FLavius Valerius Constantinus Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 How do you guys cope with all the shark attacks, jellyfishes that kill, billions of bugs, and the extremely hot temperature. I'm mostly amazed how you guys can to a beach and act calmly when there are always a good possibility of jellyfish stinging you. By the way, any Aussies met dingos. Note: the Discovery Channel brought light to me of how cool Austrailia is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Germanicus Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 How do you guys cope with all the shark attacks, jellyfishes that kill, billions of bugs, and the extremely hot temperature. I'm mostly amazed how you guys can to a beach and act calmly when there are always a good possibility of jellyfish stinging you.By the way, any Aussies met dingos. Statistics wise, Shark attacks are very uncommon, and considering how many people go and swim without getting attacked, we're pretty safe. Bare in mind that the attack on the weekend is the only known attack at a beach where Shark countermeasures (shark lines) were in place. The jellyfish problem is mainly in northern Queensland, and is seasonal, so in Jellyfish season, some beaches are literally closed down. I understand others employ nets, and if you are going in anyway you could wear a skin suit, so any tentacles don't reach your skin. I live in Victoria though, and we have no such problem, just the occasional man-o-war jellyfish that hurts like hell but will not kill you. I swim a lot in summer at the beach. Seriously, if you've grown up here it's just the way things are, poisoness snakes and heat are just a reality in the Summer that you get used to. Like most places, if you lived there you'd get to know the local dangers and how to avoid them. It is a great source of national pride though, and an Australian will always feel good when some outlander jumps a mile high on seeing a snake. I have seen Dingos on Fraser Island, which has a large population. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viggen Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 How do you guys cope with all the .... How do you americans cope with all those tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes.... it is all about statistics, i guess... cheers viggen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 How do you guys cope with all the .... How do you americans cope with all those tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes.... it is all about statistics, i guess... Here in Michigan there isn't too much to worry about regarding that stuff. The tornado season isn't fun, but its nothing like living in the flatlands of Kansas and such. The occasional blizzard or ice storm makes life miserable for a while but isn't all that terrible in the big scheme of things. No earthquakes, volcanoes or hurricanes up here. As for animals, there are things like Brown Recluse spiders that can leave a nasty bite but rarely kill a healthy adult, but for the most part we are free of anything all that dangerous. Sure there are bears and wolves but its not like they are just wandering around populated areas. Although strangely enough, a friend of mine once found a black widow spider in a bunch of grapes that he bought from the grocery store. When he called the store, they said... yeah that happens sometimes, try not to let it bite you. He kept it in a jar in his garage for several months before it finally succumbed to Michigan winter. P.S. How do you Austrians deal with all those damned Kangaroos? (inside joke for Viggen... which reminds me Vig, do you have a link to that tourist site 'No Kangaroos in Austria') Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pertinax Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 (edited) The Austrians of course hunt the kangaroo by leaving heaps of wurst, beer and mixed vegetables at the end of each piste. I remember that post as well. Edited January 9, 2006 by Pertinax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantagathus Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 As for animals, there are things like Brown Recluse spiders that can leave a nasty bite but rarely kill a healthy adult I have survived 2 nibbles from the Brown Recluse... Their venom is rapidly corrosive to soft tissue and if it is given time will penetrate deep and cause havoc through secondary infections. I was luckily that both times I have been bitten; the bite sites were in highly conspicuous areas. The first time was quite funny in a way... I woke up one morning and had a large circular blister on the back of my hand right below the knuckle of my middle finger. Of course that struck me as extremely odd so I sought out a professional medical opinion. It was deemed a Brown Recluse bite and I was given a couple antibiotic shots, a cortisone shot and had to place my hand in a soft cast for a week to keep the hand movement from spreading the venom. So for a week I walked around giving the permanent "Bird" to everyone... Took a little longer to notice the second one when it happened but I knew what it was when I saw it. I still have scars from both bites. How do you guys cope with all the shark attacks, jellyfishes that kill, billions of bugs, and the extremely hot temperature. That could also accurately describe the Southeastern United States as well... Except the Jellyfish just really hurt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil61 Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 How do you guys cope with all the .... How do you americans cope with all those tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes.... it is all about statistics, i guess... cheers viggen I remember the first hurricane I ever had to ride through when I moved to the (American) South. I thought it couldn't be that bad, I mean really. Hurricane Hugo in 1989 changed my opinion, it can be that bad and although North Carolina gets a bad one only ever three or four years there's nothing like seeing the carnage a one can bring. No power for days, trees fallen across roads, power lines down, houses damaged, etc. They're a mess and I don't miss