Majd. I just read your sig. It's also a bad idea to, when drunk, chase possums in an attempt to catch them, and in doing so try to scramble up a tree after them!
Or pick them up by the tail when drunk on Bundaberg and throw it at a person you don't like
I am also wearing a lovely possum scarf at the moment :pac:0 -
BraziliaNZ wrote: »What the hell have you been doing??? I managed to see the whole country in a year, and used to go away a lot at weekends, or at least take day trips.
i've been working, mostly. don't have much money at all, i didnt come here to travel, though when i was younger i had intended to do that. now, im just saving up to do it, like you say, at weekends and that, but gotta get this visa through first. saving up to go to college here too. my weekends i usually spend surfing,a nd have met a couple of people through that... one, like i vaguely mentioned, was someone i thought was a friend, but turns out not, this last week. one i get on well with, and am hoping to build on the friendship
edit: and i intend to go possum hunting in the near future...and by hunting, i mean just finding.. i have yet to see one, and in the three weeks i was back home, i saw more than 5 squirrels. i demand to find their kiwi counterpart.0 -
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Its true though. In NZ if see a possum and dont kill it than you have failed in your duty and Kiwi honour.
so the Cane toad comparison is spot on then
it is illegal in FNQ to be in posession of a live Cane toad
cant see Possum golf takin off in the same way tho;)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo1-9zvwK9g
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