It’s Orientation Week for the 2022 Diploma of Professional Writing & Editing at Bendigo TAFE. My timetable tells me I’ll be here for three days a week during school semester, 100kms from home.

However I look at it, I cannot see myself making the round trip of 200kms each day, especially when I’ll be driving back at night. I envisage suicidal kangaroos lining up, waiting to leap out from the darkness as I hurtle by, white knuckles gripping the wheel, heart in mouth. And then in a couple of months, I’ll have to contend with frosty mornings and dark wet nights when the roads will flood and trees might topple onto a bleary-eyed driver. I doubt I’d last more than a month driving up and back between Newlyn North and Bendigo.

I book into an Airbnb, four kilometres from the TAFE campus for the first week of school. I am completely disoriented and have no idea whether I could walk to school from here or whether I’d ever find my way back again. The homeowners, an older, retired couple, are friendly, welcoming and respectful of my privacy. I stay in my room, out of their way and don’t use any of the facilities on offer, other than the bathroom. They are strangely quiet. The house must be bigger than it seems. Then around 9pm they make dinner. I’m already in bed and it’s now that I realise there’s only centimetres between my head and the kitchen stovetop where they are bashing pots and pans relentlessly. After a while, the noise somehow develops a rhythm in my delirious brain and it lulls me to sleep.

I wake up the next morning feeling like I’ve been run over by a bus. I’m knackered. The couple are up, having breakfast. I wonder whether they’ve even been to bed.

“How’d you sleep? We didn’t keep you awake did we?”

“No,” I lie,”I slept like a log.”

This house-sharing lark is not going to work for me, I need my sleep. I need to be more independent, but I cannot justify the cost of a motel room. I’m not looking for the Taj Mahal, just somewhere clean and quiet; a regular place to stay that doesn’t break the bank or this writer’s spirit.

The following week, I investigate two other Airbnb’s, but they’re still expensive, and they host a number of guests at once. I’m not seeking social interaction, in fact, I actively avoid places where reviewers say they’ve made friends for life. My experience in these situations is that I often end up being a captive audience of one for people’s life stories or list of ailments. I like my own space and to have peace and quiet to read and contemplate my navel.

A Backpacker’s hostel…
What could possibly go wrong?

Bendigo Backpackers keeps coming up on the booking sites and I note that the reviews are excellent. I expect that hippies are glad of a bed and somewhere to cook their noodles.

The price per night is also very reasonable, but I’ve never stayed in a backpacker lodge or youth hostel.

I envisage rowdy international travellers half my age who resent the stultifying presence of an irritable sleep deprived woman.

Yet the demographic of Bendigo Backpacker reviewers is quite broad. Here are workers, mature-aged students and well-heeled tourists raving about this place. My initial assumption that I would be sharing a dormitory-style bunk room is also dispelled.

I can select either a double or queen room; there are six bedrooms and three bathrooms. I bite the bullet and make a booking. I’ll give it a week.

Fast forward six months…

I punch the code into the keypad; there’s a gentle buzz of confirmation as I push down on the handle and step into Bendigo Backpackers. I’m greeted by the familiar, fresh fragrance and the gentle, ambient music coming from the lounge room. Owner Michelle Langan has rearranged the leather sofas since I was here last week and there are new artworks on the walls. The décor evokes a sense of homeliness and warmth. I walk through to my room for the next two nights – I am in Room 2, a spacious queen bedroom with a desk, wardrobe and leather reading chair. I put down my bags and go to the kitchen to make a cuppa. On leaving my room, I pass the bathroom, which is directly next door. My initial fears about sharing these facilities with others have long since been allayed. The shower and toilet are spotlessly clean, and I am confident that the guest in Room 1, whoever they may be, will leave them in the same condition as I do for them. We are courteous and respectful guests at Bendigo Backpackers.

A young couple from Germany has stayed overnight at the backpackers. They look like models for a travel magazine. Tall, tanned, healthy and brimming with positivity, they are packing lunches and thermoses for the coach trip to Adelaide. The woman says to me in a strong accent: “How is this place? It is so beautiful, so quiet. We wish we could stay longer here.”

The German couple are the first international guests I have met since I first stayed at Bendigo Backpackers. There have been no others since, but I expect that will change once springs arrives.

Guests here tend to fall into one of three categories: worker, tourist/visitor, or student – most weeks I notice at least one tradie vehicle in the carpark.

Tradies are early risers and are usually in their rooms by 7pm. Like everyone else who stays here, they leave no mess behind when they go. They either eat before they arrive at the house, or they have takeaway food in their rooms. The tourists usually head out to cafes for breakfast in the morning, so I always have the dining room to myself.

