Who cheered?
Not, I must quickly confess, that I had any real intention to visit Australia. At my age I would hesitate to even take a train to London! Mind you, from sundry TV programmes I have watched over the years, I gather that there are some beautiful places to be seen 'down under there' but, alas, there is also the other 98% in the middle! Those endless acres of nothingness would drive me bonkers!
Then there are the crocodiles! I never associated crocs with 'Oz' but according to a programme I watched this morning the place is teeming with them! Oh, alright, perhaps "teeming" is a tad exaggerated but the people in the programme were pulling the ghastly creatures out of their river with ease. And there is something 'neolithic' about crocs which gives me the 'willies'!
So thanks, mates, for your invitation which I am sure is in the post but I think I will stay here where the most frightening thing you will catch in one of our streams is a tadpole!
Well, you'll be sorry.
Anyway, we're trying to keep a low profile to keep out undesirables.
Posted by: Andra | Wednesday, 21 October 2020 at 21:18
The Gafa as my Aussie mate called it as we were crossing the Blue Mountains travelling from East coast to Adelaide by truck and I got my first ever view of the centre.
I knew it was big, having flown over it a few days before - top left hand corner to bottom right taking over four hours. From 30 odd thousand feet nothing and the dust trail from trucks easily visible.
When I asked he explained - The Great Australian F All.
Interesting journey. Drove through a locust swarm and ended up with what looked like a hundred thousand eggs splattered all over truck front. Then a dust storm which rolled towards us exactly as seen in pictures. Cleaned the truck though.
Lovely country, lovely people.
Posted by: Doonhamer | Wednesday, 21 October 2020 at 23:19
Duffers you have to get up around Andra's locale of Cairns and north of her to get "geckos" [sometimes known as crocodiles]. Down south of the continent it is too cold for them. And it's really only the "salties" you have to watch for. The freshwater variety are really sort of harmless.
Apart from around eight of the world's most venomous snakes and the occasional Great White Shark down my way is perfectly safe - but occasionally we do have a large bushfire.
Posted by: AussieD | Thursday, 22 October 2020 at 00:13
David,
Why not come to New Zealand instead. No crocs or biting spiders here,just the occasional earthquake and volcano erupting.
Posted by: johnd2008 | Thursday, 22 October 2020 at 03:03
We were staying with Aussie friends in their home, and the conversation turned, as it so often does with Poms, to all the nasties that live there. It's sort of a national sport to frighten Poms with nasty creature stories, and the Aussies are naturally better at it, like cricket.
They talked about redback spiders, whose bite is extremely painful, and which can actually kill a child or a person in poor health. Victims need antivenom and sometimes a stay in hospital. The little beggars are apparently related to the Black Widow. I asked whether anyone had actually encountered one. All the Aussies laughed, and our host said he could guarantee finding several in the aluminium double-glazing frames. And there in fact they were. He gleefully pointed out quite a few, including a mother and her eggs. He even kindly allowed me to verify their identity in a book.
Posted by: Whyaxye | Thursday, 22 October 2020 at 09:32
Just for you Whyaxe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjDAiq2-xeU
Posted by: AussieD | Thursday, 22 October 2020 at 11:20
Wonderful, Aussie D! Much appreciated!
Posted by: Whyaxye | Thursday, 22 October 2020 at 21:57