# Nice Australia, Not so Nice Australia



## DuKane (Jan 7, 2013)

A few photos from our Christmas trip to Australia.



The Dolph Lungren of Kangaroos.


Our friend swears he used this, now parked in Tailem Old Town


A stubby, poor sod was just crossing the road before we caught him, ok my Aussie mate caught him.


Koala in the wild


The not so nice bit of Aus, found this just outside our room one morning, ugh!


----------



## dolphinlee (Jan 7, 2013)

What splendid photographs!

I particularly like the koala. As a child I didn't have a teddy bear - i had a koala bear. I loved my little friend. Unfortunately I later learned that they are not the nice cuddly critters they are portrayed to be. 

Well done for taking the last shot. I don't know many people who would have the guts to get that close.

Dolph because of the facial expression or the colouring?


----------



## Elvenswordsman (Jan 7, 2013)

What's the camera used for the photo-taking? Seems to have come out really well, unless they are heavily photoshopped(?).

Hope the trip was enjoyed by all, and the thing you found outside your door would have sent my girlfriend into shock. I'll print out a copy of it and put it on the kitchen floor, see how she reacts when she comes in.

Successful troll is successful.

Thanks for posting, maybe you also have some stories from Aus? My gf and I have been debating going, but seeing as we're both from different places (I'm from Canada, she's from Germany), it's enough cost trying to get between each others family.


----------



## DuKane (Jan 7, 2013)

dolphinlee said:


> What splendid photographs!
> 
> I particularly like the koala. As a child I didn't have a teddy bear - i had a koala bear.  I loved my little friend. Unfortunately I later learned that they are not the nice cuddly critters they are portrayed to be.
> 
> Well done for taking the last shot. I don't know many people who would have the guts to get that close. Dolph because of the facial expression or the colouring?



Dolphinlee, thanks, I'm no David Bailey, in fact the koala shot I didn't even know I'd taken it. As for that spider/wasp/hornet, it's really good what a zoom lens can do! 
Dolph got named by my Aussie mates and just stuck. I suppose with your avatar I should post the dolphin's off granite island. LOL 




Elvenswordsman said:


> What's the camera used for the photo-taking? Seems to have come out really well, unless they are heavily photoshopped(?).
> 
> Hope the trip was enjoyed by all, and the thing you found outside your door would have sent my girlfriend into shock. I'll print out a copy of it and put it on the kitchen floor, see how she reacts when she comes in.
> 
> ...



Elven, its a Canon SX40 with auto zoom, hence I wasn't too close to the spider! When you print out the copy and your gf kills you don't blame me!
Aus, or really the very little bit of Aus we saw was incredible and we only experienced a very small part. EG, we flew seven hours from Kuala Lumpur and I guess that four plus hours was over Aus. Plenty of stories, most concerning booze, v expensive, and ciggies! If your old like me Adelaide is very laid back, if your younger then more going on in other cities. PM me if you want more specifics, like I'm an expert! Will ask our Aussie mates!


----------



## Abbey08 (Jan 7, 2013)

Nice photos of what I imagine was a memorable trip. Canon makes really good equipment; always turns out good pics.

Your spider pic reminds me of the tarantulas we have here in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona. In the middle of summer, late at night, they scurry across the warm asphalt to the lights where they hunt. Their venom is equal to a bee sting and harmful only to prey and those people unfortunate enough to be allergic. People here make pets of them. My Abbey Schnauzer finds them fascinating; the prickly hairs on them deter her curiosity well enough 

Lorraine


----------



## Trilby (Jan 7, 2013)

Great pics. Love the pie cart, even though just looking at it gives me indigestion.


----------



## DuKane (Jan 7, 2013)

Abbey08 said:


> Nice photos of what I imagine was a memorable trip. Canon makes really good equipment; always turns out good pics.
> 
> Your spider pic reminds me of the tarantulas we have here in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona. In the middle of summer, late at night, they scurry across the warm asphalt to the lights where they hunt. Their venom is equal to a bee sting and harmful only to prey and those people unfortunate enough to be allergic. People here make pets of them. My Abbey Schnauzer finds them fascinating; the prickly hairs on them deter her curiosity well enough
> 
> Lorraine



Funny but when I first saw the spider being dragged around the patio, I nearly trod on the pair of them as I was still half asleep, I immediately thought of the old Disney film of the living desert when the tarantula is attacked by a tarantula wasp. The spider was already dead or paralysed as the wasp/hornet thing was having a right old time of dragging him all over the place. According to our mates wolf spiders, like the majority of Australian insects, will bite but they are very rarely fatal!

Brilliant trip, will probably go again if our mates actually stay in Aus.


----------



## DuKane (Jan 7, 2013)

Trilby said:


> Great pics. Love the pie cart, even though just looking at it gives me indigestion.



Thank you, the pie cart was in operation until very recently, according to our friends. Not too sure about that as they have only just returned from travelling for fifteen years! Tailem old town was a fascinating place with over 120 buildings collected from all over Australia, but mainly South Australia. All decked out in their original finery, spoke with one old bloke who helps run the place and he told me they have a hard time stocking the numerous shops with genuine items as most people just chuck their packets away, so the majority is all tinned goods. They have old cars, lorries and even an Adelaide tram and if your old like me it's well worth a visit.


----------



## popsprocket (Jan 8, 2013)

Haha! Especially love that last shot.

The trick about Australia is not to be afraid of the venomous creatures that you can see. Staring down a big ass spider? No worries, just don't touch it. It's the spiders that hide in holes in the ground and attack passersby or the snakes hiding in that  pile of timber that get you.


