A German weekly newspaper is cautioning young backpackers that not every Australian is your "mate".
It reports more than 15,000 young German men and women came to Australia for a holiday or on a working holiday visa last year.
But it warns the country is not as safe as many had expected.
Nonetheless, a sampling of Germans in Australia have told SBS German Radio it's as safe as anywhere as long as you are careful and use common sense.
The German backpackers say they come to Australia for the parties in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. They also want to enjoy the beach in summer, see koalas and kangaroos and explore the Outback.
The newspaper says the young tourists are aware that Australia has venomous snakes but are not aware of dangers posed by criminals.
It says travellers to Australia think it's the most peaceful country in the world and therefore do things they would never dare to elsewhere, such as hitch-hiking, accepting drinks from strangers and travelling to remote locations with people they barely know.
Statistics of crimes in Sydney's Kings Cross show that victims are often foreign tourists between the ages of 15 and 24, the paper says.
Der Spiegel also highlights that car theft and theft from vehicles in Australia is three times higher than in Germany, on a per capita basis.
Moreover, the case of two European backpackers, one of them German, attacked in Alice Springs in May this year has heightened concern.
The two women parked their car in a deserted street and went to sleep, Der Spiegel reports.
That night three young men forced their way into the car and forced the women to have sex at gunpoint.
On the same night, in which the two female tourists were raped in their rented car, in another corner of Alice Springs four youths attacked a 43-year-old German and robbed him.
Following these incidents the German Foreign Office updated travel information on its website and now points to what it refers to as a "special situation" in Alice Springs.
The website says caution is called for, especially in the dark.
Torsten Creutzburg called the program to say he is enjoying his second visit to Australia.
He says he has fallen in love with Alice Springs and its surroundings.
Mr Creutzberg says he disagrees with Der Spiegel's assessment.
"The article is not very well researched. However, I had a look at the statistics and I found out that violence has increased around Alice. I heard about the high crime rate in advance, but it never stopped me coming here and I never experienced any violence first hand. However, I am a tall German bloke, it might be different for women," he told SBS Radio.
"But you can see that things have changed around here, the fences are higher and there are security cameras around the inner city. I spoke with many travellers who read on the website of the German Department of Foreign Affairs to be cautious around Alice Springs at night time. Stick to some rules. In Germany you wouldn't camp on the streets or sleep in your car, so don't do it here. Common sense is essential."
Waltraud lives in Victoria: "Melbourne has just been voted the most liveable city in the world. We have never experienced any crime, however we also avoid questionable locations at night time."
Hans from Sydney says he thinks the article is a beat-up: "I think Spiegel picked out a few cases and presented them out of context. Of course you have to be careful in areas like Kings Cross around night time, but generally I feel safe. The issue is that police are occupied with wasting their time handing out traffic fines during the day instead of protecting people on trains at night."
Premgita from country Victoria is pragmatic: "I have been a victim of burglary. Still I believe, common sense is essential and it could happen in Germany as well as here."
Share
