Matt Down Under

The last few weeks while I stayed in a backpacker hostel I noticed how much different my views of Australia are today, compared to my views in 2008 and compared to those of other backpackers today. When I say backpacker, I mean foreign Working Holiday makers and other short-term visitors.

There are so many backpackers who only travel between the big cities, preferably by plane. When I came to Australia I was a little bit like that, I thought it would be the greatest thing to have a job in Melbourne or Sydney, or maybe Brisbane. Everything else didn’t really exist for me. But when you spend a few years here and take the time to go to places where most tourists don’t go, then you realise the real value of Australia doesn’t lie in the cities. The real value lies between the cities. Obviously when you travel by plane you miss out on that, no matter how many backpacker tours you book from the city.

From my experience the slower you move, the more you notice, appreciate and enjoy. Traveling by car or motorbike is good. Traveling by bicycle is better. Traveling by foot is best.

The fact that many Australian cities are among the top cities worldwide for ‘quality if life’ is true and well-deserved. For a city, Melbourne really is a fantastic place. For a city. Somehow my own priorities seem to shift. I love the outback, but I also love the sea and unspoilt nature. Arnhem Land has so far been the greatest place I visited in Australia and I think the Northern Territory in general would be a great place for me to live.

Wilderness, wildlife, Aboriginal heritage, stunning nature and endless opportunities for adventure and recreation from camping to boating to fishing to hiking and what else. It’s those things that mean the most to me today. That’s why it often makes me sick when I listen to conversations of other backpackers at my hostel and I hear things like “I don’t need to see Kakadu, I’ve seen enough trees.”. It makes me furious and I’m tempted to lecture people, but then what’s the point really. A few weeks or months are simply not enough to learn to appreciate what this country really has to offer. Different people, different priorities.

What simply annoys me is the picture of Australia these backpackers are transporting into the world, where parties and pictures of trained jumping crocodiles on a farm are what Australia is all about. A few days ago I could hear a German girl talking on the phone to her mum. The girl had been in Australia for only two weeks and in Darwin for only one day, but she described Aborigines to her mum as drunken bums who live on the street and leave their trash everywhere. She probably saw one or two in Darwin and immediately saw all the usual backpacker myths regarding Aborigines confirmed. It’s just sad how superficial people can be. I wish more backpackers would go off the beaten track and build their own opinions. On the other hand though, I wish they didn’t, so I don’t meet them where I go.

I’m still getting job offers for Melbourne on a regular base, but right now I can’t imagine a much better life than to have a 4WD, a fishing boat, and live in the Northern Territory. It’s an amazing lifestyle full of colours, warm weather, the simple life and what life should be all about: enjoyment and outdoors.

But I always need to remind myself that I still haven’t seen two thirds of the country… I haven’t seen Western Australia, I haven’t seen New South Wales, I haven’t seen Queensland and the ‘real’ top end with Cape York. Still a lot to see before settling down. I have a feeling I’ll be traveling for another while.