Whilst asking advice about accommodation in a country where I will be riding a bike soon one inmate replied with what seemed like a boast that despite multiple trips there had not seen 2 of the places greatest attractions. Now one attraction might not be overly well known but the other is world heritage and widely known. Tourist meccas are that because they have a real interest point and unfortunately attract crowds. Is this destination snobbery, a bit pretentious, cutting off your nose to spite your face and do you miss the highlights of a place because of it. Jeez every man and his dog does the Simpson should it be avoided? What is your opinion?
i would hardly describe the simpson as a tourist mecca drawing big crowds, i would say no more than 60 people on a good day out there
Exactly right Gavo. Some people do come off as pretentious when they say stuff like that. If something is a tourist attraction then usually (not always) there is something worth seeing there, and maybe you just have to suck it up, hang your head in shame and say "yes I did a tour bus to ______ with the grannies, but goddamn, have you seen that place, it is amazing. I am pleased I made the effort" If you refuse to see something because it is too touristed, then you are the one missing out. The Taj Mahal, or redwood forests, or Uluru wont care.
I'd have to say I can't get excited about Cape York because of what I hear about heaps of idiots in 4wds. Iwas just reading an old magazine yesterday saying how many come to grief and mentioning quite a few bike riders ending up in hospital or worse from encounters with bullbars (not always the 4wds fault). Maybe I am soft but give me cooler weather less traffic and less flys and mozzies anyday.
Dont exactly know how to say it but when i travel, in australia or OS. I'm more into getting down to basics, like locals in bars, catching a local train, talking to a guy/girl in the street. I have no real interest in the high life or the tourist bit. Went out to Chambers Pillar one time, just loved the ride in and out but at the camp ground i could see the the railing around the Pillar and all the tourists climbing over every thing. There and then i just sat and enjoyed the serenity of it all with a few rums.
<o></o> <o></o> <o></o> <o></o> <o></o> Having been there a few times I'd say that your perceptions are not even close to the realities. In fact it’s these pre-conceived ideas that are the problem. I can’t remember how many times I have been mildly shocked at just how different a place it to what I expected. That’s actually one of the best bits about travel if you ask me. If we could absorb all there is about a place through internet forum goss or magazine articles there would be no real need to turn a wheel. <o></o> <o></o> It causes problems for people in the opposite way as well. They think they know what a place is like before they go there and are disappointed that it is not the way they thought it should be. I once listened while a bloke on Cape York bitched because the whole thing, from Cooktown to Seisia wasn't covered in rainforest like he had been led to believe.<o></o> <o></o> Just on the Cape York thing. It amazes me just how many people think CY is a 4wd/dirt bike only trip with 100s of gnarly obstacles and any number of deep croc infested creeks just waiting to swallow you and you companions whole. I’ve been passed by a 7 series BMW and Hyundai Getz on the Old Tele. Admittedly, not the on the only 70 odd km of un-developed track that is still there but the Old Tele just the same. It is not what most people think it is. <o></o> <o></o> Avoiding places based on a flawed perception is dumb. I did it once with Kakadu. I believed the Kakadon’t rhetoric and have regretted it ever since. Even if it is over touristed, so what? I should have gone when I had the chance. Now I have to go back. <o></o>
This is what I do, don't go on organized tours but go local in oz camp or pubs os I try for the same but I wouldn't avoid a point of interest just because a lot of tourists go there
Riding on over grown tracks in the middle of nowhere, through to living it up in Vegas. It's all good.
It's the catch of any place with something special - people want to go there, and traffic tramples the magic and corrupts the charm. I found a good balance traveling through Morocco. I went to a few of the touristy places along the way, but I was traveling on my own, and I didn't join any of the guided services. Just went and did my own thing. I ended up seeing the same sights, but also having some far more 'raw' experiences, like getting utterly lost in old Fez, told off by the cops for taking photos of the Palace (don't do this), and ending up sitting around at 2am in a back-alley talking to a bunch of local kids about how Japanese girls are totally hot, and Australians can't play soccer. Very memorable night. I also saw a cat eating another cat. Also memorable, I guess... I don't think it's a case of a given place being too touristy, but rather the way people choose to experience a given place. Personally, I actually enjoy being the dirty hobo sitting on my bag in the park, watching all the Contiki-ists pile out of their bus with hangovers and get herded about like sheep with the entire product range of Kathmandu draped over their shoulders. Kind of adds to the spectacle. Maybe I am a travel snob? I don't care, I have fun.
Jdeks I travel the same, mix it with the locals, have a tub once a week if im lucky and watch the world go by, slow time
i've ridden past tourist destinations without stopping because I was too wrapped in the ride, am I culturally worse off for not stopping..... who really cares
It all depends. I travelled through Europe on a bike for 1.5 months in the last millennium, before GPS. Avoided the big cities like the plague except for Paris, Rome and Barcelona. Do I regret it now? No. How could I if I did not see what I missed? Recently on my Tassie rip, got to Cradle Mountain, but had to wait because of too many tourist. Promptly made a u-turn and went elsewhere. The other truth about travelling, if you have not travelled alone at least once in your life, you have not truly travelled. Solo travel can be much more rewarding than in groups.
Point taken Joff. Maybe I am subconsciously looking for negatives. After years of pushie touring I tend to look for cooler climates and a low bug count to enjoy the camping as well as the riding. But if I had a spare $5000 I would consider one of the organised rides out of Cairns to the cape.
Yep, me too. I was looking at a Roy Kunda safari as a promo prize for a work thing this week actually. Not sure how I could swindle my way onto the trip though
Done a bit of os riding. Only reason I avoided anywhere was that if a large city I would get hopelessly lost. LOL.
I have no interest in what some marketing knob considers a must see , I like to ride / drive / sail / paddle to interesting places , but what interests me is not really what interests many others . How many of you have climbed Whitsunday peak ? would not be too many I'd say. I don't care who has / has not climbed Whitsunday peak , just that I have .
For me I think it is 50/50. For example I have done some uber touristy things like open top bus tours in Chicago and New York and thought they were great. By the same token I have ridden in some very out of the way places and they were also great. See what you want to see, do what you want to do. The thing is good stuff that is easy to get to will frequented by many people and have a lot of Tour Operators, eg Mayan ruins in Mexico. It is only places that are difficult to get too, but still worth seeing that you won't get the crowds. One of my favourite places I have seen is southern Tajikistan, the Pamir mountains are as magnificent as the Rockies, yet poor infrastructure and difficulties around getting in the country make it well of the beaten path for many travellers. Same probably goes for parts of Central Australia - everyone goes to Uluru, but not so many do the Strzelecki Track into Arkaroola - which is just a beautiful.
Ditto, but be honest , if you stood at the peak and there were a line of tourists who had been helicoptered up, would you have enjoyed the experience as much? I remember my first visit to Mitchell Falls in the Kimberly, I wandered around the cliff / swam in the water hole at the top, then wandered back to the bike for the slog into camp. Magical experience. Now you'd be nipping in by helicopter and lining up for the photo. No ocmplaints though, we just need to try a bit harder to find our special place....perhaps sailing the kimberly coast in a hobie cat so we can get further in than the tourist boats , live off the crocs which come aboard at night and...who am I kididng ...lets just standing in line and wait our turn