“I’ve never worn a mask”

Travelers report on road trips, life in the outback and “the time of their life”. But also of doubts and the impossibility of making plans. This is what globetrotters and backpackers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland report.

New Zealand: “At first I was shocked”

Sascha Seib (29) and his girlfriend Claudia Tran Ngoc (29) from Gotha are currently on the Abel Tasman Coast Track on the South Island of the Pacific state. The Thuringians arrived in New Zealand in February 2020 – shortly before the first lockdown in the country. By then the two had already found work in a vineyard in Martinborough. “At first I was shocked and thought we had to leave. But then we got the information that backpackers can stay if they want, ”says Sascha. The lockdown was tough, but necessary. “As you can see now, life in New Zealand is almost back to normal.”

Claudia also says that returning to Germany was not an option. “You only get a working holiday visa once in your life and only before you are 30 years old. I would never have gotten such a chance again. ”Their visas are valid until August and the two of them definitely want to continue traveling through the country that long.

“But I haven’t planned anything yet because the pandemic is constantly changing everything, including the plans.” The trip is one big adventure. Sascha adds: “When we have toured the South Island, we see what it looks like in Germany – and only then decide what to do next.”

Mexico: “Everyone was happy about my visit”

Mark Hegedüs is currently traveling in Mexico, the 44-year-old previously traveled to Costa Rica. “Apart from the fact that you sometimes have to wear a mask and often use disinfectant gel, in my opinion not much has changed,” says the native Hungarian, who lived in Vienna for a long time. Overall, he has been traveling in Latin America since 2014 and has now got to know almost every country in the region.

Hegedüs is not afraid of being infected with the coronavirus. “I feel fully fit, eat healthy and have my health insurance,” he says. When entering Costa Rica, he had to present health insurance that also covers treatment for Covid-19. “I would expect something like that from other countries, too, then you could travel almost anywhere again and with reasonable problems,” he says.

At the beginning of the pandemic in Latin America, there were repeated reports that foreign tourists were being attacked because they were seen as a potential source of infection. Hegedüs has not had any bad experiences so far. “But on the contrary. Everyone in Costa Rica was happy about my visit, ”he says. “I often received upgrades for booked rooms without request and was warmly welcomed in the national parks.”

Australia: “2020 was the best year of my life!”

Nicole Pern from Unna in the Ruhr area had been in Australia for a while when suddenly Corona struck and mixed up her plans. After graduating from high school, she came Down Under with a visa for a vacation work stay, worked in Sydney, then on a farm and also traveled across the country. Despite the pandemic, the 20-year-old decided to stay. “It was difficult because the situation was very difficult to assess, but objectively speaking, the situation was much better compared to Germany.” In addition, the costs for flights rose massively at the time.

Nicole says she’s a little homesick now. Sometimes she just misses “the comfort in Germany and not always being ‘on the move'”. But the dramatic corona situation in Germany scares them off. “In Australia, especially here in Perth, all options are open to me. I have never worn a mask before and have never been to such big festivals as here,” she says. So did everything right? “Germans may not understand that, but 2020 was the best year of my life!”

Line Sophia Schallmayer is currently in Kundabung on the east coast. The 21-year-old from Frankfurt had just landed in Australia when the virus emerged in March. Actually, she would have loved to fly home straight away. “But that wasn’t feasible, flights were priceless and hardly available,” she says. “The first few weeks I felt a little like I was stuck.” But then the Hessian made the best of the situation. “I wasn’t able to travel as much as originally planned, but I learned and experienced a lot this year.”

“I would definitely do it again!”

She has traveled the east coast from Sydney up to tropical Cairns, and was also able to marvel at Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the red heart of Australia. Before going home to Germany in March, she wanted to go to the west coast for the next few weeks. Because of the recent Corona outbreak in Sydney, many inner Australian borders have been closed again. “Australia was a constant up and down. I fought a lot with myself and had extremely difficult times where I totally questioned myself and the whole trip,” admits Line. And your conclusion? “The best thing was that you are never alone and meet so many fantastic people!”

The 30-year-old Carina Adamik from Recklinghausen is currently in Perth and has been in the country for two years with a working holiday visa. The occupational therapist canceled a trip to Germany planned for 2020 to see the family again. “Because of Corona I decided to stay in Australia.” When the virus broke out, she was working on a cattle farm in the outback. “I didn’t just want to give up.” She went on a road trip, “up and down the west coast”. The virus has hardly changed her trip – also because she was able to spend a lot of time in the isolated outback. “I would definitely do it again!”

Africa: “Flying home was never an issue”

The retired Swiss couple Heidi and Werner Gloor have been on a world tour in a Mercedes Sprinter since February 2019, currently in Africa. “Why Africa? We thought: ‘Let’s start with a more difficult continent,’ ”they say. Corona has led to some plan changes – but the virus has not unsettled the couple. “Flying home was never an issue,” they both emphasize. Instead, they decided to settle on a farm in Tanzania – where they were in spring 2020 – for a few months. There they would have had “the time of our lives”.