----------



## DuKane (Jan 9, 2013)

popsprocket said:


> Haha! Especially love that last shot.
> 
> The trick about Australia is not to be afraid of the venomous creatures that you can see. Staring down a big ass spider? No worries, just don't touch it. It's the spiders that hide in holes in the ground and attack passersby or the snakes hiding in that  pile of timber that get you.



Ha, first couple of days was wearing big boots, then bare feet, couldn't abide being so hot and bothered. Or should that be not bothered!


----------



## Cran (Jan 9, 2013)

Pie carts had been around key spots of Adelaide city for roughly 130 years. From a peak of nine, only two survived beyond 1958, and in recent years, that had dropped to one, and then none for just over a year (coinciding with the GFC - the Geriatric Food Council). The most popular spots for the Pie Cart were just outside the Railway Station and casino on North Terrace, and in the northwest corner of Victoria Square just outside of the GPO - Adelaide's main general post office.

The colourful old Pie Cart (imaged above) is an unofficial icon of Adelaide, much like the old Red Hen tram (now retired) to Glenelg. The sometimes functioning, sometimes banned, pie carts that replaced it tended to be more austere grey things, more like the metropolitan buses of the 70s and 80s. In fact, the only way you could tell them apart was after midnight when the buses stopped and the pie carts stayed and small crowds gathered at the side to consume floaters (or pie floaters) to soak up the alcohol and stave off the cold of 2am.


----------



## DuKane (Jan 12, 2013)

Thanks Cran, my friends kept going on about floaters, they sound rather nice. Was told that the one above was close to the railway station.
Tailem had an old Adelaide tram, green and cream, though that could have been faded white, stuck out the front. Spent a day at Glenelg, closest beach to where my friends live in Netherby, beautiful place with some wonderful ice-cream shops!

Will definitely pop back, if the Aussies stay put for a while!


----------



## Like a Fox (Jan 13, 2013)

Great photos! I've lived in Australia my whole life and never even seen a spider like that, let alone got that good of a picture. Glad you liked it here. I bang on about how cool (despite the expensiveness) Aus is, so nice to hear you agree!


----------



## Cran (Jan 13, 2013)

DuKane said:


> Thanks Cran, my friends kept going on about floaters, they sound rather nice. Was told that the one above was close to the railway station.
> Tailem had an old Adelaide tram, green and cream, though that could have been faded white, stuck out the front. Spent a day at Glenelg, closest beach to where my friends live in Netherby, beautiful place with some wonderful ice-cream shops!
> 
> Will definitely pop back, if the Aussies stay put for a while!


That was the most popular pie cart spot - well lit compared to the Victoria Square location. Pie floaters taste much better than they look, especially at 2am when it's chilly. 

Tuscan (green) and cream were common tram colours prior to the 1950s, and they made a return in the 1970s. Many trams were repainted in the 50s to Carnation (red) and silver (or sometimes grey); most were re-repainted back to Tuscan and cream in the 70s, but a few (the red hens) were not re-repainted, and a couple of them are dusted off for the Glenelg run occasionally for special holiday or tourist runs - on ordinary days, you get the modern things.


----------



## ktee (Jan 13, 2013)

The spiders here are not cool. A few times I've been driving along a freeway and a huntsman spider (big, hairy, long legs) has crawled along the outside of my windshield and then disappeared somewhere under the car. When going 100 kilometers an hour this is not good. Then when I pull the car over I get stuck in there for ten minutes: I'm never sure where the spider is, and have images in my mind of the thing waiting for me to open the door then attacking me ninja style 

But don't let that put you off coming here for travel. 

I can give a few tips travel tips: if you're going to travel to Australia, I would suggest deciding first what you want: outback or mountains or food or culture etc. The reason being that the size of our country makes travel between the west and east coast pretty expensive, and flying to some of the more remote places is even more so. So unless money is no issue, pick a hub based on what attractions you want, then travel around that. 

In short Western Australia (where I live):
- the capitol city of WA, Perth, really isn't much of an attraction. Just an average small city with hardly any night life. There's some nice parks here, but i wouldn't spend more than two days. WA is for amazing outback landscape off the beaten track (north east of Perth), beaches and scuba diving, dolphins, coral reefs (up the coast, north of Perth), and wineries and coastal living a few hours south of Perth. It can be really hot here, so don't come during summer unless you like getting toasted 

North East coast of Aus: tropical. I haven't been too far north on the east coast so don't have much to say. 

Melbourne: culture, architecture, food, coffee etc. Then there is lovely greenery in land, with some ski slopes in winter. I love Melbourne. 

Sydney: the (unofficial) capitol city, big, landmarks, lots of tourists. But I prefer Melbourne. The Blue Mountains are close to Sydney which are popular. 

Tasmania: home of fresh produce, seafood, and great food. More of a European look and climate.


----------



## Olly Buckle (Jan 13, 2013)

Aussie spiders always make me think of Billy Connolley "Then they say that stupid thing, 'They won't hurt you if you don't annoy them', how do I know what annoys a spider." Excellent point Billy. Generally my feeling is that I would rather the spiders than what they are eating.
Excellent photos, thanks for sharing.


----------



## Dunluchyn (Jan 16, 2013)

A Pie Floater - for those who may be wondering ...is either:
a - a wondrous thing to keep out the cold Adelaide chill in  the wee small hours of the morning
OR
b - the most disgusting thing you've ever been asked to eat ( my opinion)

It is a meat pie, floating in a sea of green pea soup, splashed over with tomatoe sauce ( ketchup to some of you)

As part of ones 'initiation' to living in Adelaide, well meaning people take you along to The Pie Cart and buy you one:very_drunk:
My recommendation IF you are ever caught in a similar situation is to tell them that your are 1 - vegetarian - 2 - gluten intolerant
It may just save your worst gastromonic nightmare from occuring

Cute pics BTW - you were lucky to spot a Koala in the wild, they are usually very shy critters


----------

