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BirgitBRONZE Member
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)


Posted:
Just a shout out to all the HoPpers who've recently gone on Australia tours. I'm planning to go next year and hopefully find some affordable vehicle to travel round in, so I've got tonnes of questions, like how did you travel, where did you stay, any nice places you won't find in the average travel guide that I absolutely have to go to, which HoPper makes the best breakfast... send me pms smile

(Have done a search and am busy extracting information already!!)

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half


Mr MajestikSILVER Member
coming to a country near you
4,696 posts
Location: home of the tiney toothy bear, Australia


Posted:
consider yourself convinced smile





(look at the 78 photos of tassie in the colum on the right wink)

"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"

jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley


DentrassiGOLD Member
ZORT!
3,045 posts
Location: Brisbane, Australia


Posted:
you might get some good info from biggins - he bought a cheap van and drove which carried him right across the country.

"Here kitty kitty...." - Schroedinger.


EeraBRONZE Member
old hand
1,107 posts
Location: In a test pit, Mackay, Australia


Posted:
Just don't forget how vast Australia is; towns that are marked on the map as large dots may only be 500 people as otherwise there'd be nothing there. Lots of Australia is full of buggerall and flies.

Do a Whitsunday cruise, but avoid staying in Airlie if you're allergic to bedbugs (big problem in the hostels there). If you have a car check out some of the less well known, but easily accessable places like Cape Hillsborough and Eungella (readily accessible from Mackay, which costs $90 to get to from Brisbane on the aeroplane). If you drive a bit further inland to the coalfields you can get free tours around Peak Downs mine (home of Australia's largest dragline), I think Blackwater does them as well, seriously, it's very interesting.

Tasmania is one of the most beautiful places in Australia, go there, but bring your winter woolies.

Victoria's High Coutnry is pretty stunning. If you can find the DVD of The Man From Snowy River, it was filmed there, but right now the whole lot is burning in a major bushfire (and I'm supposed to be getting married there in two and a bit months, humph).

Come to Mackay. Someone has to.

There is a slight possibility that I am not actually right all of the time.


the_anti_anthonymember
36 posts
Location: Edinburgh


Posted:
I'd agree with Eera on visiting places in Queensland, especially around Mackay (spent 6 years living there). Check out the Darling Downs too, West of Brisbane, if you get a chance: wineries, fruit orchards, national parks full of granite domes (Girraween).

What sort of thing are you interested in seeing?

BirgitBRONZE Member
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)


Posted:
Thanks again for info and piccies and stuff biggrin



Anthony, anything and everything really! Though I think I'd focus on stuff you don't get in good old Europe. So... landscapes and natural features, and pretty coral reefs and wombats and that. Pretty things in general. And wombats.



Gotta say I'm very impressed by lots of the things you guys have recommended after looking it up smile Now if only that PhD was written up already...!

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
Wombats totally rock. Good choice smile

And Echidnas are cool too!

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
emus are bloody scary! i'm not going to pretend otherwise! look at their eyes! they're SO evil!

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


BirgitBRONZE Member
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)


Posted:
bounce
Wiki just told me that mini-Echnidas are called "puggles". How cute is that!!

*wonders how many Australians get "puggle" as a pet name from their boyfriends/girlfriends/whatevers*

What did you do to that emu, Jon? And don't give me that innocent look, it ain't working.

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
ive never heard of it for a pet name- but it does make such a cute one! ubblove


....my boy would kill me if i called him that ubblol

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


ezzBRONZE Member
moo..
1,899 posts
Location: melbourne, australia


Posted:
oo I love emus..when i was a kid and we were travelling I made friends with a baby one. We used to play chasey together. his name was tuesday....or was it wednesday.. some day of the week anyway. But he was the coolest and I cried when I had to leave him. smile

hug me!


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
for some reason i thought you said "we used to play chess together" ubblol ubblol

careful! kookaburras steal sandwiches!!!

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


ezzBRONZE Member
moo..
1,899 posts
Location: melbourne, australia


Posted:
pft as if I can play chess.

oo and if you are camping and you have sweet things at brekky time sometimes birdies come and sit next to you and eat sugar with you..they always did it to me.
and kangaroos just wander into your tent and start eating potatoes *nods*
oh and wombats WILL tear a hole in your tent to get to your food...I should know.. we had some horrible camping neighbours and somehow bread found its way under there tent and the wombats found it. ubbangel
I think while I was travelling I had more animal friends than human friends.

hug me!


BirgitBRONZE Member
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)


Posted:
I think I should get a book on Australian animals smile Can't wait to see them all. Especially the wombats. The fact that they're willing to work their way through tents to get to food just makes them more endearing biggrin

And I'll remember to hide my sandwiches from them, emus and kookaburras. Can you eat emus? Maybe if I'll threaten them that THEY'll be on the next sandwich if they don't watch out that'll work smile

Which reminds me of the only funny scene in the only "I'm a celebrity get me out of here" episode I ever saw. They covered this annoying blonde wannabe starlet in emu food and then made her look for treasures in a little space with 3 emus who kept trying to eat her. That was really good. Only they shouldn't have let her out again.

