(http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab154/firehawk068/Australia_zps48388f1c.jpg) (http://s859.photobucket.com/user/firehawk068/media/Australia_zps48388f1c.jpg.html)
No crocs down my way, the devils ate them
Yeah that happens. But I was using him as bait.
Cheers
(http://tizona.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/australia-spider-welcome.jpg?w=780)
those bloody spiders are fast when they figure out your after them, and they jump aswell.
We also have these grotesque creatures that lurk near the water. :nyam1:
http://www.metermaids.com/ (http://www.metermaids.com/)
But generally they get on if they`re not Hungry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoaEBb4IN4Q (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoaEBb4IN4Q)
LOL, that is so cute!!!!!!! Must have raised that maggie from a babe eh?
One of my favorite pics:
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/6/1121_03_11_13_4_26_02.jpeg)
Anyone for a swim
(http://imageshack.us/a/img841/99/snakevroo1.jpg)
All Class in Queensland!
Building Bolero -- The Queensland Symphony Orchestra Moves to South Bank (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn7CYzPMf2o#ws)
Quote from: The General on December 19, 2013, 12:04:30 AM
All Class in Queensland!
Ah now I see the reason behind the anti-association laws in QLD, in this case Campbell got it right :music:
:morning1: Bit`ve rambling here, but have been given ta think`n a little about the question of visiting Australia...Mainly cause I`ve been questioned a lot lately on where to go and what to see.
Being a humble mob (not!) most blokes would just refer ya to the Tourist information centres rather than brag.(http://australia.gov.au/topics/tourism-and-travel/tourist-information (http://australia.gov.au/topics/tourism-and-travel/tourist-information)). Just Google it and ya find there`s one in just about every town and each State expounding the attractions of everything from Dinosaur habitats to Surfing beaches. Wineries ta organic Golf Courses. (Yep, we got an organic golf course - can you believe it!)
If I was to visit our U.S. Mates, Googling would get me to all the bragging rights so I could say "I`ve been there!", but catching a little blog like Capt`n Ron,s visit to his Dad, hooks me inta to the meaty bits, the heart and maybe a view of tha underlying Soul of travel...That`s what I wanta see! (& hear & smell!)
Many an Aussie has a story of a relative from overseas giving them a surprise call from the airport saying "I`m here!" can ya pick me up!
I`ve even had a boss ask me to duck out & fix an electrical fault in my state, with him happy to pay the accom bill...until he realised the return drive would take the best part of two weeks!...and there`s six or seven more States!...It`s a fairly big place! (Have ya heard about tha Texan out here bragging about tha size of his Ranch!...sorry I digress...maybe another campfire!)
I reckon our London Anniversary Rally Visitors (David & Caroline) have got it pretty well nailed. Their must see`s involve "The Great Dividing Range", Tasmania and The Kimberleys (On an FJ) if you`ve got time....but getting to the heart & Soul of it is the more elusive question. For example if you Lament on the best holiday you`ve ever enjoyed anywhere, I guarantee the key will be tha people you meet along the way.
I experienced a little of the Aussie travel Soul meself last friday night.
Following a 4 hour ride on the sidecar (traffic accident- shoulda been 3 hrs,), I eventually did a U turn in a quiet and dark suburban street in Bundaberg, out the front of the wrong old queenslander (Type of cottage) my GPS had lead me too. Luckily my headlights picked up some frantic waving from the occupant of my correct destination point, some 70 metres away.
A bedroom light (from the wrong house) profiled a child`s silouhette as the curtain was dragged back and immediately followed by screams of wonder. I accelerated through the U turn manouvre and picked up three of the little basteds outa the corner of my eye clearing the verandah rail as I headed off into the night to a hearty greeting in Steptoe`s driveway.
Tha brats caught up in no time flat and there were four of`em! Aged 5 ta 10 years old (3 boys & the youngest a curly haired girl - all full of mischief, yet respectful)..Not one of them wore shoes! ....One did however wear a bandage from an injury! "me dad took a hunk out of it when he stood on it!"...I didn`t need ta be Charles Darwin to believe tha "Dad's" feet had morphed into a petrified solid mass, as none of the neighbours I seen, nor the mancave occupant, were adorned by feet protection of any sort!....Wish I`d taken a pic of these fantastic kids full of questions and mesmerized by the sidecar, the shed and it`s innards. They were`nt at all interested in TV and were free to responsively run down the dark street unaccompanied and chat to the neighbours!....Sadly such innocence and freedom is fast becoming extinct in oz, but great ta see it still exists.
