German Tourists Warned Australia is Dangerous

[Guest The Pom Queen]

THE German Government has warned backpackers not to walk the streets of Alice Springs at night after increasing reports of rapes, thefts and assaults on young tourists in the desert town.

 

The German Foreign Office has updated its travel information on its website, saying Alice Springs is a "special situation, especially at night'', the Northern Territory News reported.

The call came after a German tourist was one of two young women gang-raped at gunpoint inside her own parked van at night in Alice Springs last May.

The attack happened on the same night that four youths robbed a 43-year-old German in the same town.

The updated travel information triggered the large German weekly magazine Der Spiegel to warn its readership that not every Australian was "your mate''.

It said no other country was as popular as Australia with more than 15,000 young German men and women visiting on a work and holiday visa last year alone.

[rikyuu]

Alice Springs is such a small place and the times these incidents are occuring only cover a few hours at night, it should be easy for the cops to sort it out. I bet if you were doing 1k over the speed limit at 2am, they'd get ya! Oh yeah, criminals don't pay fines, they just cost money to punish, so no point.

[digitalis]

I think there are more German backpackers than any other nationality, perhaps even more than the Irish and that's saying something. They tend to come out here very young prior to starting university or their apprenticeship, most only stay for 4-9 months, year tops. Although generally unbelievably mean with money (can see why their economy is still good) I find them very honest and hard working to be fair. Also, they handle their booze pretty well too, very rare to see a German pissed up causing trouble IME.

 

Heard a lot of horror stories about Alice Springs all in the same vein, apparently the main protagonists are indigenous.

Edited August 28, 2012 by digitalis

[sussex boy]

A lot of people drift into town from the communties, most are alcohol free, hit town and wear out thier welcomes with their cousins/friends in town, sleep rough for a few days until they can arrange a lift back to wherever they came from. If you live in the burbs and aren`t staggering around pissed at 3 am then life is very quiet here, odd bugulary. Most car thefts are cars that are taken to get back to the communites, nearly every car stolen in town will be found burnt out in yuendameu, areonga, ti tree etc. Just like any town or city centre , whether on holiday or living there I would be a little paranoid. As for sleeping naked in an unlocked van pissed out of my head would be a bit of a no no.

[sussex boy]

Fall asleep naked and pissed on a park bench at a late night gay pride rally recently?

[digitalis]

No. Are you trying to justify a young woman being gang raped?

[sussex boy]

Obviously not, wherever you are in the world you need to look after yourself, in peak times every carpark has a dozen old backpackers rent a wreck parked up and people living in the them. When they cave in they come to my garage and ask if we can fix them for free because they dont have the money for even the smallest repair like a dead battery etc. Those looking to steal a car will try the doors on 20 cars in a night and hope to find an old one they can hotwire.