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Original poster

Question for Australians

193 replies

quirkyquerty · 02/04/2023 20:40

Genuine question- are you not frightened all the time of swimming and meeting a shark, cleaning and meeting a deadly spider, getting the bikes out of the shed and meeting a deadly snake and so on and so forth?

Or is that just certain parts of Australia? It fascinates me!

OP posts:
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5
marzipansux · 04/04/2023 06:43

Morestrangerthings · 04/04/2023 05:52

Yep, all that bird would see is me running away from it. But I’ve never seen one, not in the wild or in captivity. Only images.

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And see this is like a cow or a goat wandering into your house, Unexpecteed but a bit weird. Same same

IsolatedWilderness · 04/04/2023 06:45

marzipansux · 04/04/2023 06:43

And see this is like a cow or a goat wandering into your house, Unexpecteed but a bit weird. Same same

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You'd have to have the door open to have one of those wander into your house. I always have the screen doors shut. That way no snakes can slither in and none of these birds can wander in. Not that it would happen as they aren't in my area.

Sagealicious · 04/04/2023 06:46

No not at all. We are taught from a very young age what to be careful of, where not to go (if a sign says don't swim, walk etc here it's for a good reason.) and what not to pick up/touch. It's just common sense. The most important thing we are taught is that if you leave them alone they'll leave you alone and so far it's been working for most of us.

Fraaahnces · 04/04/2023 06:51

I would poo my pants if a cassowary wandered in. I’m terrified of all birds - even sparrows, but those giant bastards are cranky as hell and make emus seem downright reasonable!

SD1978 · 04/04/2023 06:56

Nope. Swim between the flags, and you're usually fine. Be aware going into sheds that in the dark you may get a spider, and if you leave your shoes out- knock them before you put them on. Snakes usually 'hide' so don't go through long grass at certain times of the year. Can't say it's a daily concern- although fecking huntsman spiders are because they are huge but harmless to everything other than my mental health....

Tourmalines · 04/04/2023 07:05

And also no , but I’m more scared of Melbourne traffic in peak hour !😬 🤪🤪🤪

spottygymbag · 04/04/2023 07:18

We are 5km ish from the cbd in Sydney but have quite a lot of parks and bush. There's a resident red bellied black snake in one of the apartment block larger gardens just around the corner from us, and a few baby snakes have been removed from letterboxes around the greater neighbourhood area.
Only had huntsmen inside but a lot of red backs around the BBQ's at the playgrounds.
Currently on holiday in New Zealand and loving that the kids can go smashing into the bushes quite safely!

Aussiegirl123456 · 04/04/2023 07:24

Morestrangerthings · 04/04/2023 06:49

here you go. Just Reported

Dingo bites child

Aw I was on Fraser when that happened. There’s been quite a lot of dingo attacks there lately.

One of my friends keeps attempting to swim around the diameter of Bribie Island (as you do??!). She literally always gets half way and then has to get on the accompanying boat as her shark repellent isn’t working. I didn’t even know shark repellent was a thing, but there you go.

Mosquitos where I live are feral. One of my kids got punched by a Joey kangaroo a while back. We laughed now!

Aussiegirl123456 · 04/04/2023 07:33

Aussiegirl123456 · 04/04/2023 07:24

Aw I was on Fraser when that happened. There’s been quite a lot of dingo attacks there lately.

One of my friends keeps attempting to swim around the diameter of Bribie Island (as you do??!). She literally always gets half way and then has to get on the accompanying boat as her shark repellent isn’t working. I didn’t even know shark repellent was a thing, but there you go.

Mosquitos where I live are feral. One of my kids got punched by a Joey kangaroo a while back. We laughed now!

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Oops my bad, just seen this is a new attack, just yesterday. Seems to be happening every school hol :( poor little girl

marzipansux · 04/04/2023 08:26

Morestrangerthings · 04/04/2023 06:49

here you go. Just Reported

Dingo bites child

So like a dog attack in the UK ?

Morestrangerthings · 04/04/2023 08:45

marzipansux · 04/04/2023 08:26

So like a dog attack in the UK ?

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Exactly.

Morestrangerthings · 04/04/2023 08:48

Dingoes are classified as dogs now.

From the Australian Museum website: The Dingo is Australia's wild dog. It is an ancient breed of domestic dog that was introduced to Australia, probably by Asian seafarers, about 4,000 years ago. Its origins have been traced back to early breeds of domestic dogs in south east Asia (Jackson et al. 2017).

