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[Logsplitter]

This crocodile killed one

 

[Krabby]

This crocodile killed one

Shame the resolution wasn't better, but damn, that shark stood no chance.

 

[emax]

But we aren't protected. So the sharks may kill us.

 

[ECrider]

I think "careless" is the word of the week...

'Grenadier-less'

 

[DaveB]

But we aren't protected. So the sharks may kill us.

That's just evolution in action.
If you are so stupid that you go swimming in the dark or in known shark attack area's then it's your fault not theirs.
A friend of mine was snorkeling near a seal colony and filming this playful seal underwater, suddenly the seal took off
Good chance that was because of a shark
I was snorkeling off Lady Musgrave Island 2 years ago and filming the reef fish and turtles
I turned back and this little fellow was about 3 metres behind me
At a guess he was less than 2 metres long so I was too big to be lunch for him.

 

[Arkaig]

I think "careless" is the word of the week...

 

[Tazzieman]

Re dangerous critters, you just need to have your wits about you and not make silly decisions. Locally , snakes are only "aggressive" when in breeding/egg guarding times. So if near water , bushwalking you take care e.g. wear boots/gaiters , don't step over logs (step onto and look) , make some noise etc and warn others to do so also.
You can reduce risks re sharks , crocs etc by heeding local knowledge.
Usually animal incidents happen when people make silly decisions.
In Australia the biggest threats to personal wellbeing are weather events , driving events (sometimes involving large animals) and unpredictable humans.
Oh and also various tropical microorganisms! Thus local knowledge...take precautions.

 

[Tom D]

I’ll definitely be taking my Grenadier to Morocco at some point, Amazing country! we went years ago before kids, just flew in to Marrakesh and hired a 4x4 (Toyota rav4 was all I could afford). We then toured round through the Atlas Mountains, and into the dunes. Awesome holiday, great food great people and stunning scenery. I’ve always wanted to go back. I did some quite technical driving in that little Rav4 had opposite corners in the air a few times, did donuts in the dunes… and still got my deposit back lol.

 

[Logsplitter]

I’ll definitely be taking my Grenadier to Morocco at some point, Amazing country! we went years ago before kids, just flew in to Marrakesh and hired a 4x4 (Toyota rav4 was all I could afford). We then toured round through the Atlas Mountains, and into the dunes. Awesome holiday, great food great people and stunning scenery. I’ve always wanted to go back. I did some quite technical driving in that little Rav4 had opposite corners in the air a few times, did donuts in the dunes… and still got my deposit back lol.

Totally agree Morocco is a lovely country. Easy to travel in and perfect Grenadier country. May bump in to you one day playing in the sand dunes

 

[crimson]

For many people in Germany (maybe Europe) Australia seems to be a very dangerous country to travel because everything deadly venom feels at home there.
How do you in Australia look at those friendly fellows (snakes, spiders, jellyfish, crocodiles, sharks) are you very careful while traveling ore do not that many deadly animals make it to the areas where you travel?

We've moved up to Cairns recently and the wildlife is definitely something to enjoy. Here are a few snaps from the past month. Note all found in and around the house, including the baby snake who I found inches from my foot downstairs.My wife was also stung by an irukandji jellyfish over xmas which resulted in severe pain, emergency evacuation from Fitzroy Island and a night in hospital. It's been memorable since moving up from Sydney

 

[Tazzieman]

We've moved up to Cairns recently and the wildlife is definitely something to enjoy. Here are a few snaps from the past month.

Excellent. Another nature boy Wildlife is the icing on the cake of scenery.

 

[emax]

That's just evolution in action.

That sharks kill us, yes. That they are protected is however a human decision.

 

[bemax]

Sharks are protected so you are not allowed to kill them

It’s been a scientific catch and release…

 

[Tazzieman]

Sharks are protected so you are not allowed to kill them

Certain sharks only, just to clarify for other folk.
On another note , the wife of a 19th century governor of Tasmania , the well educated Lady Jane Franklin (of English extraction) was an intrepid traveller, in her long skirts etc etc.
Mind you she was terrified of snakes. She introduced a bounty on them , but after 12,000 or so realised the government coffers were depleting rapidly.
Meanwhile on mainland Australia

Sydney's funnel-web 'bonanza': Warning as deadly spiders on the move

A public warning for a funnel-web spider "bonanza" has been issued as hot, wet conditions coax the arachnids from bushlands and gardens.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Max]

Not all sharks are protected...we have State Governments with different ideas about shark netting and drumlines but sharks still manage to travel freely...we hear more of the shark nets during the whale season on the east coast because they manage to entangle themselves in the dangerous nets...we kill more by product in the nets than sharks...wrong.