I’ve met other students and women doing temp work for Bendigo organisations. They stay here for the location and to cut costs, and like me, they bring their own healthy breakfast and lunch foods. As with everything at Bendigo Backpackers, the fridge here is spotless. Michelle has gentle reminders up on the wall in case anyone forgets to clean up after themselves. From what I can see, everyone follows the rules.

Last Thursday, at breakfast, I chatted to Jan* in the kitchen about how we had both come to stay at Bendigo Backpackers. She was also from regional Victoria, in town for further study as part of her paramedic training. She couldn’t afford to stay at a city motel and could not believe how quiet the house had been overnight. This was Jan’s first stay, but she will return next month. One of the things that always comes up in my brief conversations with other guests is how lucky we are to have found Bendigo Backpackers. Women are pleasantly surprised and relieved to find that whilst this is the cheapest room in town, it is the closest thing to boutique accommodation they will ever get for the price. All bedrooms are spacious, spotless, cosy, and warm. There is reliable, unlimited Wi-Fi and a comfortable lounge in which to watch television or listen to music. *Not her real name

Bendigo Backpackers has not always operated as a boutique accommodation property. For around twenty years, the house bore little resemblance to the now stylish, white cottage.

As part of Youth Hostels Association, Victoria, the house on Creek Street was first set up to accommodate up to 28 guests in dormitories. There was no fencing to prevent people from simply wandering up the driveway into the backyard, which they frequently did. Under YHA rules, the owner had to ensure he had staff onsite 24hrs a day, which must have provided at least a level of security for his guests. With no staff on hand around the clock, there were often issues with unruly guests and their visitors and the house and facilities soon fell into disrepair.

When Bendigo Backpackers was up for sale, Michelle Langan leapt at the opportunity to own her own business. Having stayed at Backpacker hostels throughout the world, Michelle was keen give travellers a unique Backpacker experience in Bendigo.

Once Michelle got inside Bendigo Backpackers and had a closer look at what she had bought, Michelle was forced to do some serious spring cleaning and maintenance. All bedding was replaced by new, hotel-quality linen. The flooring in some areas of the house needed replacing and the place was repainted throughout. The six bedrooms were set up as doubles or queens, with no dormitories. Michelle added personal touches: decorator pot plants, fragrance diffusers, cushions and writing desks.

 

Security cameras monitor people as they check into the property. Bookings are made online so that there are no payment issues. On the rare occasion that a complaint is made about a guest, that person is blocked from booking at the property again. Michelle often checks with regular guests to ensure they are happy and that there are no problems with the facilities or other guests staying at Bendigo Backpackers. I am an older woman, travelling alone and I have always felt safe, secure, and comfortable staying at the house. On the day of my arrival, a text message confirms the booking and payment is taken from my account. After 2.30, another message comes through, with the codes for the front door and bedroom door.

The streets around Bendigo Backpackers are well lit at night, and there’s a bit of traffic. I feel safe walking up the hill behind the property to Bendigo Cinemas at dusk. As I head back down to the house after the movie, the illuminated spire of Sacred Heart Cathedral glows like a beacon in the night sky.

Restaurants and cafes abound on the other side of the highway, just 350m from Bendigo Backpackers. Last night, I strolled across and had dinner at JoJoes, an Italian pasta restaurant. I had the most amazing gnocchi with wild mushrooms and semi-dried tomatoes, in a light pesto sauce. With a bottle of mineral water, it set me back $27.50 which is not too so painful when you’re only paying $52 per night for your accommodation. JoJoes wait staff are delightful and I always leave with a sense of wellbeing. Sadly, it is not always the case with Bendigo eateries. Through two years of COVID restrictions, the cafes and restaurants of Bendigo became reliant upon takeaway orders to stay afloat.

The Uber-eats food delivery model was a life saver for the restaurant industry. Post-lockdown, it continues to operate at the expense of the service and cleanliness standards we expect when we’re dining in. Staff are busy filling pickup orders and the obsessive cleaning regimes that defined business under COVID have gone by the wayside. I often pick up a ready-made meal on my way home from TAFE. A beef, lamb or chicken dinner that can be heated in the microwave at the backpackers in around 3 minutes, costs under $10. It’s something I didn’t envisage doing during my year at school in Bendigo, but it’s yet another of the things that have been pleasantly surprising. Coles and Woollies ready meals are tasty and satisfying, and of course, I can be confident that the kitchen and dining room at Bendigo Backpackers are hygienically clean.

How does Michelle envisage the future
for Bendigo Backpackers?

I ask Michelle Langan how she envisages the future for Bendigo Backpackers. “I would love it if my kids, who are still in their early teens, were happy to come and work here when they’re at university. My husband and I could go travelling, which is what we both really miss. But, if I won Lotto this Saturday night, I would seriously consider bulldozing this house and building a bigger, better, two-storey Bendigo Backpackers on the site. More guests, all rooms with private bathrooms, and I’d still offer very cheap accommodation.”

Book me in Michelle…