Backpacking in Australia in search of friends as loneliness settles

Stranded German traveler Line Schallmayer has spent the past nine months talking only to men on dates or to children under the age of 10.

She is sick of it.

So the 20-year-old backpacker, now working as an au pair in Port Macquarie, took matters into her own hands by asking for some “girlfriends” on a community Facebook page.

From Frankfurt, Germany, Schallmayer was overwhelmed by the response, and more than two dozen Australians wanted to meet her.

“I feel like I desperately need some girlfriends,” Schallmayer told news.com.au.

“Traveling is nice and stuff, but sometimes you get really lonely and I miss talking to someone who isn’t a kid or a Tinder date.”

The Heidelberg University student arrived in Brisbane, Queensland, in late March, just two weeks before Australia’s national shutdown.

A ticket back to Germany cost him A $ 8000 ($ 8,400), more than all his savings, so he was left with no choice but to stay in Australia.

Now, after nine months trapped in a foreign country, Schallmayer feels the sting of loneliness.

She says that she is not the only traveler who feels this way.

He traveled briefly after lockdown restrictions were relaxed, driving down the east coast with four other stranded backpackers. One was from China, one from Slovakia and the last girl was from Germany, like her.

But since then everyone has gone home, yielding to the pressures of nostalgia compounded by Covid-19.

“(The loneliness) started a couple of weeks ago,” he said.

“At Christmas, I started to miss my family, especially my sister.”

She booked a flight to go home, and ticket prices dropped to just $ 1000 in September.

However, on his way back to Sydney, he passed through the town of Port Macquarie, on the north shore of downtown, and said he “fell in love with her.” He canceled his ticket and decided to try the city by the beach for a few weeks.

Schallmayer soon found accommodation after landing a job as an au pair.

She cares for a 3 and 10 year old boy, helping his single mother run the household.

“The mother is the only adult person I’m talking to,” he said.

Aside from the Tinder dates, of course.

“With all these Tinder guys, I’m sick of the small talk,” she said.

“I just want a girlfriend to chat with.”

So Schallmayer joined many local Facebook groups in hopes of fighting loneliness for the second time.

“I’d love to catch up for coffee, a day at the beach, nice walks, or a movie night to make some friends,” she posted on the Mid North Coast Gal Pals Facebook group.

“Don’t hesitate to contact me, I’d be more than happy !!”

In a few hours, he received a great deal of support.

More than 50 people liked his post and another 20 volunteered to meet.

Since then, Schallmayer has had coffee with one of them and has another coffee date tomorrow with another local.

Schallmayer feels that he is having a true travel experience.

“I didn’t come to Australia just to meet people from Germany, I came to meet Australians,” he said.

Now the German university student is determined to stay in Australia until her visa runs out in March next year.

She had some words for other backpackers stranded in a similar situation to her.

“It’s normal to feel lonely from time to time,” he said.

“It’s just hard to make good girlfriends in a small town like Port Macquarie.

“Don’t be afraid to get close.”