1. #21
    LEXX_Luthor's Avatar Banned
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Ussia
    Posts
    8,813
    And stay away from the water the Aussie Crocs they jump out of the water, run backwards and SMACK you down with their tail. These are truly some aussum Aussum AUSSUM! Crocs.
    Share this post

  2. #22
    I'm an Aussie, and I've all over the continent. Born in Sydney, rasied in Melbourne (briefly) Canberra (even more briefly, thank Chr*st ), Yass (tiny country town) and then 20 years in Sydney. I've also got relatives in Western Australia and Queensland. Sydney is now my hometown but I've lived in Seattle, Los Angeles, London and Japan, so I've got a fairly broad range for comparison.

    I've got relatives from the US and the UK and their general consensus is that:

    1) Its a nice place to visit, but a nicer place to live. Two lots of relatives have shifted continents to move to Sydney after coming here for holidays.

    2) The attitude in Sydney and Melbourne reminds them of major cities from the 60s, everything is just a touch friendlier than they are used to in Seattle, Los Angeles and London.

    3) The climate and outdoor lifestyle beats about 95% of the rest of the world hands down, at least in Sydney. Sunshine, low humidity, warm beaches, hot evenings and good (or bad) beer. Whatmore could you want?

    4) Not all the wildlife is dangerous. Just most of it . We are somehow perversly proud of the fact that we have something like 50% of the world's poisonous snake and spider species, as well as two animals on the coat of arms that could kick your stomache through your backlbone.

    I think you have to be a little more aware of things when your out in the countryside, particularly up north or out west, but in general its not too bad.

    Things to watch out for (in Sydney anyway):

    Beaches: Blubottles (Portugese Man'o'Wars), Box Jellyfish, Blue-ringed Octopus, as well as the very occasional shark (usually just a Grey Nurse or Bronze Whaler, not usually harmful). In 20 years of living in Sydney I've seen two sharks inside the harbour.

    Land: Funnel-web and Redback spiders. Poisonous but not all that common. Just wear good shoes in the garden or if your out in the bush.

    As for the rest (snakes, crocs, roos, bush pigs, goannas), you've got to get out of the cities to even find them, and generally go out of your way, ignore the warnings or be REALLY STUPID to get threatned by them.

    The only thing that ever really concerned me was the irukandji Jellyfish, which it about 2 cm long, practically invisible and quite painful. Victims report excruciating muscle cramps in the arms and legs, severe pain in the back and kidneys, and a burning sensation of the skin and face, headaches, nausea, restlessness, sweating, vomiting, high heart rate and blood pressure from a single sting, with lingering effects for up to 2 weeks.

    Just stay away from certain parts of the far north in the summer

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irukandji_jellyfish
    Share this post

  3. #23
    SkyChimp's Avatar Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Posts
    2,894
    It's those little jellyfish that bug me. Irukandji will kill you.

    We have several varieties here where I live in Virginia, USA. The most common, the Moon jelly, doesn't have a sting that can penetrate the skin. I've picked them out of the water with no problems.

    The other, the Sea Nettle, will sting the **** out of you. I've been stung on the right calf three times. Curiously, I've never been stung anywhere else. Vinegar eases the pain, but its like a bad burn for several days. Never went to the hospital, though.

    We have the Man 'O War, too. I've seen them fishing offshore. My brother-in-law tried to spear one with the tip of his fishing rod when we were fishing just off the outer Banks of North Carolina. He succeeded in getting some tennicle on his rod tip. He flipped it back and forth to get it off and a piece landed on his cheek under his right eye. It swelled up to the size of a mouse. I laughed so hard beer came out of my nose. To this day, he has a brown scar there.
    Share this post

  4. #24
    avoid backpackers, particulary around Bondi Beach, they`re so annoying you`ll want to smack a few of them...
    Be careful walking under trees at night, after spending the evening in the pub, when youre not very sober, and a fruit bat decides youd make a legit target for a load of guano..believe me, i speak from experience.
    best thing about oz is the climate, im a glider pilot and being able to go on soaring flights of 2 hours or more in the middle of winter is absolutely bloody brilliant , especially when the average winter flight in the UK is 5 minutes.
    Share this post

  5. #25
    tagTaken2's Avatar Banned
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    992
    Originally posted by SkyChimp:
    When would be a good time to visit Brisbane?
    After every other city in australia has been destroyed.

    Seriously, Qld is weird.

    You might want to check out this too:
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416315/
    Share this post

  6. #26
    The one main thing to watch out in sydney is Oxford Street...... if you drop your wallet DON'T bend over to pick it up.....
    Share this post

  7. #27
    Xiolablu3's Avatar Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    8,755
    Are there still laws about who can come and livein Austrailia concerning 'undesirables'?

    I always had a thing about Oz too, but at University I got a conviction for possesion of Hash (pot).

    Does that mean I cannot live in Aus now? (Im from England)

    I have got various answer in the past from fellow Pomms, so I would like the official answer from a Aussie pls! (They'll let any old sod into England, even if they are carrying an AK47 under each arm...)
    Share this post

  8. #28
    Any Aussies out there? Please respond.

    I'm fascinated with Australia. But I'd like to hear from genuine Aussies about the place.

    If you were to go by what's on television in the US, you can't go anywhere in Australia without being in danger of crocs, box jellyfish, bulldog ants, funnel web spiders, redback spiders, wombats, crapping fox bats, angry kangaroos, etc.... So what's it really like? Where do all of you live? What do you do outdoors for fun? And do you have to keep a constant eye out for crocodiles?

    I like to Google-Earth and Oz has to be one of my favorite places. It's amazing the miles and miles of wilderness only to come across a single house or barn out in the middle of what looks like nowhere.
    And we all know American TV stations, thousands of kilometres away have the utmost expertese on the subject!

    I live in the suburbs south of the Perth CBD. Honestly ey, you don't see any of that stuff. I don't really go to the beach but go bush a coupla times a year, and the biggest thing thats attacked me has been a tic ( Oh the horror!)

    So until you really go bush (i.e. finger up Ulurus bum) you should be alright.
    Share this post

  9. #29
    ploughman's Avatar Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    6,487
    Us poms always seem to have a morbid fear of Australian wildlife. With the exception of the Adder, we slaughtered everything dangerous on our island centuries ago and are babes in the wood when it comes to psycho fauna, hapless morons just begging to be bit, stung, lacerated, and devoured. That cretin who had to be saved twice in one week is a perfect example, he was under equipped for a trip to the shops let alone a week in the outback.

    Australia sounds like a top place. Even the Australians are supposed to be nice, unlike the Earls Court variety we get here.
    Share this post

  10. #30
    As allways, the most dangerous animal around by a good margin are humans, The big differnce between Auistralia and mainland Europe is that the margin is a tad smaller in Australia.
    Share this post