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

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

is now a good time to mention KILLER WASPS?

Yeah, there's 200 of 'em

Pretty much covered by the above posts.

Australia has something like 9 out of 10 of the most dangerous snakes in the world, dangerous spiders, sea wasps, sharks, salties, wild buffalo, wild camels, drop bears, creeks that can flood for no apparent reason (rain a week ago miles upstream), bushfires, and probably others I haven't thought of ....

BUT!

In all my years working and living in rural Australia, including in the Gulf Country and two years in the Simpson Desert, the ONLY cause of death or serious injury I have had a direct connection with has been motor vehicle accidents. This puts the risks in perspective. Certainly, people have been killed by all of the above, but most of them can be almost totally avoided by the use of a little forethought and taking obvious precautions.

Never camp in a dry creek or close to water (if there is any possibility of dangerous animals, not only crocs - I remember one case where a group camped next to a waterhole, and one woke up in the middle of the night and spooked a mob of wild horses, that bolted through the camp, fortunately without treading on anyone).
Never put your hand under anything where you can't see - kick it over with your boot before picking it up, or wear gloves as suggested above.
Always carry enough water to keep you going until found, depending on whether you have communications or a strict travel plan and where you are, this will vary. In some parts of the country, survival time without water can be under twelve hours in summer.
Always stay with the car - a lot easier to spot than a person on foot.
Always think out the possible risks of anything you plan on doing before doing it! (e.g. Going for a walk out of sight of the camp, for example)

John

Originally Posted by Yorkshire_Jon

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??

on? try under and thats all there is, what your wearing the 1/2 body length sheet of 6mm foam rubber and the hootchie (thin sheet of plastic). When you get given a radio and orders to get to top of yon hill put up a retrans station and monitor it for 3 days by the time youve got 3 days worth of batteries for the radios, the radios, food, water and the antenna rigs between 2 blokes theres not a lot of room left for things like swags n sleeping bags when your on foot.

you generally only take a couple of luxury items, I took my towel and 3 pairs of socks.

And the white pointer sharks, Australia has the largest in the world..

Just make sure you know what to do in an emergency and maybe get a first aid book when you get here as there is probably some differences in technique we use.

Spiders... not really an issue I find. I have been cleaning up my yard today and came across 3 snakes with one going for me as I thought he was a lose stick.....

Do get a good first aid kit though. I use mine just about every time I'm away even for a day trip.

Xav

you need to be as carefull as you can be anywhere in the world, there are always risks which can make you dead or injured.

for starters ignoring warning signs about crocs in water, jelly fish and going swimming.

driving at excessive speeds for conditions of road.

camping under gum trees where limbs can snap off and drop down and kill you while sleeping in your tent or car or sitting in your camp chair.

swimming while drinking.

standing on wet slippery rocks with king waves washing over you.

if you apply commonsense take precautions you should be fine

Don't under-estimate the danger of rips and undertows in the surf.

If there's a flagged area with surf lifesavers there, swim there - no matter how tempting the other areas of the beach are.

A rip or undertow can drag you or any of your party quickly under without warning....

Don't go diving into water where you haven't checked for rocks or the depth of the water.

Common sense I know, but sometimes it can be lacking....

Australia is the worlds most poisonous country. We also have some of the big predators. Keep this in mind, but not in fear.

My best advice ontop of all the excellent advice you have already been given is, don't travel alone, organise a group and enjoy yourself.

In my limited outback experience the only thing that I recall ever being a harm to myself was the paper wasps.
They get ****ed of easily and go nuts (but only if your near their nest or a migrating swarm). If you do find yourself under atack a quick backstep in the same direction you just came from will generally see you being left alone.

I got stung on the bloody eyelid, and my lil sister and a fello 4wder got drilled by a **** load of them, but it was near one of the main rubbish pits where they are rather prominent.

Learn to analyse the intended camp/stop before getting out and venturing about. Look for any of the things you don't want to be near.

Take alot of good repelent

As for the ocean, there isn't really much you can do short of making sure you leg hasn't already been half hacked off (with regards to sharks).
It's all just down right bad luck to be attacked/stung, stay out of known shark infested waters and research what time of year to look out for box jellys and Iricongi jellyfish.

In saying all the above, the most dangerous thing you could do is drive a motor vehicle and you prob do that everyday so in perspective you have almost nothing to worry about.

Enjoy your time over in this great place I love to call home

Cheers
Grimace