What's Australia like?

[Revolution.]

Plenty of them down at West Lakes. I remember doing a Water Sports thing there, and they got out a jar with a dead one inside.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

A kid who went to kindergarden with my sister found a blue-ring down at Hallett Cove beach while on an excusion down there. Thats the only story I've heard of blue-rings in SA.

 

[guska]

A kid who went to kindergarden with my sister found a blue-ring down at Hallett Cove beach while on an excusion down there. Thats the only story I've heard of blue-rings in SA.

I have seen a few

 

[ExigeEvan]

I just wikied the Blue ringed octopus, what a nasty little bugger!

The worst thing we get is the Weaver fish. Little git burries itself under sand at low tide with a few spines sticking through. Step on it and you're in pain for quite a while.

 

[Gen.]

You should look up stonefish then. Just like the Weaver fish, just multiply the the amount of spikes and pain. And poisoning.

 

[Casio]

Don't forget the killer ants too.

Myrmecia, often called bull ants or jack-jumpers, are well-known in Australia for their aggressive behavior and powerful stings. The venom of these ants has approximately a 3% chance to induce anaphylactic shock in their sting victims. Until the introduction of a vaccine the stings could, if gone untreated for only a matter of hours, be lethal.

Oh. Almost forgot the killer snail.

About 30 human deaths have been recorded from cone snail envenomation. One species, Conus geographus, is known colloquially as the "cigarette snail," in the belief that the victim will have only enough time to smoke a cigarette before perishing. The harpoon can penetrate gloves or even wetsuits. Symptoms of a cone snail sting include intense pain, swelling, numbness and tingling. Symptoms can start immediately or can be delayed in onset for days. Severe cases involved muscle paralysis, changes in vision and respiratory failure that can lead to death. There is no antivenom, and treatment involves providing life support until the venom is metabolised by the victim.

 

[ExigeEvan]

How come they never mention those in the tourism adverts?

 

[Vasco]

Northern Queensland have the most dangerous beaches in Summer...reeeallly never want to go there again. :|

 

[guska]

Oh. Almost forgot the killer snail.

I have never even HEARD of them!

 

[daan]

Why is every animal in Australia poisonous? Even the duck-billed platypus has venom.

 

[Wenders]

No other swimming problems in South Australia except the odd shark attack.

Jack nearly got attacked by a shark a few years ago down at Middleton.
Ok so the shark was only about 2 foot long and he knew nothing about it til after he was out of the water.

 

[Funkshen]

Rarely a problem, plus most swim on sandy beaches and away from the reefs unless snorkeling.

Or Surfing!!, Sorry had to put that in there.

Here in Newcastle, theres quite frequent shark attacks along our reef's and breakwalls(nothing on the patrolled beaches i might add). There nothing serious, just a lost toe or finger, But it's enough to sort the keen surfer's from the well.. not so keen, allowing less packed breaks.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Jack nearly got attacked by a shark a few years ago down at Middleton.
Ok so the shark was only about 2 foot long and he knew nothing about it til after he was out of the water.

More like 10ft long with huge jaws of death!

 

[a6m5]

Actully I was reading the Readers Digest(Shaddup!) and according to their poll, Australians are so unfriendly that they werent even on the list.

This post(edited ) is from the "New Zealand" thread. I read up little bit on this poll/study by Reader's Digest, but it was far from being official or scientific.

If you live in or have visited Australia, what do you think?

 

[Jay]

I just read in the Canadian thread about alcohol sales in Supermarkets.

Supermarkets can not sell alcohol in Australia, but most own a chain od specialty alcohol shops, many are right next to the supermarket and they advertise on the same catalog.

This post(edited ) is from the "New Zealand" thread. I read up little bit on this poll/study by Reader's Digest, but it was far from being official or scientific.

If you live in or have visited Australia, what do you think?

Truthfully I don't think we are unfriendly but who could argue with Readers Digest.

 

[Casio]

Truthfully I don't think we are unfriendly but who could argue with Readers Digest.

Yeah exactly. Readers Digest would know. I sleep with a Readers Digest under my pillow every night.

How many other countries here have leaders that just walk around the street every morning? Ours does. Although last week someone came up and gave him a hug with a screw driver in his hand.

John Howard thought it was pretty funny and says he's going to keep having his morning strolls.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I don't really know who Readers Digest asked, but I know that most people are very friendly and helpful here, of course theres the occasional ********s though.