OhVicIveFallen · 04/04/2023 08:49

1Dream · 03/04/2023 14:34

I'm actually more afraid of the giant cockroaches and huntsmans that are chilling in the middle of the living room during night as I come out for a midnight snack acting like they pay rent in my house 🤣

And this is why I could never visit Australia 😲 I don't care if they're venomous or not, they're fucking creepy!

OhVicIveFallen · 04/04/2023 08:52

Devilrocknroller · 04/04/2023 06:03

Australian here - the thing I'm most scared about is Huntsman spiders. They can't kill you but they look terrifying and I actually can't function if I see one. And depending on where you live, they definitely do come inside your house and/or car. Snakes not so much, I'll hold a snake quite happily. I love sharks but yeah you do always have that feeling. Best to swim during the day with lots of others around, or in the colder states

I'd be the same, I'd completely freeze if I came face to face with a huntsman. Bloody nightmare fuel.

wandawaves · 04/04/2023 09:11

marzipansux · 04/04/2023 08:26

So like a dog attack in the UK ?

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Not really... the dingoes are wild animals. There have been many attacks on Fraser Island.

bluetongue · 04/04/2023 10:03

I’m much more scared of the terrible drivers here.

I get spiders in my house but most of them are harmless huntsman spiders. They’re actually good at controlling other insects.

My worst creepy crawly situations have been ants infesting my kitchen and carpet moths chewing my carpet. Not that different from the UK really!

bluetongue · 04/04/2023 10:04

Forgot to say that I have relatives in Queensland and their cane toad tales sound pretty horrifying.

Morestrangerthings · 04/04/2023 10:44

I’d rather have all these creepy things around me than be a possible target for a black bear or attacked by a lion, or be a meal for tigers, or heaven forbid - hungry wolves. In Australia we don’t have these things.

(How people go camping in North America with bears around I don’t know).

Wilburisagirl · 04/04/2023 10:49

I grew up in a really isolated rural area of Australia on a sheep and wheat farm. Spiders and snakes were everywhere but I was never really afraid of them.

They only tend to attack or bite if threatened so you just leave them alone. You're not supposed to kill snakes but we did a few times when they were venomous ones and hanging about near the house. We lived in the middle of nowhere so there were no local snake catchers etc then. Where I live now, they have blokes who will come and remove and relocate snakes from suburban areas.

When we would go bush walking on the farm we always wore boots and would carry a stick to bang against the ground. Snakes will move away from the vibrations if given a chance.

I am pretty scared of sharks, but I also know that the chances of being attacked are pretty small. I swim fairly close to shore and only at patrolled beaches. I have had two scary experiences- one when a guy on the shore started screaming at everyone to get out of the water. We all swam for our lives hoping desperately that we weren't the slowest one out there, only to realise as we scampered up the shore that it was a dolphin 😆 The other time I was swimming at a dog beach and the lifeguards came and shut the beach as there were two sharks 50m from shore. I would not have been in the water if I realised. But we have regular helicopter patrols of popular beaches and both professional and volunteer life guards patrolling and monitoring beaches so any worry I have is not enough to stop me swimming.

To be honest, as an Australian woman, the thing most likely to kill or harm you is a man. Injuries and deaths via car accidents and suicides are also far more likely than by sharks, snakes or spiders.

SoggyPigeon · 04/04/2023 13:39

wandawaves · 04/04/2023 09:11

Not really... the dingoes are wild animals. There have been many attacks on Fraser Island.

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I remember when I was there that a dingo had tried to tug at a child’s armbro seperate her from her mother, on the way down to where the ferry was. A dingo also sneaked behind my then 1-year old sitting in the sand where we lived, there was forest behind her. But staff were immediately there and saw it.

Original poster
quirkyquerty · 04/04/2023 17:39

@sausage767 why would octopus' be dangerous?

OP posts:
Original poster
quirkyquerty · 04/04/2023 17:40

I have found this thread fascinating- I feel I need to do a new one now for all the people who hike / camp in America lol

OP posts:
Sagealicious · 04/04/2023 18:44

quirkyquerty · 04/04/2023 17:39

@sausage767 why would octopus' be dangerous?

The blue-blue-ringed octopus is dangerous and definitely not one to be picking up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-ringed_octopus

Blue-ringed octopus - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-ringed_octopus

Appalonia · 04/04/2023 20:06

This wasn't my thread, but I've learnt so much, thanks to everyone who replied! And there's so many animals and birds on here I've never been heard of...😁