Thread: How careful do we really need to be??

so long as you respect the wild life, stay away from the bins, the water holes at night and camp either up off of the ground or with the fly part of your swag/tent securely closed you'll be fine.

odds are even if you dont you'll still be fine with good repellants,

Ive no idea how many times I've slept on the hard rocky ground of australia with not much more than a set of DPCUs, a 6mm foam matt and a thin sheet of plastic between me, the planet and the sky.

Don't sleep naked when you're camping. If you do, don't leave your tent for a leak without getting pants on.

Snakes.

Cheers
Simon

How careful do we really need to be??

Very - especially of WASPS

Probably more Poms raped murdered and pillaged by them then any blackfellas or the local fauna.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

...Ive no idea how many times I've slept on the hard rocky ground of australia with not much more than a set of DPCUs, a 6mm foam matt and a thin sheet of plastic between me, the planet and the sky.

Thanks everyone, thats more or less what I wanted to hear (with the exception of the wasps!!) The mrs is more relaxed about me going now!!

One thing though... Sleeping on a thin sheet of plastic... Is this to stop condensation wetting your swag / bag or to stop creepy crawlies or both??

As for the WASPS - Ive heard box jellies referred to as wasps and then of course there's flying wasp insects and is there any other kind of wasp that I may be missing or has been lost in translation!?!?

Seriously this time.

Shake your boots out in the morning in case any creepy crawlies get in at night.

Make sure all of your food is in sealed robust containers. Probably your biggest wildlife worries will be possums, etc. wanting the leftovers of last night's dinner.

I own a place out in the bush and one time I went there the ground was literally alive with spiders, it was like a scene from a movie. It wasn't just a small patch, either, we drove over a kilometre and every time we looked out if the Land Rover it was like that.

Weird, never seen anything like it before.

Cheers
Simon

Jon,

Croc's can be a lot more than 100km inland try 300km and the same out to sea. Basic rule: if you can't see the bottom or all the banks then don't go in the water. Also if you are fishing, don't gut the fish on the bank, always stand back from the bank and keep one eye on the water nearby.

Box Jellies: really only October to April is the main season. Carry a 2L bottle of cheap vinegar if you're down the beach, this will aid in neutralising the sting.

Snakes: you've pretty much got it. Don't annoy them, they won't annoy you.

Spiders: (and snakes) always be careful picking up wood for fires etc. Doesn't hurt to use gloves for this activity anyway.

Now, have you heard about drop-bears, cause they are your biggest worry!

Originally Posted by dm_td5

Now, have you heard about drop-bears, cause they are your biggest worry!

See also Dropbears

and DropBear Conspiracy Page

Originally Posted by Yorkshire_Jon

As for the WASPS - Ive heard box jellies referred to as wasps and then of course there's flying wasp insects and is there any other kind of wasp that I may be missing or has been lost in translation!?!?

White Anglosaxon ProtestantS .... seriously there's probably more o/s tourists killed by fellow humans (no they're not all wasps either...) than our nasty wildlife. (I live a few kms from the most notorious forest in Australia - the Belangalo forest where Ivan Milat left his grizzly footprints of murder).

The biggest dangers for o/s tourists are swimming in our seas - we seem to lose a few from drownings, probably followed losing a few in extreme wilderness areas where they have not been prepared for our hot isolated desert conditions and not realizing the huge distances that are needed to be covered to get from A to B.