 

[Der Meister]

Australia wasn't inhabited by white people until only 300 yrs ago, so all the native wildlife are still adapting... im sure if you checked history on 300 yrs after man settled in your country, you will find that there are animals there that dont exist anymore - and crazy tales of animals (that aren't vicious or venoms in todays world) that were attacking people back then.

Another thing is that although a lot of animals are venomous, doesn't mean that they will/can/are known to bite people... where i live, there's a higher chance you'll get mauled by a scottish terrier in your own street that bitten by a snake or spider, and i live 100m from bushland.

Our most venomous spider is the Daddy Long Legs spider, and it can't poison you because its fangs are too small and weak to penetrate human skin, it has a hard enough time killing a grub!!!

As for the aussie pizza, you it's basically a ham and cheese pizza, cook it without the egg on top, then when it's ready you crack the egg over it while you let it cool on the bench before removing it from the oven tray. The heat in the pizza will cook the egg just like in a frying pan.

Edit: Sorry this went a little off topic, but i was answering some earlier posted questions.

 

[guska]

Not off topic, and you are correct, we have quite successfully raped this country! Take the Tassy Tiger for instance, beautiful animal, hunted to extinction due to it's own attractiveness. I have also only been bitten by a spider once, but it was a non-dangerous bite, and cleared up within hours.

 

[Casio]

Take the Tassy Tiger for instance, beautiful animal, hunted to extinction due to it's own attractiveness. I have also only been bitten by a spider once, but it was a non-dangerous bite, and cleared up within hours.

The Thylacine mainly was hunted because it was a pest to farmers, among other things. But yes hunting played a role as well.

In Tasmania, where there were no Dingos, the Thylacine survived until the 1930s before it was wiped out. The extinction is popularly attributed to the relentless efforts of farmers, Tasmanian government and privately-funded bounty hunters (with over 2,000 scalps officially taken between 1888 to 1912) and, in its final years, collectors for overseas museums. However, in reality there were most likely multiple factors, including competition with wild dogs (introduced by settlers) [1] and a distemper-like disease (that also affected many captive specimens at the time) which was believed to have led to a sharp drop in the population around 1908, when far fewer bounties were taken. In any case, the animal had become extremely rare in the wild by the 1930s.

Anyway it's still alive.

Despite many sightings being instantly dismissed, some alleged sightings have generated a large amount of publicity. In 1982 a researcher with the Tasmanian National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hans Narding, observed at night what he believed to be a Thylacine for three minutes at a site near Arthur River in the state's North West. The sighting began an extensive year-long government-funded search.[14]
In January 1995, a Parks and Wildlife officer reported observing a Thylacine in the Pyengana region of North Eastern Tasmania in the early hours of the morning. No trace of it was found.[15]
In February 2005, a German tourist claimed to have taken digital photographs of a Thylacine he saw near the Lake St Clair National Park, but the authenticity of the photographs has not been established.[16] For one reason or another, the photos were never released to the public, although a deliberately faked photo was released attempting to dismiss the claim of the tourist and prove that Thylacine evidence can be easily faked.

 

[somebody]

As for the poisonous spiders... statistically, you have a greater chance of being killed by a champagne cork than dying from a spider bite.

 

[sutton.a]

Australia is a interesting country. It has soo much diversity, the three main cities Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne are sooo different. I'm from brisbane, so a cold day for me is <25 Celcius. A warm day is >30 over and a hot day is >35. We pride ourself on multi-culturalness so naturally, their is alot of ethnics in australia. My group at school has 3 lebs, 5 wogs, 2 euro's, 2 aboriginals, 2 maui's and 1 kiwi. Its amazing, for the most part we all get along. Although their are exceptions... manly beach riot anyone?

Its funny when tourists come over, after seeing steve irwin or croco dundee... they expect everyone to be farmish. All knowing about the bushland, living up with cattle, speaking with the most bloody strong aussie accent that is only found in NT (northern teritory) or further north-west. The truth is, kangaroo's are an Australian pest. I turn 17 in about a month and a bit and have killed over 50 kangaroo's. We go hunting once a month up north, it may be on our coat of arms. But the majority of Australians that know anything about living in the bush hate kangaroo's.