Next day was full of mancave banter as tha barefoot mechanic and his mate attacked mechanicals & electricals on my steed, while I organised beer, and a fan install for his lounge room. No money was exchanged, in fact his mate (appropriately named "eveready") even turned up with a spare kickstarter for me! (No, they already gave me a beer!- I mean a Yamaha kickstarter... an emergency mechanical lever clipped under the seat on the XS model).
Saturday arvo (after scoffing down tha biggest Aussie Hamburger with trimmings), we attacked an unlucky project bike that had occupied an uninsured shed (along with farming equipment) belonging to a victim of the recent infamous Bundaberg flood. (100 years since any rain of that volume). The XS1100 had been submerged under Salt & muddy turbulent water for some days, so the neighbours were restoring it to pristine condition to cheer there mate up!
My ride home that night (2hrs 50mins) was by a full moon and a starlit night. I had scoffed down a huge baked dinner, only wore me helmet, stubbies and a tee shirt, so I know I deserve a smack...but good news is I still couldn`t bring meself ta going barefoot!
Yeah, funny place Australia...and shit I love it!...might recommend ya consider this site www.airbnb.com.au (http://www.airbnb.com.au) as it allows you to stay with the owners.
Lucky you, if they too bare a little Aussie soul, me thinks! :drinks:
good one general :good2:
Great story Doug....sounds a lot like the countryside here......although I reckon we don't have as much to be worried about when the lights go out........I do recall one incident when I was a boy. During the summer we would spend our time at the cottage to escape the heat....I had several friends down the bay where I would spend a lot of my time....one evening in particular I was heading home along the dirt road....Muskoka .....like most of Ontario is a giant forest laced with a few cities and hundreds of little towns......anyway...this one night while heading home (I was 10 at the time)....it was so dark, I couldn't see the road I was walking....I mean it was pitch black......I was walking as quick as I could trying not to bounce off a tree when suddenly......15 feet to my left...I heard a huge crash.....sounded like a tree falling right beside me.......well sight or not I took off so fast......that I had to turn around a retrieve my skin.......naaaa.....I kept running...I was hoping not to run into a tree....but I was also hoping that what ever was running beside me was not a bear.....or a wolf......but I made it home......and ended up the anchor of our 4 x 100 relay team that year at school track and field.....never knew I could run so fast.... :bye2:
Kev
Haha, reminds me of when I lived about 3 km out of a country town. Walking home after a big night, pitch black, you couldn't see the white lines, deathly quite, and then you hear the grass rustling beside you, and let out a scream ( deep hoarse) and run flat out for about a quarter mile before realising it's not the grim reaper, but a stupid cow or horse. Laugh now, but scary back then.
Tony.
Oh Yeah, Been there Done That!!
Quote from: The General on February 19, 2014, 01:29:40 AM
..........I guarantee the key will be tha people you meet along the way.
Great yarn Doug, you paint a great picture, I can see it now.
You are spot on about the people you meet when travelling making the most enduring memories. The sights and tourist attractions are great but it's the people that still put a smile on your face and most readily come to mind when thinking back on trips.'
As a young bloke I once tried to pawn my way home from Brisbane to Geelong (2000km's), finding the local bike/farm machinery business in country towns and offering non essential parts of my new bike (GT750) as security for fuel. The plan was to ride straight through without food or accommodation, as only a 20 yo would be fit enough and stupid enough to do through 'roo country.'
I got home having been fed and accommodated in stranger's homes, even sent off with a packed lunch from one place, given money as well as petrol, as long as I promised to eat properly on the road (from a motherly type) and not a single part of the bike was left for security along the way.
Don't ya just love country people.
I sent the money off as soon as I returned and flowers to the motherly type. I recall at least one of those people telling me she didn't want the money back, she liked to think if her son was in a similar predicament out on the road someone would do the same thing for him, she had a son my age who was travelling.
There was one other generous soul who insisted I not pay it back but pay it forward. Just keep the $20 and when I came across someone in need, give to them.
Heart warming experiences with our fellow man, and 40 odd years later I don't remember anything about that trip except the people I met. Mind, anyone who has done that trip will know there's nothing to remember anyway.
Noel
Thats similar to when I did my first big adventure from Tasmania to Queensland on an old BMW R60. At a campground , my little tent amongst all the big caravans and RV's a woman came over early one morning with a plate of eggs, bacon and toast, and said I looked like I needed it. Same trip, I was stranded after my BM expired and I had to wait for parts, no money, daily ration was a bread roll from the bakery. A tour coach pulled in and set up camp next to me. When they settled in buckets of KFC appeared and were quickly dispatched. The aroma was torture and they must have noticed me drooling because the tour captain came over with the left overs. It was enough to last me two days. I must have looked miserable but in fact I was having the time of my life. Later on in that trip I had my leathers and helmet stolen from a youth Hostel. I had to ride the rest of the way to Brisbane in poring rain wearing a $2 second hand ladies raincoat.
