It all started about 5 or 6 years ago when one morning I woke up to go to work and there was a note on my car. It read: “Some backpackers jumped on the roof of your car. They jumped on mine too. Rick.”
I looked at my car, and the dents on the roof that I hadn’t noticed before. Under my breath, I swore.
We live near a backpackers hostel. Most people who live in Bondi have a hostel within walking distance from their homes. It’s part and parcel with living in the most populated suburb in Australia.
Before the car roof incident they hadn’t bothered me. Sometimes they came home drunk at night and woke me from my sleep, but I was in my early twenties, and I thought nothing of it.
Later that day I marched into the backpackers in a state of fury and told the girl at reception what had happened, “Someone staying here jumped on my car last night, and my roof is ruined!”
She didn’t care. I couldn’t prove it.
From then on I slowly started to notice the backpackers more. English girls using our garden as bathroom. Couples using our lawns to ‘get it on’.
While Shane was away last year a trio of Irish backpackers started to use some of our resident parking. I’d hear them each morning as they noisily got into their car, and again at night when they returned home from work. Ever so slowly, as the weeks went by, I started to get more and more irritated.
I’ve become protective of my family, and where we live. Usually I’m easygoing and carefree, and I don’t get riled up and angry often. As soon as someone or something starts to affect those I love, I stand up and speak my mind.
One afternoon I heard the Irish backpackers pull into the car space {which is right near our front door}, and I went down to confront them. “Hey,” I said in calm and friendly manner, “This isn’t your car spot, so you can’t really park here.”
“Alright love,” He said with his thick Irish accent, “We’ll leave.”
They got back in their car and I went back inside. That was easy, I thought.
Moments later I looked outside and the car was still there. The rage started to build, and the protective Mama came out. I grabbed my neighbour for support and with Lacey on my hip, headed for the backpacker hostel.
We searched and searched for the trio of carpark bandits with no luck, so we headed back home and got caught up chatting in the driveway. The Irish backpackers returned to their car, and we confronted them, “You said you’d move your car. What’s going on?”
I thought I was mad. The backpackers were madder. One of the men came right up in my face and started to yell, “I can park where ever I want!” He then continued ranting with barrage of lies and angry rants.
“No you can’t!” I yelled back, “This is my parking spot and you can’t park here!”
It didn’t end well. We ended up pretending to call the police, and the backpackers never returned. I went back inside shaken, and upset having never been spoken to before in such a manner.
I decided that in future I’d just suck it up and leave it alone, however miffed I felt.
Fast forward to this past Easter weekend when a bunch of backpackers who were camping {illegally} outside our building had started to make themselves comfortable in our backyard. First I spotted them washing their car with our hose and then hanging their clothes to dry on our line. I left them to it, and kept my nose out of it.
Until I went to get in my car and one of the backpackers {German this time, not that it matters} appeared from behind it with a bucket full of dirty dishes and began washing them with our water.
“You can’t do that,” I piped up, “That’s our water.”
“Oh really?” She questioned, playing dumb, “I thought this was the water for the City, for everyone to use.”
“Nope. We pay for it. Don’t use it.”
She piled up her dishes, and her bucket and headed back to her van, and I drove off in our car.
No doubt there will be more backpacker battles in our future. I know there are a trillion things that I don’t see, which is a good thing, I guess.
I’ll just have to pick my battles wisely. Either that, or I’ll need to get me a life.
Hi Chantelle,
I'm a new follower to your blog and really enjoy reading it, I can also sympatise with your above post! I'm Irish and live in Ireland at present – long story short I work for a well known university and work in student accommodation. Weekly I have to work with and put up with the issues that you have described above, it makes me embarrassed to be Irish at times! Before you even mentioned the nationalities, I knew they were Irish, for every year thousands of them depart Ireland to travel Oz for at least one year and no doubt cause havoc to locals like yourself! I firmly believe that until they work for and own their own property / cars, they won't have respect for other peoples property / cars!
Ah well…. at least some of us Irish are not all like that! 🙂
Oh I wouldn't be sucking it up at all! That would drive me mad! It's so disrespectful.