Also the talk about the most amount of venemous creatures. Its just like any other country, you have to respect nature. You don't go wandering in the desert picking up rocks, ofcourse their is going to be some sort of creature there.... their isn't anywhere else for shade. As for suburbia... i'm yet to see a dingo, kangaroo or snake in cities.

Another lovely trait we aussies have is... we love to hate politians. We always support the little guy and we love to down a beer. I know their are a large percentage that don't drink beer, but simply if you go to a bar and you order anything but a beer.... people say things.

For tourist destinations, if your thinking about coming to australia you have to ask yourself what type of holiday your looking for. For the all aussie adventure you probably see in tourism ads, go to the northern teritory or western australia. If your looking for beachers, fly to brisbane and go to sunshine coast or the goldcoast. AVOID OCTOBER... i'm preety sure this is schoolies week... just imagine nearly everysingle teenager on the east coast in one place. North Queensland is good... just don't go in summer. Very risky with crocs and the main danger.... jellyfish.

 

[Casio]

My group at school has 3 lebs, 5 wogs, 2 euro's, 2 aboriginals, 2 maui's and 1 kiwi. Its amazing, for the most part we all get along. Although their are exceptions... manly beach riot anyone?

Might want to watch the 'W' word, I don't think it's used as freely in other places as it is here.

The truth is, kangaroo's are an Australian pest. I turn 17 in about a month and a bit and have killed over 50 kangaroo's. We go hunting once a month up north, it may be on our coat of arms. But the majority of Australians that know anything about living in the bush hate kangaroo's.

Aside from the fact I think it's illegal to hunt Kangaroos, I'm disgusted by the way you seem to gloat about how many Kangaroo's you've killed. Kangaroo's are beautiful creatures, maybe you'd learn that if you took the time to watch them for a while. Rather then putting a bullet into them.

I assure you I live closer to the bush then you, and I don't hate Kangaroos, don't speak for the Majority of Australia when you have no idea.

 

[Jay]

Australia is a interesting country. It has soo much diversity, the three main cities Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne

Australia's main citys are Sydney and Melbourne, if you include Brisbane then you might aswell include Perth and Adelaide which also have between 1-2 million as doe's Brisbane compared to Sydney and Melbournes 3-4million.

we love to hate politians. We always support the little guy

But yet we vote in a GST supporting government (No I didn't vote for them)

and we love to down a beer. I know their are a large percentage that don't drink beer, but simply if you go to a bar and you order anything but a beer.... people say things.

Well whats the point of going to bars if you don't drink beer? Waste money on the pokey's?

Yes, I don't drink beer.

Aside from the fact I think it's illegal to hunt Kangaroos, I'm disgusted by the way you seem to gloat about how many Kangaroo's you've killed. Kangaroo's are beautiful creatures, maybe you'd learn that if you took the time to watch them for a while. Rather then putting a bullet into them.

I think Kangaroo hunting is legal in allocated areas.

I assure you I live closer to the bush then you, and I don't hate Kangaroos, don't speak for the Majority of Australia when you have no idea.

I agree and I also do not hate Kangaroo's

 

[Taurine]

Despite only having like 17 creatures in the whole country that aren't deadly these Australians still manage to survive!!!!

 

[Gen.]

The truth is, kangaroo's are an Australian pest. I turn 17 in about a month and a bit and have killed over 50 kangaroo's.

Urgh. Are you one of those people that don't shoot kangaroo's in the head and give them a slow death?

Despite only having like 17 creatures in the whole country that aren't deadly these Australians still manage to survive!!!!

That's because we are awesome.

 

[FormulaGT]

Urgh. Are you one of those people that don't shoot kangaroo's in the head and give them a slow death?

I sincerely hope not!:sad: Even though they are, *cough*, a bit of a pest don't let 'em suffer.

That's because we are awesome.

Can't argue with that! Too true:tup:!

FormulaGT

 

[sutton.a]

I don't hate kangaroo's. I worded that wrong

I was merely pointing out that they are a pest in outback australia and that it is sometimes needed to hunt/cull/watever way you describe it. Same as wild dogs, boars ect.

I'm guessing the W word is "wogs"?

 

[Dave A]

Why are they a pest? I've never heared of Kangaroo's being a pest before.

 

[Gen.]

Why are they a pest? I've never heared of Kangaroo's being a pest before.

You don't live in Australia