Great memories
Well ya right there Doug.. But travel can be more.. Sometimes its the miles and miles you spend alone with all your thoughts. But most it's the people you meet. Having done some long distance riding I find that the hardest person to get along with is one's self. 10 hours in a helmet with just you can make or break a man. Most of the time I feel blessed that I like myself and can hold a good conversation with myself for hours...
:wacko3:
Quote from: roverfj1200 on February 21, 2014, 03:52:48 AM
Well ya right there Doug.. But travel can be more.. Sometimes its the miles and miles you spend alone with all your thoughts. But most it's the people you meet. Having done some long distance riding I find that the hardest person to get along with is one's self. 10 hours in a helmet with just you can make or break a man. Most of the time I feel blessed that I like myself and can hold a good conversation with myself for hours...
:wacko3:
It is amazing what you can find between the ears within a helmet...... :shok:
Quote from: CanDman on February 21, 2014, 02:09:33 PM
Quote from: roverfj1200 on February 21, 2014, 03:52:48 AM
Well ya right there Doug.. But travel can be more.. Sometimes its the miles and miles you spend alone with all your thoughts. But most it's the people you meet. Having done some long distance riding I find that the hardest person to get along with is one's self. 10 hours in a helmet with just you can make or break a man. Most of the time I feel blessed that I like myself and can hold a good conversation with myself for hours...
:wacko3:
It is amazing what you can find between the ears within a helmet...... :shok:
(https://www.wachusett.com/Portals/0/bad-hair-day.jpg)
With a couple of our northern hemisphere brothers (and a sister) over here at the moment for our rally, I found this an interesting read:
Harvy
'Value what you have and don't give it away.'
There's a lot to admire about Australia, especially if you're a visiting American, says David Mason.
More often than you might expect, Australian friends - patiently listening to me enthuse about their country - have said, ''We need outsiders like you to remind us what we have.''
So here it is - a small presumptuous list of what one foreigner admires in Oz.
1. Health care.
I know the controversies, but basic national health care is a gift.
In America, medical expenses are a leading cause of bankruptcy.
The drug companies dominate politics and advertising.
Obama is being crucified for taking halting baby steps towards sanity.
You can't turn on the telly without hours of drug advertisements - something I have never yet seen here.
And your emphasis on prevention - making cigarettes less accessible, for one - is a model.
2. Food.
Yes, we have great food in America too, especially in the big cities.
But your bread is less sweet, your lamb is cheaper, and your supermarket vegetables and fruits are fresher than ours.
Too often in my country an apple is a ball of pulp as big as your face.
The dainty Pink Lady apples of Oz are the juiciest I've had. And don't get me started on coffee.
In American small towns it tastes like water flavoured with burnt dirt, but the smallest shop in the smallest town in Oz can make a first-rate latte.
I love your ubiquitous bakeries, your hot-cross buns. Shall I go on?
3. Language.
How do you do it?
The rhyming slang and Aboriginal place names like magic spells.
Words that seem vaguely English yet also resemble an argot from another planet.
I love the way institutional names get turned into diminutives - Vinnie's and Salvos - and absolutely nothing's sacred.
Everything's an opportunity for word games and everyone's a nickname.
Lingo makes the world go round.
It's the spontaneous wit of the people that tickles me most.
Late one night at a barbie my new mate Suds remarked, ''Nothing's the same since 24-7.'' Amen.
4. Free-to-air TV.
In Oz, you buy a TV, plug it in and watch some of the best programming I've ever seen - uncensored.
In America, you can't get diddly-squat without paying a cable or satellite company heavy fees.
In Oz a few channels make it hard to choose.
In America, you've got 400 channels and nothing to watch.
5. Small shops.
Outside the big cities in America corporations have nearly erased them.
Identical malls with identical restaurants serving inferior food.
Except for geography, it's hard to tell one American town from another.
The ''take-away'' culture here is wonderful.
Human encounters are real - stirring happens, stories get told.
The curries are to die for. And you don't have to tip!
6. Free camping.
We used to have this too, and I guess it's still free when you backpack miles away from the roads.
But I love the fact that in Oz everyone owns the shore and in many places you can pull up a camper van and stare at the sea for weeks.
I love the ''primitive'' and independent campgrounds, the life out of doors.