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half


ezzBRONZE Member
moo..
1,899 posts
Location: melbourne, australia


Posted:
ubblol I can imagine 3 emus attacking a celebrity..I like it..it should happen more often.
I imagine you could eat emu..I know you can eat their eggs...huuuuuuge eggs that make me feel sick..its like 12 big chicken eggs in one and really really thick and rich apparently.. blergh..i need to get that thought out of my mind..
*goes back to thinking about emus pecking at celebrities*

hug me!


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
you can. There's a shop in Avoca (country victoria) that sells emu pies (among a hundred other flavours)

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


Neon_ShaolinGOLD Member
hehe, 'Member' huhuh
6,120 posts
Location: Behind you. With Jam


Posted:
I wonder how long it takes to boil an emu egg and how many jars of mayo to turn it into Egg Mayonnaise?

OR

how much mayonnaise canyou make with one egg?

Ostrich Burgers ubblove

Apparently Dodo meat was inedible...

"I used to want to change the world, now I just wanna leave the room with a little dignity..." - Lotus Weinstock


BirgitBRONZE Member
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)


Posted:
I don't like mayonnaise. So I won't try. I might try frying it though. Is it like ducks eggs that have special salmonella so you can't eat it when it's soft?

And how long it takes to boil it depends on the altitude of course tongue

1 more hour, and I'm on my way to Edinburgh for the weekend, and I'll get to sleep in my nice comfy bed and listen to music loudly and play my bass. YAYYYYYYYYYY bounce

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half


EeraBRONZE Member
old hand
1,107 posts
Location: In a test pit, Mackay, Australia


Posted:
Emus are possibly one of the most stupid creatures on the earth; "Hmmm, if a big truck comes up behind me, I'll avoid those scarey open fields and run down the centre of the road where it can't possibly get me."

Echidnas are bigger than you think and full of fleas, apparently good eating but you gotta be black otherwise it's illegal.

You can see platypus playing in the wild at Broken River, in Eungella, which you can get backpacker tours to from Mackay, and you'll see plenty of roadkill kangaroos on the way. According to the news, Queensland doesn't exist north of the Sunshine Coast, so I'm doing everything I can to promote it. Yay for regional Queensland. It's not as full of rednecks as you might think.

There is a slight possibility that I am not actually right all of the time.


Mr MajestikSILVER Member
coming to a country near you
4,696 posts
Location: home of the tiney toothy bear, Australia


Posted:
when you go to queensland you HAVE to try a crocodile burger ubblove

snorkling in the kelp forests in tassie is really cool if you're into that sort of thing. and you can come and see a tassie devil before they all die!

when we were at cradle mountain in the middle of the state there was this bird that flew up and took a pie right out of my mums hand and flew off! ( no she wasnt offering it to them) it was hilarious!

theres heaps of wild life in hobart! i went for a two hour drive up the derwent in the evening and we saw three wallabies a possum and an eagle!

interesting fact: wombats can sprint at 40km/h over short distances. AND they're built like tree stumps.

"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"

jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley


Pogo69SILVER Member
there's no charge for awesomeness... or attractiveness
3,764 posts
Location: limbo, Australia


Posted:
 Written by: Mr Majestik


interesting fact: wombats can sprint at 40km/h over short distances. AND they're built like tree stumps.



I've seen one of em in action and can attest to their speed... my uncle had a farm down in victoria, near omeo and his next door neighbour had a wombat that used to hang around. not really a pet, but it did stay close by the house.

and it was *FAST*... I really wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it right in front of me.

as for emus... I know SO many people that have had their sandwiches stolen by an emu and I'm one of them. I was about 10 at the time and the damn thing scared the cr@p outta me. eek

--pogo (pat) [forever and always]


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
40km/h? You could drive them in school zones ubbrollsmile

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


Pogo69SILVER Member
there's no charge for awesomeness... or attractiveness
3,764 posts
Location: limbo, Australia


Posted:
pmsl... ubblol

--pogo (pat) [forever and always]


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
500cc Wombat!!


Non-Https Image Link

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


the_anti_anthonymember
36 posts
Location: Edinburgh


Posted:
Birgit, if you want to see a lot of native wildlife, I'd recommend going to a sanctuary/zoo as a starting point. Depending on where you are (I only know a few):
Western Plains Zoo (Dubbo, central NSW)
Australia Zoo (Sunshine Coast, QLD)
Billabong Sanctuary (Townsville, QLD)
Healesville (sp?) Sanctuary (VIC)

Definitely go to the Whitsundays, and get a yacht cruise for a couple of days. Go snorkelling, or scuba dive if you can. Sydney's over-rated, it's just another city with a couple of interesting points. Melbourne's nice, but not much you haven't seen before. Brisbane's quiet and relaxed, but I'm biased.

If you want specific information on QLD I can help, other than that I don't know specifics.

BirgitBRONZE Member
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)


Posted:
Bumpety-bump. Just to say. I've booked. A bit later than was originally planned but thus are the perils of doing PhDs and running out of money to pay rent with!

There's a thread in the meet up section ([Old link]) if you want to see me somewhere along the way, just thought I'd bump this for my own benefit and to get all the recent travellers to share their adventures!

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half


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