Things to do in Bega when you're broke

There isn’t all that much to do in Bega (Bay-ga) New South Wales, especially on a Sunday. I’d done the usual tourist attractions (walking up the main street, then walking back down again) and that had filled a little under 15 minutes yet the day stretched endlessly ahead of me.

The night had been seemingly endless too, being as it was, one of the coldest I’ve spent anywhere. The youth hostel was cozy enough, small and intimate, with a gas fire in the common room, which easily kept that space comfortable. A “Canadian” couple (Handy Hint: US Citizens abroad can be easily identified by the Maple Leaf patches on their backpacks) had shared their curry and rice with me and chatted pleasantly all evening, or at least until the talk turned to politics and I learned he was a Margaret Thatcher fan. It’s bad manners to insult people who’ve just shared their food with you so I did my best to change the subject and when that didn’t work, headed to the dorm room for an early night.

Even with the extra insulation provided by blankets swiped from empty bunks, it was a cold, cold night and I wasn’t at all sorry when dawn finally illuminated the room and prized myself out to face the day. I’d been in Australia for a couple of weeks now and had been deceived many times by sunny weather. It usually remained cold, even during the day despite spring being well under way and the shorts and t-shirts which I had expected to wear every day, were tucked well down towards the bottom of my pack. After such a night, I was anticipating another cold day so dressed accordingly so I wasn’t at all surprised when this turned out to be the warmest weather I’d had so far. Unfortunately, I was well overdue for a laundry, which meant each of my shirts were a little...ripe and I was forced to keep a sweatshirt on out of consideration for my fellow man.

The pub (singular) opened at 10 and while that’s earlier than I usually start drinking, I was bored out of my brains so stepped indoors for a quick one. Not surprisingly for Australia, the place was already packed. “Look at this fellah” says one character dressed in the Aussie uniform of singlet, shorts, work boots and bush hat, meaning me “He’s dressed for the cold weather!” I explained just why I was anxious to keep my sweatshirt on and this impressed them greatly. In not time I was seated on a stool at the bar, surrounded by a half-circle of locals all fascinated by this rarity – an outsider.

"What brings you to Bega, mate?" asked one.
"A bus" I explained, to a roar of laughter completely disproportionate to the quality of the humor.
"But why Bega? There’s bugger all here!"
"Yeah, I know that now. But it was a place on the map and I’m not in any rush."
"Well, we’ve got the rugby final on the telly this afternoon" explained John the landlord, "You’re welcome to come and watch it here if you like."
As the pub sported a color television, unlike the youth hostel’s portable black and white, this sounded very attractive so after determining that the majority of the people in the pub would be shouting for Canberra, as opposed to Sydney, the favorites, I set off back to the hostel to catch some shut-eye before presenting myself back at the bar a few minutes before kick-off.

The place was packed.

"Listen up everybody" yelled John above the din "This skinny bugger’s a pommie, but he’s alright so don’t give him any shit, OK?"
"Yeah but who’s he rooting for?" (Who is he supporting) came a yell from the crowd.
"Canberra of course" I shouted back, thankful that I’d done my homework earlier. Unfortunately, Instead of the approval I was expecting, this garnered a howl of derision. As I was to learn; in the 3 hours I’d been away, the Canberra fans had all left, presumably to watch the game at home and the place was now wall to wall Sydney supporters.

"Just you and me rooting for Canberra" John told. "But no worries. There’s free steak sandwiches in the back room so help yourself." If there’s one word that backpackers love it’s 'free' particularly when relating to food and/or drink and I was soon stuffing my face.

The game started out promisingly enough, with Canberra taking an early lead so John and I made sure to get our shots in early. Good job we did too, because there was precious little reason to crow in the second half. Sydney came out swinging and by the time the final whistle went, had delivered a trouncing of legendary proportions. Despite the incessant ribbing, I stuck it out to the end and was still protesting that Canberra were preparing for a late surge right up to the final whistle.

You can drink a lot of beer during an Australian rugby game, particularly when everyone around you is getting into the spirit of the thing, and I have to admit, I put away my fair share that afternoon. However, I was on a backpacker’s budget and a day of drinking wasn’t really in the financial plan. As the bar finally began to clear, I approached John with more than a little trepidation.

"How much do I owe you John?" I asked pulling out my wallet.
"No worries mate" he responded cheerfully without looking up from the sink where he was rinsing glasses. "All taken care of."

I never did determine if he’d given me my drinks on the house, perhaps as a show of solidarity for me sticking with his beloved Canberra despite everything; or if one of my other new friends had picked up my tab. Either way, I felt a lot of gratitude as I wobbled my way back to the hostel.

That night I chatted to the uh Canadians who had spent the day at an animal sanctuary, watching kangaroos, koalas and other native Australian species. They weren’t impressed when I said I’d spent the day in the pub.
"I think it’s important to spend our time here wisely" he said, a little sanctimoniously "We decided we want to see as many Australian animals as possible before we leave"

He had a point. Although by the time I departed Australia several months later, I’d seen all the animals they had, and none of them in cages. Even better, I'd spent a day in the natural habitat of that rare and delightful species Australius Egregius.

I think I came out ahead.