50 Insane Facts About Australia

[Hermit]

Regarding the snake fact, it's even worse when you whittle it down to the top ten. Something like 8 of the top ten most venomous snakes in the world. It's simply fucking life threatening to go about certain places here.

FFS.

[macdoc]

Let's make that clear as that was my impression as well that snakes are not a particular risk in Aus unless you behave rather stupidly



that of course applies to crocs as a well.



and the most dangerous bird in the world - - and WILL attack you.
Fortunately I was above him as he did have a young one to defend 6' of mean with big claws

click on image to play




see those feet.....he's not afraid of nuttin

[pErvinalia]

Regarding the snake fact, it's even worse when you whittle it down to the top ten. Something like 8 of the top ten most venomous snakes in the world. It's simply fucking life threatening to go about certain places here.

FFS.

I was talking across the whole deadly suite of our animals. And regardless, if I got bitten properly by a Brown on my property, I'd be dead before either an ambulance could get here or I could drive to a hospital.

[pErvinalia]

@Mac... I've been between a mother Cassowary and its chick. It was a VERY unnerving experience. And out of the two other directions I could go, one was a croc infested river with a sign exactly like that.

[Hermit]

Regarding the snake fact, it's even worse when you whittle it down to the top ten. Something like 8 of the top ten most venomous snakes in the world. It's simply fucking life threatening to go about certain places here.

FFS.

I was talking across the whole deadly suite of our animals.

Maybe too obscure for me to notice.

Or you are full of bull.

[pErvinalia]

The fortuitous thing about most of the nasty snakes in Australia is that they only have very short fangs. A pair of pants and long socks underneath is probably enough to save you from a threatening bite most of the time. Though, from memory (couldn't be arsed googling it), one of the very worst of the snakes - the taipans - have good sized choppers and they'll kill an adult quite easily with a proper bite.

[redunderthebed]

Saw a big stinking fat king brown slithering accross the road on the way home from camping on boxing day.


Nasty aggressive bastards they are.

[macdoc]

I suggest rivers kill more people than snakes in Aus....
silly goofs like my riding partner



that was a fuck of a long hot ride back the other way - we were only 8 km from the main highway and the pub and the Mitchell decided to intervene. Was it moving...he came with in an ace of a being a statistic.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Water weighs a kilo a liter. There's a fair few liters going past that spot. How strong did he think his legs were, anyway?

[macdoc]

That river was moving like a freight train and Kezza should have known better - there is a causeway under it but it was slimy and he's doing the chicken dance there trying to regain his balance as he turned.

The Barron one day



then the next - the shot above was taken in the middle of the causeway looking downstream
Next day it was rather not accessible without a helicopter - this from the road leading on to the causeway.



and KM downstream

[Jason]

Water weighs a kilo a liter. There's a fair few liters going past that spot. How strong did he think his legs were, anyway?

I assumed the water was more or less still and he was riding a crocodile.

[macdoc]

No crocs that high and even they would have a problem with that speed. The tilt on the trees should give some idea.

•••

Australia is highly unionized...they even have the termites well organized

[Blind groper]

I can trump Australia on snakes, though. The tiny Polynesian island of Niue has the highest density of snakes in the world, in a place called sea snake gulley. I did a scuba dive there, and would have encountered at least 150 to 250 sea snakes on that one scuba dive.

There is a common myth about sea snakes, which is that their teeth are too small to bite. Wrong! Not only can they bite anywhere and any time they like, but their venom is among the most toxic and fastest acting in the world. A Christian who was bitten might go : "our fa.....ghhhhh".

Fortunately, they are also as docile as anything you could ever encounter. I had them all around, over and under me. Many swimming alongside me out of curiosity.