BACKPACKING is all about exposing yourself to different cultures and traditions – and there is no time of the year more steeped in those things than Christmas.
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Visitors from France, Germany, The Netherlands and New Zealand staying at the Tamworth YHA will get a chance to experience an Aussie-style Christmas tomorrow.
While the switch from a winter Christmas to a summer one can be challenging for northern hemisphere folk, Kiwis Zoe Jennings, 22, and Vicki Cral, 25, should adjust more quickly.
The duo, who hail from Nelson on the South Island, list barbecues, beaches, cricket and pavlovas among their Christmas staples.
“It doesn’t really feel like Christmas because we’re not at home,” said Miss Jennings, who has received presents from her family in the post.
Miss Cral said the hostel-dwellers were referring to themselves as “orphans” due to being separated from their families this Christmas.
But she said the travellers would get together tomorrow and cook some traditional Christmas dishes from their native countries to ease the homesickness.