How To Travel Like a Local

What does it mean to travel like a local? We’re all shy to some degree and it’s always tempting to spend most of our time travelling in the company of friends or to seek birds of a feather to yarn around the campfire.

Being part of a social group is great and such friendships will be part of the special blessings of your journey. On the other hand, beware the risk of isolating yourself too much from the local population.

The tourists around your campsite often merely visit the places that the locals wish to make public and generally pay full commercial rates for accommodation, meals and other services.

By contrast, the locals know where the better, more private and free campsites are to be found. They know how to find cheap local produce at a good price or the best catered meals. They know who to go to when things break down and who to avoid.

The locals know the shortcuts, the bad roads and the best routes. And they know where and when the hazards are likely to appear on the roadside.

So to travel Australia like a local, the first thing you need to do is connect with the locals.

How Do I Find a Local?

The best approach is to look friendly and be friendly to everyone you meet.

Take the police, for instance. While the police officers you come across may not necessarily be locals on country roads, they will know the area fairly well and are often worth a chat if they are not busy at the time.

Most small towns will have a cafe and a pub. Pick a quiet moment to start up a chat with the bartender or waiter and they’ll soon start introducing you to the locals in the vicinity. They will be as curious about you and the way you are travelling as you will be about their home town and lifestyle.

Service stations and roadhouses are also a good source of information when you are filling up your fuel tank. They’ll usually have brochures for the local attractions but can often tell you more useful stuff like where the fish are biting and what bait people are using.

You will often find a community library in a small town usually hosted by the local school. Pop in to browse the local papers, access the internet, bone up on local history and pick the librarian’s brains. You may even get a gig doing a ’show and tell’ about your home or occupation in one of the classes. If so, the school children will be an excellent fount of local knowledge.

On the weekend, go the the footy or whatever local sport is on and chat to people at the bar or canteen. It’s never hard to find someone ready for a yarn and you’ll probably find a cheap meal there while you are at it.

Surfers and fishermen will know where to find their mates. Jetties are always worth a walk, too.

Of course, lots of towns these days have Information Bays and tourist information services but you’ll need to do a big of digging or ask a few questions to find the roads less travelled, the less commercial places.

Use Your Own Networks

If you have a hobby or are involved in the kind of business that you may run into along the way, by all means use your contacts. For example, if you train sheepdogs, your fellow competitors will always enjoy a yarn as you pass through their country. If you are an artist, look out for galleries along the way and connect with kindred spirits. If you sell cars for a living, pop in on the other dealers along your route and swap ideas on the latest sales campaign.

There’s no need to impose. Set up camp first so that it’s clear that you’re just chatting and then see where things lead. Your objective is to find out what the locals know about where they live so that you can see what the tourists miss.

If as often happens, your new mates offer you a bed or a campsite, always remember Benjamin Franklin’s advice:

Fish and visitors stink after three days….