I've backpacked and I have travelled/camped around Australia and it's so easy to ask permission politely or find public facilities. There's no excuse.
I take my kids to play in a harbourside park in Glebe that is constantly lined up with old vans and cars of backpackers living there. They're sprawled across the footpath cooking, washing and bathing. We're often forced to step over them as we try and make our way into the park. I always think about the poor residents who live in the street. It turns a beautiful spot into a gypsy campground. There have been times in my travelling life where i've slept in my car, and there are ways of being discreet and respectful.
Hi Chantelle,
I absolutely agree with Rebecca. Although I know the nationality will probably not matter it makes me feel ashamed of my countrymen :-(. I try to teach my children how important good manners are – I really hope I will succeed ;-). Our son is really a hand full, but I keep telling him to at least be polite and charming ;-). I have lived in and have travelled different countries and would never have dared to do anything like that without asking permission first – maks 🙂
Oh Chantelle, I feel your pain. As a non-backpacking Englishwoman living in Coogee I saw this from both sides for years.
We moved to the Inner West.
Enough said.
xxx
Oh no that would drive me mental! I used to live in a townhouse complex where all the townhouses faced each other and had a concrete driveway in between. The echo was so annoying and you could hear EVERYTHING (and I mean EVERYTHING!) from other units. I was really good at biting my tongue and fuming on the inside, all it did was give me high blood pressure. But you are right, you have to choose your battles, and you also have to be very careful who you piss off as guess what/they know where you live! Rock, meet hard place. Can you post signs anywhere? Beware of vicious dog or Trespassers Prosecuted. Or perhaps “Hey Backpackers, F*&^ OFF!” 😉
Are you kidding me? They yelled at you? They're starting to set up in your back yard? WTF. That is totally not cool. Where I live (Los Angeles) everyone has gates, which really disconnect us from our neighbors (there are a few that I say hi to whenever I see them…and receive nothing in return) but keep people (and their dogs) out of our yards. But no one should have to do that! Those kids are ridiculous. I'm glad you piped up! That's your home and your land and its your family. go you!
My goodness you are one lovely and patient lady! I can't believe you actually got abused by one of them, you must of been horrified!! When I first moved to Melbourne with my husband we lived in a block of apartments & had issues with a Lawyers firm around the corner using our carpark. I let it slide but one day when I was home from work I saw a heavily pregnant lady from our apt block have to park up the street because the lawyers firm employees had taken all spare car spots. I went out & busted one of them and he actually said to me 'just so you know I work for a lawyer' & my reply was 'well you should know you can't park on private property'. I was so furious with him I called the director at the lawyer firm to complain and said I have all their rego no's they all have 15 mins to move their cars or I'll have them towed. Thankfully it worked and they never parked there again!
This is awful! but I have to tell you reading this makes me feel a little silly as your situation is a lot worse then mine. I have recently been dealing with some workmen who insist in parking their truck in front of my house. (the site they are working on is a street away) Every time I would come home and see their truck their it would make me feel so angry. I have told them several times they can not park here and they alway say they will move but never do. Yesterday they were working on a tractor that was being stored on the truck on my drive way, I did loose it a bit with them a bit & promptly packed up and left.
That would annoy me SO MUCH. I live in such a quiet street that when someone walks past I think, “Who are you? Why are you walking near my house?”
If someone tried to do their dishes with my water I'd probably come running out of the house with a carving knife.
Chantelle, I think if anyone is camping illegally or setting up in your backyard, you have every right to call the police! I don't know your housing situation, but it sounds like you need to make your property more secure given there are so many backpackers around and the police can't be there all the time. Lots of written complaints to the hostel and your local council will also do the trick. There is no way I would put up with any of it…
I thought this was going to be a post about your wish to backpack around the world … Boy was I wrong! That totally sux I can see how annoying it must be to have them around and for them to be so disrespectful and arrogant about how they are behaving. The council should really be more proactive and erect signs or warnings about it being a residential area. Maybe its time to put pen to paper and view your concerns to them?