Getting back on the thread though, I would expect that the Hard way home will be very well documented...so who will be traveling alongside them...is the DCPunit handy?

 

[AnD3rew]

That's just evolution in action.
If you are so stupid that you go swimming in the dark or in known shark attack area's then it's your fault not theirs.
A friend of mine was snorkeling near a seal colony and filming this playful seal underwater, suddenly the seal took off
Good chance that was because of a shark
I was snorkeling off Lady Musgrave Island 2 years ago and filming the reef fish and turtles
I turned back and this little fellow was about 3 metres behind me
At a guess he was less than 2 metres long so I was too big to be lunch for him.
View attachment 7801453

Yep, someone once asked if I wanted to go snorkeling at a seal colony, my reply was that to a shark I would just be the slowest fattest seal in the colony so no, no chance.

 

[Tazzieman]

Getting back on the thread though, I would expect that the Hard way home will be very well documented...so who will be traveling alongside them...is the DCPunit handy?

A book as well???
The Last Overland doco (and book) is superb. I hope we get some great expedition footage from grenadiers around the globe in due course.

 

[globalgregors]

Yep, someone once asked if I wanted to go snorkeling at a seal colony, my reply was that to a shark I would just be the slowest fattest seal in the colony so no, no chance.

The pattern across all of this is the importance of local knowledge to staying safe, knowledge which by definition a visitor won't possess and (due to language and access) may have trouble acquiring.
It's often the most scenic spots that are most perilous.

"Camp well away from water" is comically insufficient and might better read "if you have to ask...". Nb: that's a mind-your-dog sized croc, not that I'd swim with it.

On the venomous stuff... it is prudent to carry and know how to use a snake bite kit if you're travelling in the interior, you might be a long way from anti-venom - particularly once out of chopper range.
Fatalities on all these things are pretty rare these days though (eg av 2 p.a. for crocs, about the same for sharks and snakes).

 

[Tazzieman]

It's often the most scenic spots that are most perilous.

Not a week goes by without another attractive influencer falling off a cliff whilst taking a selfie.
When we did the Mt Blanc alpine circuit 3 years ago in our small party was a middle aged influencer from the USA who ran ahead and at every juncture stopped and posed (sometimes yoga poses) on the edge of a precipice.
She then had to post to all her followers.
She was also living off dry biscuits and peanut butter. And a cocktail of drugs for her supposed back pain , including a bag of mixed opioids.
One day she will fall off one of the "fourteeners"(mountains >14,000 feet for the uninitiated) she kept boasting about, and I for one won't be surprised .
Darwin's theory only works before they start procreating

 

[frankkk]

I get what you’re saying but if I listened to the British FCO advice I wouldn’t go anywhere. The same advice was in place three years ago for the Adrar region when I was there. There are army and police check points everywhere to make sure you are safe. Western Sahara the same. Check out the FCO advice for South Africa and Pakistan. Lovely countries but bloody dangerous apparently. I’ve been to both recently and love them both.
Australians are advised to “Exercise a high degree of caution in the U.K. due to the threat of terrorism”. What’s that about.
For sure a corporate event wouldn’t go there but for Overlanders these are the exiting places in my view.
Maybe I’m just reckless. View attachment 7801448

I know, the FCO, like many of its counterparts across the world are overly cautious. Same in Germany and France. However, if you look at the "official" Swiss information, you get a better picture. The Irish Dept. of Foreign Affairs is not bad either in that respect.

What I never understood though, is the fascination of the Brits with Mauritania. Almost everyone interested in the Sahara was always enquiring about it. On the continent, no one is really keen on Mauritania when it comes to the Sahara.

Haven't managed to figure out, where that fascination comes from, maybe you can enlighten me ?