quicko: backpackers

The word "backpacker" has an entirely different connotation in America as in Australia.

Americans conjure up images of mountain hikers, strapped to the hilt Bill Bryson-style with every imaginable tent, sleeping bag, blanket, insect repellent and extra socks and underwear, complete with a Johnny Appleseed pot on the head. Americans are set to trek the Appalachian Trail for months on end and bathe only every other week if a freshwater creek happens to emerge.

Consequently, most Americans are not what we'd call backpackers.

Australians, on the other hand, think of Brits. No, not the adventuresome, spelunking sort of Brits, but the young, drunk, noisy version. Backpackers to Australians are the people (usually 20-somethings on their mysterious "gap year") who travel around a country for months on end, staying at tourist hostels, working only to make ends meet and partying hardy the rest of the time. They too keep socks and spare underwear in their backpack, but that's about the only resemblance to an American backpacker. The rest is filled with clubbing clothes, sunscreen, bikinis, cameras and spare books to trade with fellow travelers.

Australia (and Europe, for that matter) is filled with this kind of backpacker. They're be more in America, but they're not quite sturdy enough to survive the Greyhound.