Joys and Sorrows of a Tourist

We can clearly feel that the high season and main holiday season has not yet begun in Australia: at every campsite we have visited so far, there has been plenty of space, and we could even choose where to park our camper. The few tourists here are older Australian couples in their luxurious caravans or Europeans. When we recently told a lady at the reception of a smaller campsite that we were Europeans, she just nodded and said, 'That is clear: other people are not coming at the moment.' Someone else told us that from mid-December, when the Australian holidays begin, all campsites are fully booked (well, by then we will be gone again).

On the other hand, this is what happened to us yesterday. Hoping for a quiet night, we took a nice spot, only to watch a car with three German young people arrive an hour later, who set up their tents next to our camper with loud laughter. They weren't extremely loud, but at 10 o'clock at night they cooked their dinner and chatted for a long time afterwards. And when you, as a Swiss person, understand every word of your neighbors, whether you want to or not, it is not so enjoyable.

One thing that is great for tourists in Australia: there are often signs on roadside indicating 'Tourist Drives', side roads that lead you to your destination on beautiful routes away from the highway. Twice today we followed such a tourist drive and discovered beautiful routes along lakes and over long bridges, past old farmhouses and beautiful gardens. There are also very good signposts indicating parking areas, and there are often toilets available that are relatively clean.

However, the second half of the day brought tension again, which tourists probably handle less well than the locals. Shortly after Newcastle, the sky darkened, smoke hung in the air, and it got really dim. The Australians seemed to take it easy. We became rather nervous. Promptly: the first two campsites we visited were so filled with smoke that we decided to drive further south. But because this took a long time due to traffic, we arrived there too late in some places. At one place, the reception was closed and a sign said simply: No pitch available if not booked in advance. Well, it almost got tight, and only after 6 pm we finally found an open 'Holiday Park', where there was still plenty of space for tourists!