The few idiots who leave their stubbies and rubbish behind in these pristine places ought to be transported in chains.
7. Religion.
In America, it's everywhere - especially where it's not supposed to be, like politics.
I imagine you have your Pharisees too, making a big public show of devotion, but I have yet to meet one here.
8. Roads.
Peak hour aside, I've found travel on your roads pure heaven.
My country's ''freeways'' are crowded, crumbling, insanely knotted with looping overpasses - it's like racing homicidal maniacs on fraying spaghetti.
I've taken the Hume without stress, and I love the Princes Highway when it's two lanes.
Ninety minutes south of Batemans Bay I was sorry to see one billboard for a McDonald's.
It's blocking a lovely paddock view. Someone should remove it.
9. Real multiculturalism.
I know there are tensions, just like anywhere else, but I love the distinctiveness of your communities and the way you publicly acknowledge the Aboriginal past.
Recently, too, I spent quality time with Melbourne Greeks, and was gratified both by their devotion to their own great language and culture and their openness to an Afghan lunch.
10. Fewer guns.
You had Port Arthur in 1996 and got real in response.
America replicates such massacres several times a year and nothing changes.
Why?
Our religion of individual rights makes the good of the community an impossible dream.
Instead of mateship we have ''It's mine and nobody else's''.
We talk a great game about freedom, but too often live in fear.
There's more to say - your kaleidoscopic birds, your perfumed bush in springtime, your vast beaches.
These are just a few blessings that make Australia a rarity.
Of course, it's not paradise - nowhere is - but I love it here.
No need to wave flags like Americans and add to the world's windiness.
Just value what you have, pray for it, work hard for it and don't give it away.
David Mason is a US writer and professor, and poet laureate of Colorado.
Harvy had one to many beverages last night :wacko3:
Quote from: Harvy on March 02, 2014, 03:58:45 PM
With a couple of our northern hemisphere brothers (and a sister) over here at the moment for our rally, I found this an interesting read:
Harvy
I agree Harv. Yesterday I ducked into Robina (Gold Coast) for a quick lunch with my sister. (Was originally suppose to be brekky, but some mates stuffed that up on Sateday!)... anyhow, it turned out ta be a party cause Uncle Doug was turn`n up in a sidecar! Lunch & free Kid`s rides took up a bit of time before we were on the road. ..Fantastic New freeway South, eventually passing an old Church (Broadwater) offering to give me my daily bread. (It`s now a bakery..how could we resist!). Passed Byron Bay as quick as I could, (Pull in there & I mighta run into Can D Man again!...I mean I luv him, but taquila shots have would have an affect on this old body that`s been preened for Port and I was hoping ta make Jindabyne this week!)...Hear tell there off ta Nimbin to mow lawns after Byron!
Very tempted to head off tha highway inta those little one way coastal yet Country Towns of Iluka, Yamba, Evans Head etc, but woke up today to the best Mango Smoothie ever in a Grafton Hotel. The owner took them off an on site tree in front of my eyes & put`m through the blender..Yum. (Did a platter too with strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, rockmelon, split seedless grapes, passionfruit, kiwifruit and of course Mango with a little yoghurt on top)....ummm..might duck into Minnie waters for a quick surf!...
I would really like to explore this area one year...but reality is the entire Coast of Australia is Excellent and safe. :drinks:
Wow... that was awesome. I feel the same way every time I go to Montreal, Canada from the US. I just do NOT want to go back home! :bad:
Scott
They tried to make me go to rehab but I said, 'No, no, no.'
(http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/h551flduokoKhttHuyQDcB7l_WM-sWO-2J9_z69fPxiu=w669-h497-no)
Yes, I've been black but when I come back you'll know, know, know,
(http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nLq6oRWJ3Hg/UxRi4G0ewWI/AAAAAAAAWyI/jIvKVoBPadM/w662-h497-no/IMGP0250.JPG)
They tried to make me go to rehab but I said, 'No, no, no.'
(http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-KMWxM43YXEA/UxRi7c4oL7I/AAAAAAAAWyQ/75d8yymtqMk/w662-h497-no/IMGP0251.JPG)
Great day was had by all, a brief run down to Byron, drinks at the Great Northern and the weather report is fine for lunch.
More pics and a yarn later,,,
This video is one all the visitors to Australia should watch.
(and probably most of the Aussies as well)
Rip Currents -- Surf Life Saving and UNSW (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ernDqqkfHCw#ws)
l thought this was a serious post till you got to the part about coffee. I have never been served instant coffee in the US and 1/3 of the time thats what was given to me in Oz ick
Ahhhh, so THAT'S Mr Bean! Right, got it now.