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Site & Board Matters => About This Site => Topic started by: bernhardAS on May 24, 2013, 01:34:58 am

Title: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: bernhardAS on May 24, 2013, 01:34:58 am
Dear Michael,

I am sure that we will get interesting articles, reviews and photography from your trip.

The mention of Kimberly and making pictures IN the local streams brought immediately "crocs" to my mind.
I am sure that you are around with experienced guides and tour operators.

Nevertheless reading through the advice form this Kimberly tourism and travel site might be sensible:

http://www.kimberleyaustralia.com/kimberley-crocodiles.html

Look forward to read about the trip.

Bernhard
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Tony Jay on May 24, 2013, 03:05:23 am
...The mention of Kimberly and making pictures IN the local streams brought immediately "crocs" to my mind.
I am sure that you are around with experienced guides and tour operators...

I can assure you that no-one will be blundering around in ignorance on this trip.
Apart from anything else the operators of the yacht on which they will be travelling will not allow anyone to do anything dangerous.
Being attacked by a crocodile is exceedingly bad for business!
In the Kimberleys many rivers can be entered from the ocean and navigated for variable distances.
The limiting factor governing navigation is waterfalls.
Below the falls = saltwater crocs.
Above the falls = no saltwater crocs.
However, ultimatedly local knowledge is all and this knowledge will be readily available .

I have travelled and photographed in the Kimberleys, and other parts of northern Australia, where Estuarine Crocodiles are found on many occasions and being 'croc-smart' is not hard - if you have half a brain.
I have also spent plenty of time in Africa where Nile crocodiles (no less dangerous in the context) and Hippopotami (arguably even more problematic) abound with no incident.
Common sense wins out every time.
I confidently predict all members of the PODAS trip returning with life and limb intact - as far as the 'Saltie' threat goes!

Tony Jay
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: kencameron on May 24, 2013, 03:19:35 am
And watch out for drop bears.
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Tony Jay on May 24, 2013, 03:24:10 am
And watch out for drop bears.
I think that those are mainly Queensland phenomena - perhaps the closer one is to Bundaberg?

Tony Jay
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: David Sutton on May 24, 2013, 04:00:21 am
I think that those are mainly Queensland phenomena - perhaps the closer one is to Bundaberg?

Tony Jay

I hear the sub-species Thylarctos natarus has learned to hold its breath. Fortunately it has only been encounted in the waters around the Barossa Valley.
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Tony Jay on May 24, 2013, 04:05:05 am
I hear the sub-species Thylarctos natarus has learned to hold its breath. Fortunately it has only been encounted in the waters around the Barossa Valley.
Fantastic!
Must be a case of fact being stranger than fiction...

Tony Jay
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Josh-H on May 24, 2013, 06:20:13 am
Drop Bears (http://australianmuseum.net.au/Drop-Bear) are not a myth...

I see them regularly as I ride my Kangaroo to work.

Have to watch out for hoop snakes as well... a variant of the eastern tiger that coils itself in a circle and rolls along at speed to hunt kangaroo... ;D
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Ray on May 24, 2013, 06:32:06 am
Whatever you do, Michael, don't behave like this lady in attached image. Shot taken on Adelaide River near Darwin. Well, at least part of the shot was.  ;D
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Tony Jay on May 24, 2013, 06:42:52 am
Whatever you do, Michael, don't behave like this lady in attached image. Shot taken on Adelaide River near Darwin. Well, at least part of the shot was.  ;D
... being 'croc-smart' is not hard - if you have half a brain...
...Common sense wins out every time...
I rest my case...
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Christopher Sanderson on May 24, 2013, 09:34:04 am
Not being a Vegemite fan, does anyone know if Marmite works as well to ward off dangerous DropBears?
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: HSway on May 24, 2013, 10:14:28 am
Great photography ride to Michael and the team.

Hynek
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: michael on May 24, 2013, 10:17:58 am
I prefer the fork hat solution. Then then one drops and dies, the forks can be used during the feast.