Breathe Chantelle Breathe. (then rage all you like!)
I am newish regular bog reader, but have known of you for AGES! I just don't have time to sit a blog-read – BUGGER!
I am rambling – just wanted to say Hi! Can we be friends! xo
I have been a long time reader of your blog and just had to comment on this entry. I just think you are wonderful and I love that you are so open.
I read many blogs on parenting and sometimes I can get a bit down thinking they have such an easy time and why isn't my life like that! So hearing that you have the same problems we do with getting so frustrated at people's utter rudeness is just so relatable (although I am very sorry you have to deal with it!). Not everything works out perfectly and sometimes even when we speak up it still doesn't work!
Good on you for still speaking up though and that rude guy who yelled at you has some serious bad karma coming his way!
I think they are just being plain rude.
They should stay at a camping ground or hostel and if they can't afford to then follow the backpacker trail around Australia picking fruit to earn some money.
I think I'd be installing a fence/gate and tresspass sign.
I can understand your frustration. It's one thing for people to go out and have fun, but when they start using your property like that, it's unacceptable. Grrrrr!
chantelle i think you have every right to be angry that travellers (or anyone really) is taking advantage of you.
surely this is something that your body corporate could attend to – maybe liaise with the backpacker hostel and make it clear that backpackers cars will be towed – i would delight in ringing the tow truck company if they have been warned repeatedly!
reading that blog {feeling your pain} i'm the same am pretty easy going, but i think i expect that people will treat me the same as i treat them {but no} this isn't always the case………and it's disappointing, you kinda think if the shoe was on the other foot, what would they do??????
i do think good on you though {don't let them walk over you} big smooch lisa xx
Helloo Chantelle, Thumbs up to U for standing UR ground. It furiates me when people do as they please with no consideration for others.
Oh poor Chantelle! I'm right with you on your stance. I'm also very much for people minding their own business and doing their own thing… UNTIL, they compromise the way I live my life through their own selfishness or stupidity!
The incidences you describe here would have me seething. I have absolutely nothing against backpackers, having lived in and around Coogee for over 10 years now. Luckily, when we lived in Coogee itself, we were set far enough back from the beach for backpackers not to be a problem. However, I do take exception to them squatting in vans right on our beloved beaches. It's just gross to see people sitting in their 'smalls' eating cereal from a bowl, in the back of their combi, when you're walking your children to the park. I don't know how to explain it when my 3 year old asks what they're doing either. So I just turn a blind eye.
I really hope things improve in Bondi, such a beautiful place, but for this type of problem. Keep up the good fight Chantelle :o)
Hello! As much as you shouldnt have to move, maybe its time to look for a new place? I dont think that the backpackers will ever stop unfortunately and your frustration will grow and grow and grow. How about a security block with gates?
What an insane thing to have to put up with! Doesn't give a very good impression of the international community, that's for sure. :-/ Isn't there an authority or neighbourhood group that you can report their behaviour to?
Good on you Chantelle! That would frustrate me to no end as well. Hope that's the last of the dramas for a while.
PS Is it wrong that your story made me chuckle? Couldn't help it – sorry 😉
Oh Chantelle that is just apalling. We backpacked overseas for a year and never behaved like that. Sounds like you need a big fence or a gate on your apartment complex
I must live just around the corner from you, I know the pain and the personal torment of trying to suck it up and be a bigger person but also being so pissed off that steam comes out of your ears. Namaste, Jayne@ecobabe.com.au
I'm a proud mom of a “backpacking” son – age 21 and just used this opportunity to give him a different perspective and reminded him to always respect the property and personal “space” of the local people.
He spent three months in Europe last year and is heading to Australia/New Zealand in Januray 2012 for 15 mths.
We're from Canada, he proudly wears a flag on his coat for all the world to see and I would be (and hope he would) so embarrassed if he represented our young people in such a way!
Hope things improve for you! Blessings…
Hi Chantelle, I loved this post! It also inspired me to write this post: http://nataliemurray.blogspot.com/2011/05/worst-job-i-ever-had.html
N xx