A British traveller was left shaken after she woke up to find her belongings pilfered from an Australian campsite.
Gabby Morgan, who is touring around Darwin, reported the unfortunate incident on her TikTok account, which chronicles her escapades.
Documenting the theft at the FreeSpirit resort and holiday park, the disgruntled backpacker said in a clip: “I’m absolutely fuming,” she began. “This is what it’s like in Darwin – we’re staying in FreeSpirit [resort and holiday park] on the campsite and you’d think your stuff would be safe.”
She continued, revealing that more than just food and drink had been stolen, saying: “We’ve woken up and someone has stolen our whole fridge. They’ve just taken it – it had all our food in it, all our alcohol – that’s literally like $400 [£201 approx.] gone.”
As well as their refrigerator pilfered but Gabby also shockingly discovered that her underwear had been specifically targeted. “Not only that – you can’t even leave your washing on the line because they’ve stolen all my knickers,” she said.
Frustration was palpable as she showed where her undergarments had been hung and stressed that only those items were nicked. “Just the knickers – nothing else,” she added. The thievery left Gabby questioning the thief’s motive as she concluded: “Honestly it just frustrates me. Being a backpacker we work our a***s off to earn these things for travelling just for someone to go and steal all our stuff. What is the purpose in it? I don’t understand.”
Many Aussies chimed in on the video, hinting that such occurrences aren’t rare locally. “After living in Darwin for 30 years the best thing I ever did was leave,” quipped one viewer. Another cautioned: “Sounds normal for Darwin. All Aussies know this but sadly the backpackers don’t. There are certain spots I’d stay away from if I was traveling to Australia.”
An apologetic resident commented: “Darwin local here, I’m so sorry this happened to you! Embarrassed to live here some days.”
Meanwhile, another TikTok user shared their knowledge, saying: “I’ve stayed at that park. No matter your location in Australia you have to put away everything. Especially at night because it will be taken. Sorry this happened.”
Others tried to find humour in the situation, meanwhile, including one TikTok user who quipped: “You were obviously visited by an alcoholic perv! Or an alcoholic knickerless woman.”
With a tinge of humour, another remarked: “I remember when I lived there someone stole one of my running shoes from the front of my house. Not both, just took one, like great now neither of us can use them!” And adding a further cautionary note, a third said: “If you think Darwin is bad, don’t go to Alice Springs!”