them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viggen Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 http://www.weimax.com/images/Austria_No_Kangaroos.gif there ya go... also popular as car sticker and plates in pubs here http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/148243.html cheeers viggen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Favonius Cornelius Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 I have seen Dingos on Fraser Island, which has a large population. Do those dingos still take babies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pertinax Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 http://www.weimax.com/images/Austria_No_Kangaroos.gif there ya go... also popular as car sticker and plates in pubs here http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/148243.html cheeers viggen a sensible policy for a happy country Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honorius Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 I have seen Dingos on Fraser Island, which has a large population. Do those dingos still take babies? Yes...Yes they do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 How do you guys cope with all the shark attacks, jellyfishes that kill, billions of bugs, and the extremely hot temperature. I'm mostly amazed how you guys can to a beach and act calmly when there are always a good possibility of jellyfish stinging you.By the way, any Aussies met dingos. As Germanicus said, there's fairly little chance of being attacked by a shark, and even then, you have a reasonable chance of survival if you have a go at the shark. Most swimmers know that if you punch and kick and generally try and hurt a shark as much as you can, usually they will leave you alone and look for less troublesome prey. The trick is to not get too injured yourself and spill too much blood, whipping the shark into a blood frenzy As for the jellyfish, well, where i live (Near the middle of NSW, with no ocean for about 800kms), i have no trouble with jellyfish, so i'm not really qualified to comment on jellyfish further than that. The bugs aren't too much of a problem; it's just the spiders that are. The most common out here are the Redback spider (potentially fatal), the Whitetail spider (potentially fatal but more chance if you aren't allergic to it's venom) and the occassional Sydney funnel web (one of the most poisonous spiders in the world) The temperature's alright once you're used to it, although i've been stockworking and working as a general farm hand for the last two weeks in upwards of 50 degrees Celsius temperature, which does take it out of you a bit . Incidentally, i read an American website that said Australia's hottest temperature was 50 degrees, and would like to say that is completly false. Australia's hottest unofficial temperature is 54 degrees Celsius; that is generally well known around out here. Dingos? Well, i've seen a fair few of them, as a lot of farm dogs around here are part or fully dingo. When they're tamed, they make excellent working dogs. There actually aren't wild dingos in our area, but yeah, they are a bit of a pest in other places. (They think sheep were invented for their personal ease) The snakes are pretty much the main things to worry about. We have plenty of potentially fatal venomous snakes. It just takes common sense to avoid these dangerous things; we don't provoke them and don't touch them and they leave us alone. Pretty simple eh? So yeah, nothing wrong with living in Australia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost_Warrior Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Where I'm at, at least in the summers at pow-wows, I see alot of tame wolves (generally not full wolves, though one was like...90% I think) they are very friendly towards humans, though they will have a go at other dogs, especially the hapless chihuahua lol. Where I live now there's mostly snow to deal with, but it's not usually disastrous merely a great big wet white inconvenience. Where I used to live there was problems with flooding in the developed areas, and occasionally a persistant tropical storm that actually managed to get to pennsylvania, but they weren't so bad. Earthquakes were rare and tiny...people usually slept through them. Tornados were another story, but pretty rare. I do know that when my parents moved in our neighbor lost his roof...twice...I think...before he ever moved in! First a hurricane then a tornado (or was it the other way 'round?). The winters were bad, but only because no one knew how to deal with them. I think the biggest problem in pennsylvania is the deer that like to jump into the sides of peoples cars. And the "tame" deer that are a serious danger to any lettuce in the open trunk of a car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sextus Roscius Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 I remember the first hurricane I ever had to ride through when I moved to the (American) South. I thought it couldn't be that bad, I mean really. Hurricane Hugo in 1989 changed my opinion, it can be that bad and although North Carolina gets a bad one only ever three or four years there's nothing like seeing the carnage a one can bring. No power for days, trees fallen across roads, power lines down, houses damaged, etc. They're a mess and I don't miss them. Yup yup yup, we do get bad ones every few years, Its all becuase south carolina isn't big enough to protect us, of course the outer banks get the worst of it. It ruins tons of hotel businesses....and destroys our lovely light houses, but not to worry too much. When I was a little kid we got hit by some bad one that managed to get farther inland and a tornado was spoted in a county right next to mine, we were all scared.... Not pleasant memories. Don't miss them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viggen Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 P.S. How do you Austrians deal with all those damned Kangaroos? (inside joke for Viggen... which reminds me Vig, do you have a link to that tourist site 'No Kangaroos in Austria') oh well it is no longer true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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