M
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: DaveCurtis on May 24, 2013, 05:19:51 pm
Vegemite only I'm afraid Chris!
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Schewe on May 24, 2013, 05:20:52 pm
Vegemite only I'm afraid Chris!

And that stuff is vile!
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: OnyimBob on May 24, 2013, 06:01:51 pm
And that stuff is vile!
You have finally overstepped the mark Mr Schewe!  Shame on you!
Bob.
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Tony Jay on May 24, 2013, 06:19:02 pm
I have to agree with Jeff on this one - Vegemite is only good for filling cracks in walls.
As for sorting out the Dropbears well some authorities advocate putting toothpaste behind the ears!

Tony Jay
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: digitaldog on May 24, 2013, 07:45:44 pm
Not being a Vegemite fan, does anyone know if Marmite works as well to ward off dangerous DropBears?

I've tried both (reluctantly) and recall both being equally awful. Is there any actual differences?
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Josh-H on May 24, 2013, 11:10:10 pm
Heathens...

Vegemite is da bom!  ;D

Of course.. you have to be bought up on the stuff as a kid - its an acquired taste.
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Schewe on May 25, 2013, 12:09:36 am
Of course.. you have to be bought up on the stuff as a kid - its an acquired taste.

Well, there's some tastes I don't want to acquire!

I've eaten a lot of, uh, different things in my life...chocolate covered ants (good), fried grasshoppers (tasted like chicken), rocky mountain meatballs (Google it) and even learned to like haggis (in honor of Brice Fraser). But there are two foods I've tried that I'll never try again, one was poi in Hawaii and the other was Vegemite in the outback...

Yes, if one were forced to consume this stuff from early childhood and knew no better, I could see how one's taste buds could become perverted...but I think there's therapy for that condition (kinda like de-programing).
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Josh-H on May 25, 2013, 12:16:34 am
Having just returned from remote China and the Gobi desert I found my list of foods I would not eat / try has been vastly expanded.....

Just an FYI - the reason most people try vegemite and dislike it is because they are handed a piece of bread that has been liberally smothered in the stuff. And that is enough to put anybody off.

Returning to our regular programming....
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: David Sutton on May 25, 2013, 12:48:28 am
The three staples of every lad in Melbourne in the 1950s were Vegemite, Vicks and meat pies. They would have combined them into the one application if it were possible.
As it was, the Vicks rub tended to go everywhere, so if you were applying it before making lunch, you would score a two out of three.
Vegemite, Vicks and lettuce sandwich anyone?
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Schewe on May 25, 2013, 01:13:01 am
The three staples of every lad in Melbourne in the 1950s were Vegemite, Vicks and meat pies.

So, you put Vegemite and Vicks on meat pies? No wonder you Auzzies are so tough! Jeeesh!

Mike, don't eat the meat pies!!!!
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Tony Jay on May 25, 2013, 06:58:23 am
Not being a Vegemite fan, does anyone know if Marmite works as well to ward off dangerous DropBears?
I am not sure that Marmite helps for Dropbears but it sure tastes better!
BTW there are differences (between Marmite and Vegemite) but to the uninitiated they can look identical.

If you want Marmite in Australia you will have to bring it with you - in the last year or so it has disappeared off the grocery shelves here in Oz.

Tony Jay
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Ray on May 25, 2013, 11:22:32 am
You are all so amusing even the crocodile thinks you are funny.  ;D
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on May 25, 2013, 11:38:12 am
You are all so amusing even the crocodile thinks you are funny.  ;D
And your croc is a real stand-up comic.
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Rob Whitehead on May 25, 2013, 12:40:37 pm
Ha,

Just been shooting 'stairway to the moon' tonight, just south of the Kimberley.

Chose a place called salty cove, long walk out through the tidal mudflats next to an estuary to set up the shot.

Must say I was thinking about the salties during the nice dark walk back to the shore after the shoot. Will bring a torch next time!

