Eating bamboo rat, paraglide topless in Fiji and making love in a canoe. New research reveals Aussies like to do something daring on holiday they wouldn’t have done at home.
The How are you travelling survey* by Wotif found travellers were more likely to let the purse strings go and max out the credit card (29%), enjoy themselves and go out dancing until the early morning (22%), watch the sunrise (33%) and embrace a holiday fling or romance by locking lips with a stranger (14%) while travelling.
Wotif Travel Specialist Kirsty La Bruniy said holidays provide a chance for people to step away from their regular routine to relax the rules, have fun or do something adventurous which they wouldn’t normally pluck up the courage, or have the opportunity, to do at home.
“On our honeymoon we made love in a canoe”
“Our Wotif survey found Aussies are more daring on holidays, with one traveller sharing that they dared to tightrope walk across a cavern in the Blue Mountains, and another revealed they hired a camel and explored the Sahara desert solo,” Ms La Bruniy said.
“I remember on my own travels getting caught up in the excitement of being in Koh Tao, Thailand and impulsively doing my scuba diving certificate, when I’m usually really afraid of sharks.”
Ms La Bruniy said Australians are also not afraid to be more adventurous with their food choices by trying exotic dishes and local delicacies.
“Trying the local food is all part of the cultural experience and we found plenty of Aussie travellers swap their vegemite sandwiches for exotic eats like bamboo rat and bulls testicles.”
Kirsty La Bruniy, Wotif Travel Specialist
“We think everyone should listen to their ‘holiday selves’ more often, and leave their day to day routines behind to make a holiday happen. We have thousands of destinations locally and around the world on Wotif ready and waiting for fun times,” Ms La Bruniy said.
Leave your day to day behind and make your holiday happen with thousands of destinations locally and around the world on Wotif.com.
The most daring and unusual things Aussies said they’ve done on holiday
Started a karaoke party in a stranger’s flat with over 100 people inside
- Hiked into the Norwegian wilderness by myself
- At the edge of the Sahara, hired a camel on my own to explore the desert
- Travelled with no money and slept outdoors
- Tightrope walked across a cavern in the Blue Mountains
- Ate bamboo rat
- Para glided topless in Fiji
- Ate bull’s testicles
- Started a karaoke party in a stranger’s flat with over 100 people inside
- On our honeymoon we made love in a canoe
- Went in a ‘Fear Factor Eating Comp’ in Tallin
The things Aussies have done on holiday that they wouldn’t normally have done at home:
- 33.2% Stayed up to watch the sunrise
- 28.5% Maxed out the credit card
- 22.3% Danced until the early morning
- 13.7% Locked lips with a stranger
- 15.8% Worn daggy clothes
- 7.9% Pretended to be posh
- 7.7% Let my hygiene standards slip
- 7% Lied about what I do for work
- 5.6% Pretended to be someone else
- 4.8% Got a tattoo
- 2.2% Got a piercing
Are women or men more daring on holiday?
Women (36%) are just as likely to have done something daring on holiday that they wouldn’t have done at home compared to men (39%). Men are more likely to max out the credit card (31%) which they wouldn’t normally have done at home, compared to women (28%).
Women are more likely to dance the night away until the morning with 23% admitting they’ve done this on holiday, whereas only 19% of men admitted they would dance until the early morning which they wouldn’t do back home.
Holiday trends by state
What people have done on holiday that they wouldn’t do in their everyday lives:
- South Australiansare far more daring than the other states on holiday compared to how they are at home (42%), followed by Victorians (38%)
- South Australians like to spend up big on holiday and let the purse strings loose, with more than 1 in 3 admitting they’ve maxed out the credit card.
- Western Australianshave taken the title for dancing the night away on holiday, with 1 in 4 admitting they’ve danced until the morning. They’re also more likely to lock lips on holiday than they are at home (19.6%)
- Queenslanderstake the wrap for being relaxed and getting daggy on holidays, with more than one in five admitting they wear daggy clothes on holiday which they wouldn’t normally do at home.