Aussies, it’s time to stop whingeing about tourists

It seems every man and his three sisters want a piece of the action at the Blue Mountains – and locals aren’t happy. They say the tourist hotspot is being loved to death as coach-loads of visitors head west wanting to catch a peep at the peaks.

It’s putting pressure on traffic, parking and local infrastructure. Those in the Blue Mountains are blueing big time. They say their small towns are “not built to support excessive visitation” and they want a plan put in place to manage congestion and the “uncontrolled” numbers flocking to the area.

Sorry, Blue Mountains. You can cry me a river.

Or a stream or a brook or a canal or whatever it is you’ve got up there in that beautiful part of the world.

Try living near a beach during summer

So, you’ve got too many visitors coming into the area? Let me pull you in for a quiet word. You’re not the only ones doing the heavy lifting when it comes to tourism.

Try living in a tourist hotspot near the beach, particularly during summer.

I do – and it can be hell in God’s Country, as we like to call the northern beaches of Sydney.

Thousands pour into the northern beaches daily, at a rate of 10.4 million per year (according to 2022/23 local council figures).

They come by land, sea and air (yes, we get seaplanes landing on the northern beaches) to swim at the beautiful beaches and harbor reserves.

Manly, on Sydney’s northern beaches, has an idyllic if not outdated advertising slogan: “Seven miles from Sydney and a thousand miles from care.”

The seven miles bit might not have changed but the laidback atmosphere on weekends and school holidays certainly has.

Being the insular peninsula – as it is often referred to – local noses can be easily put out of joint.

They’ve even set up a tongue-in-cheek community Facebook group – Manly Whinging – to document the complaints.

Locals afraid to use their cars for fear of losing parking spots

Residents dare not give up a parking spot for fear of not getting one within three kilometers upon their return.

I know of one family where the reason for your trip must be detailed, debated and then voted on before a decision is reached on whether the car should be allowed to leave its parking bay.

If the destination is walkable or on the public transport route, you need to mount a bloody good argument before being handed the keys.

The beachfront is a no-go zone on weekends and holidays unless you fancy trampling through surf carnivals, beach volleyball courts, joggers/walkers, makeshift soccer pitches, blokes on unicycles juggling bowling pins and promo girls spruiking the latest in sugar-free carbonated drinks .

Going for a swim can resemble an aquatic mosh pit as arms, legs and heads fight for the sliver of space between the flags.

And don’t worry about buying a surfboard. You’ll have about 10 to choose from every time a wave pushes through on the overcrowded breaks.

It’s best to stay away on weekends

Once back on land, the queue for a post-surf coffee will stretch from the barista to where the beans were sourced in South America.

At least ordering a take-away feed at peak time is easy – easy, that is, if you don’t mind a wait time longer than a Netflix crime series.

All these activities are best left to weekdays when local population numbers are more Newfoundland than New Delhi.

No doubt it’s the same deal at Bondi, Cronulla, the Gold Coast, Noosa, Byron Bay or any popular tourist destination in Australia and around the world.

Hordes of visitors are the price you pay (both figuratively and literally) for living in a slice of paradise.

Complaining about it publicly is not the hill – or blue mountain – to die on.

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