Excess Baggage
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday August 15, 1998
Backpackers:
One man's meat ...
SO, WHAT'S it like inside those backpacker hostels? Dormitories modelled on Soviet gulags? Bathrooms botanically richer than a Queensland rainforest? And the inescapable aroma of decomposing socks?
Not according to the latest edition of the Federal Government's Backpacker Accommodation in Australia, which grades more than 300 backpackeries around the country on a scale of one to five
backpacks. One backpack, says the guide, "denotes an establishment offering clean, simple and basic
facilities, while ... five backpacks indicates a superior standard".
The backpacker establishments were rated by the same 22 assessors who rate motels and hotels for the various State motoring organisations. In NSW, the work was done by a team of seven from the NRMA, including Richard Thorpe, who says the
standard has noticeably improved since ratings were last done in 1996.
The most basic criteria, says Thorpe, have to do with hygiene, which comes down to maintenance and housekeeping. If an establishment doesn't make the grade in hygiene, it's out.
Having satisfied the basics, backpackeries accumulate backpacks according to how they measure up in more than two dozen categories, ranging from guest services, through the quality of kitchens and
bathrooms, to security and safety. Within each category, the assessments get down to details such as the number of clothes hooks near wash basins, whether there are non-skid mats in the showers and whether there are stains on the bedding. And, says Thorpe, all the properties have to produce evidence that they comply with health, fire and safety regulations.
Explaining Canberra's support for the guide, the Tourism Minister, Andrew Thomson, says backpacker visitors spend more time (83 nights against 23) and money ($4,573 against $1,936) in Australia than the average for all tourists.
The guide awards five backpacks to no fewer than 10 Sydney establishments, some of which even offer ensuites. To find out which, call 1800 804 465 for your free copy of the guide, or you can look it up on the net at www.tourism.gov.au - Greg Lenthen
... is another's poison
MEANWHILE, backpackers are making a mark in the village of Kyleakin, on the Isle of Skye. London's Sunday Telegraph reports that the "once-sedate Scottish village is reeling under the impact of an invasion of raucous young tourists". Word has got out on the backpacker grapevine that the old fishing town features beautiful scenery and lively nightlife, and now there is no stopping the rush. The 350 villagers have been outnumbered three to one by backpackers who are turning the place into "a cosmopolitan party". Kyleakin features in at least three backpacker guides and the "jo jos" (so called because they jump on and jump off buses) fill seven hostels and numerous B&Bs. On warm nights, the backpacking set sit on the beach, clamber up to the ruins of Castle Moil, and even play rugby. Some locals welcome them, but others complain about the noise and
claim the water and sewage systems cannot cope.
"You wouldn't believe some of the people who come," says one hostel manager. "You would swear their mothers had posted them here."
Sunstruck
BEAUTIFUL one day, Atahualpa the next. Sun City Resort, "the Gold Coast's newest accommodation attraction", opens on Thursday, with an Inca theme. It sounds memorable, even by Gold Coast standards:
features include waterslides,
waterfalls, a "Lagoon of Fire and Crystal Pyramid with heated spa and pool". The press release announcing all these wonders enthuses: "Artists using polystyrene and polyurethane in a high-technology factory have replaced slaves labouring in quarries to create the modern Inca city." (Polytechnic International has also worked on Movie World, Sea World, Dream World and Wet 'n' Wild.)
The link between Queensland
holidaymakers and the ancient South American civilisation is obvious. As the press release points out: "Sun City Resort ... is themed on the Incas who - like many modern tourists - worshipped the sun, but then disappeared in the jungles of South America 500 years ago."
Ah yes, we've all had holidays like that ...
Lateral thoughts
THOSE jolly folk at the German Press Association have produced a beginners' guide to travelspeak:
* "Unobtrusive service" - just one waiter rushing around the dining room.
* "Only a short transfer to the airport" - the hotel is in the flight path.
* "Furnished in the Greek style" - Just a table, chair and bed.
* "Pool and bar open till 3am" - don't even think about getting any sleep.
* "The beach has been left to nature" - only the tide clears the rubbish.
* "Just out of town" - suitable for hermits.
* "Not suitable for families" - prostitution is rife.
* "Don't forget your thongs" - the beach is all rocks and sea urchins.
World food
YOUR PASSPORT TO INTERNATIONAL EATING PLEASURE
Gravlax
Your passport to international eating pleasure l
Nationality: Swedish
Reason for visit: If you like smoked salmon, you'll love gravlax, made by curing fresh salmon with salt, sugar, piquant dill, and sometimes vodka. With its elegant sheen, translucent good looks, and delicate flavour, it is regarded by many as Sweden's finest culinary moment. Traditionally, it is served with a mustard dill sauce.
Home address: The popular lunchtime fish cafe, Lisa Elmquist Ostermalms Saluhall, Ostermalmstorg, Stockholm; phone (0011 46 8) 660 92 32.
Address in Australia: Soft, luscious marinated salmon is always on the menu at Bistro Moncur, Woollahra Hotel, 116 Queen Street, Woollahra; phone (02) 9363 2782. The Swedish-born Michael Bengtsson cures his own at A Restaurant, Five Ways, Paddington; phone (02) 9361 6640. - Jill Dupleix & Terry Durack
Buenos Aires
What's it cost?
$A
Big Mac 5.09
Taxi, airport to city 59.43
Bottle of Heineken 3.39
Cup of coffee 2.54
Car hire, small/daily 152.82
Night in a 3-star hotel 110.37
Daily newspaper 1.69
Local phone call 0.42
Post to Australia 2.54
Prices from Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange.
Prices converted at $A1= $US0.5889. Rates subject to change.
© 1998 Sydney Morning Herald