:)
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: tived on May 25, 2013, 07:50:49 pm
Michael,

Have a fantastic time, its an amazing part of the world. I say this with envy :-) as I would love to do that trip you are about to do. Maybe another day :-)

Looking forward to some fantastic images

All the best from Perth, Western Australia

Henrik
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: ndevlin on May 26, 2013, 10:08:38 am
I've tried both (reluctantly) and recall both being equally awful. Is there any actual differences?

I would venture to say the risk of ingesting Vegemite far outweighs that of crocodile attack.  As between preventable catastrophes, not sure which I'd rather suffer.

- N.
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: dreed on May 26, 2013, 11:14:02 am
I would venture to say the risk of ingesting Vegemite far outweighs that of crocodile attack.  As between preventable catastrophes, not sure which I'd rather suffer.

Well why don't you experiment with both?

If you survive that experimentation, let us know how many limbs you come back with, ok?

Maybe you could try throwing your camera gear in first to see if the crocodile accepts expensive camera gear as a worthy sacrifice in place of human flesh...
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: DaveCurtis on May 27, 2013, 02:11:01 am
Nothing wrong with Vegemite boys!

When I was seven down here in NZ my mum use to set me off to school armed with two vegemite and lettuce sandwiches  :D

Them were the days.

I could pop over ditch to the land of Oz and make a couple for Michael and Kevin.   ;)

Dave

Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Tony Jay on May 27, 2013, 02:59:14 am
...I could pop over [the] ditch to the land of Oz and make a couple for Michael and Kevin...   ;)
You're just trying to escape the putrid winter weather in NZ aren't you!!
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: David Sutton on May 27, 2013, 03:44:21 am
You're just trying to escape the putrid winter weather in NZ aren't you!!

Dave, I was going to jump to the defence of our weather but that cold front that made a bit of a mess down there at St. Clair has just reached Christchurch.
So take me with you.
I'll bring the Vicks.
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Tony Jay on May 27, 2013, 04:09:13 am
Dave, I was going to jump to the defence of our weather but that cold front that made a bit of a mess down there at St. Clair has just reached Christchurch.
So take me with you.
I'll bring the Vicks.
All I know is that I was watching Super15 Rugby on the weekend - was I glad that I was sitting in (relatively warm) Brisbane when watching the wind, weather, and rain in NZ.

Tony Jay
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: David Sutton on May 27, 2013, 04:41:15 am
All I know is that I was watching Super15 Rugby on the weekend - was I glad that I was sitting in (relatively warm) Brisbane when watching the wind, weather, and rain in NZ.

Tony Jay
Yes, well, we are a bit further south than you! However thanks to the Earthquake Commission I now have a heat pump. It's the first time I've been warm in a wooden house in winter.
Enjoy the sunny north! Here it's expected to hover around 0 degrees tonight. Let's call our weather "interesting".
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Tony Jay on May 27, 2013, 05:07:28 am
We have had a few chilly nights, especially recently, but tonight in Brisbane the minimum will be above 10 oC.

Tony Jay
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: kevk on May 27, 2013, 07:38:28 am
We have had a few chilly nights, especially recently, but tonight in Brisbane the minimum will be above 10 oC.
Yeah guys, but Brisbane is about 2000 miles from the Kimberley trip location. The temp in Broome this week is supposed to range from 60F to 90F.
Meanwhile, it is going to be frosty in Tasmania tonight...

Kevin
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: DaveCurtis on May 27, 2013, 08:06:01 pm
Well actually  I'm stuck in the snow down here in Dunedin NZ today and working from home.

Aussie sounds a good option.  ;D
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: Patrik on June 03, 2013, 07:03:16 am
Nice picture but on a personal note I would keep the camera leveled to the horizon or do it in PSD or LR
Title: Re: Micheals trip to Australia
Post by: tom b on June 03, 2013, 07:34:33 am
But yet the verticals are vertical.

I'm more worried about the spelling of Cockatoo, Australia and Michael's.

Cheers,