Traveling Safely in Australia
By Tony Maddison

It is surprising just how often things go wring when you travel and yes, things can even go wrong in beautiful Australia when you are holidaying. This often means that the memories of your dream holiday downunder are tainted. In serious cases, such as theft or assault, you may have to spend time sorting out the problem at the local Police station. Always use common sense if you want to travel safely, whether it's a safe country like Australia or an adventurous one like Pakistan. Shopping in a local town or spending time on the beach, do not put yourself in a position where you could either be in danger or taken advantage of.

Sure, it is rare for this to happen to tourists in Australia, but it is not unheard of - there are unscrupulous people everywhere who will take advantage of tourists who don't know their way around.

Use your common sense and instinct. It is a common mistake for many travelers to carry all of their valuables with them in the belief they are safer in a place like Australia and this is simply not a good idea anywhere. Take just what you need for the day and leave the rest in the hotel safe as it is better to lose a little, rather then everything. There is nothing worse than having to cancel credit cards on your holiday so to protect your assets further when you are out and about, hide them and the cash in different areas about your person in small amounts. That way a possible thief would not get much, even if getting robbed is not that likely. Better safe than sorry, as they say.

It is also never a good idea for a couple to use the same credit card, when to travel with the protection of multiple sources of cash is just can be done by taking a second card from a completely different account. One can be used as a replacement should one be mislaid or stolen. Many tourist areas can see also you as the victim of bag and camera snatching which is not so easy to do if they are over your head and shoulder. Some of the easiest crimes involve snatch thieves that may actually work in teams, though again, this is not so common in Australia. In some areas they locate unsuspecting victims who have a bag on their shoulder for instance that can be easily grabbed by a passing cycle or scooter. From a criminal's point of view, large groups of tourists are just treated as easy targets and because they do this sort of thing all the timeand they get good at it from practice.

Your complacency can lead to a bad experience because these people make their living doing this sort of thing but just a little extra care can make it much harder for them to take what does not belong to them. Carrying a small backpack can be a good idea as it can be secured with a small padlock which although will not deter the determined thief, will certainly slow down and prevent the majority from trying their luck. To prevent keys being lost or stolen try attaching them to a climber's D-shackle that you can place on your belt or pack of some sort, this should help stop anyone trying to snatch them quickly from you. Instead of putting your wallet in your back pocket use your front pocket. Likewise women should close their handbag because all this has a deterrent factor. The only reason these types of events happen on vacation is most people are not traveling safely so by maintaining your guard, many awkward situations can be avoidable.

As mentioned, these things are not very common when traveling in Australia, but a little extra caution will ensure that you are not one of the unlucky few.