Tourism NSW and the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistcs) say there were 2.6 million international visitors to Sydney to June this year – yes locals, people come to Sydney for a holiday too.
25% per cent of those visitors were backpackers. It’s easy to spot them on the streets, in their leisure-wear contrasted against the working locals. And our human perceptions are also acute to spot the finer nuances that differentiate a local from an outsider.
These backpackers are different to other travellers for many other reasons, including being active adventure seekers on a flexible itinerary and eager to mix with locals.
So with little to do on a Monday night Max went to Scubar. What better way to find these price-conscious-adventure-seekers than in a venue that offers $7.50 jugs of beer and crab-racing on a Monday night.
I sat myself in an alcove seating area next to the main bar with my jug of Carlton Draught. A 425ml schooner for $5 dollars versus a 1104ml Jug for $7.50 – economics said more beer was a rational decision.
I met Zara from Cologne in Germany and her friend from the Westend Backpacker Hostel - Fergus, from Ireland. Fergus had a funky smell like he hadn’t showered in days. His hair was shaved short on the front, followed by a mop of dreads of varying length and texture.
Zara was full of questions for me as a local, clearly eager to experience as much that Australia had to offer. She said she was keen to sky-dive in Sydney, perhaps next week. I told her the best place of two locations around Sydney would be Wollongong – diving with views over the Royal National Park, cliffs leading to the industrial city and suburbs of Wollongong and beaches of the Pacific Ocean was magic.
Zara had bought a crab in the next race. She promptly jumped from her seat mid-conversation when the 8:30 race was about to start, leaving me to chat with Fergus.
On the topic of Wollongong, Fergus said he went there last week.
And he continued… “the craziest thing happened when I was driving along the Princes Highway to Wollongong right. Just before the Royal National Park in Heathcote I got a flat tyre. I bought a Toyota van for travelling. Old bomb, only $1500 on GumTree. I was jacking up the tyre and 4 small bones and a ring fell out from behind the front wheel. I checked under the lip of the front panel and the jack was lifting up the rusting under-carriage. Inside were 2 more bones and what looked like a finger nail.”
I was a little bit intrigued.
Fergus continued, “I fixed the tyre and drove to Wollongong. Found the first payphone and called the guy I bought it from. He’s 28 years old, used the van as a plumber and was a former motorcross rider who had a debilitating accident. Turns out he had brain injuries that results in short term memory loss. He often forgets where he is and what he’s doing.”
We were slightly disrupted by cheering in the background as the crab-racing ring-master lifted the bowl and the Hermet Crabs were off and racing.
Refocusing on Fergus, I continued listening: “he was changing the tyre in his garage. When he released the jack it got caught on the car chassis and wouldn’t budge. He put his hand under to feel around and the car dropped about 5 centimetres, sliced off his pinkie and ring finger on his left hand. He pulled the jack away then passed out from shock. When he came to and saw his hand he freaked out. No one was home so he rushed himself to the emergency department. Lucky he was only unconscious for a brief period.”
Zara had returned by this stage with a jug of Carlton Draught and her ticket for the next crab race, obviously no previous luck. When she saw we were engrossed in conversation she said, “ah, you telling the flat tyre story?”
Fergus, laid back in his seat and enjoying the attention, nodded to Zara then turned to me - “the doctors asked him where his severed fingers where and he couldn’t remember, his short-term memory failed him. He and his family looked but never found his fingers.”
“Six months later he sold the car to me and when I called David from Wollongong, he went silent on the phone then started weeping. His wedding ring was found. His family say it was the single most significant episode to help his recovery – he was able to put together the pieces of his fragile memory.”
An incredible story, but I wondered whether Fergus was better at telling a yarn than the truth. Perhaps his grubby dread locks and Irish accent gave a comical fiction to the things he said.
Zara topped up our beer glasses and said, “hey guys – this is what we Germans do,” and held her beer up to motion for us to do the same. All our beers now poised for next direction, she said while moving her beer – “zur mitte, zur titte, zur sack, zack-zack.” And then translated, “to the middle, to the tits, to the balls, straight down!”
So we ‘zack-zacked’ our beer German style.
Some colourful characters in Sydney – and they’re invading en masse this time of year. $25 backpacker beds will be $70 over the next month. Sydney is one of the most sought after destinations on the planet to celebrate the New Year.
So be tourist like.
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