| Black Backpackers |
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Hey
peeps,
hows y'all doing? okay so here is my query, am hoping to go on a
backpacking RTW trip in Jan2004 starting of in OZ then NewZealand
and the States to meet up with family friends. My anxiety is that
I have never come across any black packpackers of African origin
or black people in general who have do the Backpacking thing.
Pardon my ignorance but to me the whole Backpacking thing seem to
be a Caucasian reserve(sorry no offence intended). I am a British
Citizen of African descent, travelling solo. My friends don't seem
that adventurous hence why I am travelling solo on this trip of a
lifetime. I apologise in advance if I offend any Ozies or Kwiwi's
out there but what are the experience of any of you who are Black
or of African descent like myself in OZ and NewZealand what would
your advice be are we well recieved are there any parts that one
should avoid? Also unlike most Backpackers I decided on Adelaide
as the first port of call instead of Sydney to begin with, like
most packpackers do. Can anyone advice on accomodation things to
do places to see sort of thing, i'll be gratefull for any advice
thanks peeps.
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the weak have one weapon: the errors of those who think they
are strong |
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| 1. |
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Well
I'm not black and I've not been to Oz or NZ but just wanted to
comment. It is true that I have come accross very few black
backpackers and have wondered why (ok many travellers come from
Holland, Germany, Israel... places where there may not be such a
big black community but as you mentioned there are a fair number
in the UK. I have, however come accross a few black people
travelling (also a few Asians from the Subcontinent and then of
course many East Asians - especially Japanese and Koreans though
also the odd Thai, Malay, or even Chinese) I've even come accross
some Kenyans and an Ethiopian. Anyway all that to say that though
you're right that there aren't that many black travellers there
are some - I say go for it and have a great time.
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"You have just entered the Cabbie Zone where time, price
and distance have lost all meaning..." |
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| 2. |
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You
should have a read of the thread on the Africa branch from a
couple of days ago about this very same thing.
Anyway, Australia is a very culturally diverse country so you
should have no problems whatsoever, particularly in Sydney and
Melbourne (which are more cosmopolitan than Adelaide), if you
interact with Australians whilst here. I can't say for
backpackers, but you should expect to be treated by British
backpackers the same way you are at home, whatever that may be.
In New Zealand you will probably be confused for a Maori, hence
you'll have no problems there either. The immigrants in New
Zealand tend to come from the Pacific Islands so if you look in
any way Pacific Islander then you'll fit in fine with the locals.
The main thing in both countries is to be easy-going and to smile.
Go to the pubs to meet the locals - if you are a genuine person
and love a chat over a cold beer then you'll do fine. |
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| 3. |
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an
interesting post (strange how hard you tried to avoid offence -
i'm sure theres someone out there ready to pounce :).
my boyfriend, although australian born, is from malaysian decent.
he said that he never had any troubles - people were more curious
as, as you pointed out, its a little different.
i really wouldn't worry. i'm your typical white ozzie but had
problems in korea. we're all different to someone else in the
world anyway.
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ruts are bi-lingual |
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| 4. |
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For
whatever reason, you're right, there aren't a lot of them. But I
traveled in Asia for a while with a few single black travelers and
one couple in particular. They said they'd gotten stared at more
and in some areas people were really fascinated with them, but
there hadn't been any particular hostility. A guy I met in Seoul
was having trouble getting an English teaching job, but that's in
a country that's incredibly homogenous and everyone is trying hard
to be the same. (Similar in Japan). In some areas outside the
first world countries, you'll be treated with considerable awe
because you're a walking Michael Jordan/Denzel Washington.
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www.WorldsCheapestDestinations.com |
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| 5. |
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Hi,
i'm not black, but i live in Sydney (but i'm in Iran now) and yes,
black (african descent) people are very rare here.
Before i left Australia, i worked with an Australian African 21
year old woman, and caught the train with her everyday. People
would stare, especially little children, but never in a bad way.
In fact, many people would tell her that she looks exactly
like serena williams, but the only similarities between the two
are they're tall, black and have dreads. Expect a lot of "you
look SO much like...."
And yes, Australians like drinking. |
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| 7. |
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| um,
you will definitely not be confused for a Maori (or Samoan /
Tongan)(#2) - which is probably good because the racism that does
occur in NZ tends to be directed towards Polynesians (and
generally those that are obviously living there). NZ is just
really beginning to get some African immigrants and they are very
obviously different in appearance to the Polynesians. |
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| 8. |
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Cecilia:
Gay men can't fit all of their shoes into a backpack. Not to
mention that their cosmetic bag would probably be the size of my
75 liter bag. That's why they don't backpack.
This is from a homo who is currently backpacking across europe. It
almost killed me to take only 2 pairs of shoes and cut my
cosmetics down to one small bag. Its just not fair.
-Tyler
http://www.worldisround.com/home/trozicki/ |
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