This gives you a good idea of how big this "patch of red dirt" actually is. Wide open spaces indeed! Interesting huh?
I had this map sent to me in an email.
I think it explains much about the size of our country but for the most part Australia is inhabited most densely on the eastern seaboard. There certainly is reason for this and to help you to understand our climate click here for a poster on the
Predicted
Climate changes within Australia.
Click on photo below to see the image larger.
As a matter of interest often I am asked if kangaroos do hop around the streets and although it is not common, last week as my daughter in-law backed her car out of the driveway she was alerted to a big grey kangaroo just sitting behind her car on the road. She chased the roo in her car with my grand daughter aboard, who incidentally was loving this encounter with the big grey roo, along the street until it jumped off into the paddocks near to the beach and out of harms way, we hope. Sorry no photo because I was not with them..
Lately there have been many kangaroos found in the park-lands in the city too. My closest encounter came while out walking on a remote bush pathway leading through a national park near the seaside. Concentrating on my walk along this red dirt track abounded by thick native vegetation, I heard branches breaking and a big thump just as a huge big red kangaroo broke through the thicket right in front of me. I am not sure who got the biggest shock, the kangaroo or me. Anyway it was all over in a bounding flash as he turned and jumped back into the bushes on the other side of the track. We do have many Kangaroos living locally, however it is more unusual to see them so close into the built up areas as they are doing right now.
Sign below taken from the net and I will need to take some sign photos myself soon.
The photo below is of a colony of kangaroos living in a paddock very near the main road and a place that you can usually see kangaroos at any time of the day or night. Which brings us to those Kangaroo's ahead signs. Not to be take lightly.
Click on photo to enlarge it.
Photo above take by my friend Janette.
Milli 09
How odd would that be to have a kangaroo in your way? lol I cannot even imagine. Very interesting blog, Milli. Thanks!
ReplyDeletethats a fabulous way to show us that size matters..even I was surprised!!
ReplyDeleteone of the qualifying rides for the RAAM is in Aussie...should I wear Kangaroo repellent??
ReplyDeletewhat to say???????
ReplyDeleteWell you wont need kangaroo repellent Dana but you will need Fly repellent..shu! shu! flies LOL. Especially up in the dirt country.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Danni and glad you enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteIt is really difficult to explain Australia Heather because like so many think before they reach here..everything is close by..It is not.
ReplyDeleteBest not to say any more Dana LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's not called a continent for nothing, Milli! LOL1
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you live on a big continent. gives you more places to show me.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are ready Rita!!!
ReplyDeletevery cool blog, I neeed to go visit my relatives out there one day
ReplyDeleteCONTISLAND...I like that! LOL!
ReplyDeleteLOL yes that will fix it Teri LOL!!! Good one.
ReplyDeleteYou absolutely do need to come here Baz...you will so enjoy the uniqueness of Australia and your photos..well I think would be amazing.
ReplyDeletei heard that even the flies are big...chuckles
ReplyDeleteQuite interesting.
ReplyDeletestands to reason....
ReplyDeleteLOL Heather Africa has the biggest flies as you would know... I think. Its not so much the size issue here. It is that the Aussie flies are so sticky..they stick around too long and stick to you too!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back home Lynda..oh you have horse flies don't you?
ReplyDeleteLOL....absolutely seems to be a given in this Big Outback Land.
ReplyDeletegot to laughing so hard I almost spilled my wine
ReplyDeletewill be back.
ReplyDeletegiggles
ReplyDelete*hic*
me too
Milli...did she just call me a hic? ; )
ReplyDelete(night ladies)
Hence the great Aussie salute.....LOL.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this read..
ReplyDeleteI had somewhat the same problem explaining the US to folks back home..."It is really difficult to explain Australia because like so many think before they reach here..everything is close by..It is not." They couldnt believe, I stopped walking to the Store cause according to them, the store is a stone throw away...and I had to use the catapult to throw that stone :P.
Night Dana and noo!! don't spill the wine over these big flies..never.
ReplyDeleteGreat come back when you can MJ.
ReplyDeleteWow indeed it is big! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLOL its catchy in fact I would say its infectious! ...Laughter.
ReplyDeleteIndeed she did!!! now what..?
ReplyDeleteAbso Bloomin lutely Ronnie!
ReplyDeleteI used to leave Sydney on Friday afternoon, in the truck, and drive non-stop to Perth....and arrive Sunday evening.....thats no stopping anywhere, just drive straight through.....(east to west, coast to coast).
ReplyDeleteI would leave Adelaide On a Sunday night, and drive to Darwin, getting there Tuesday afternoon...(South to North...coast to coast).No stopping, just drive straight through.
Both of these driving bits were AFTER the main roads connecting the respective cities were sealed all the way.
When I first started the Sydney to Perth run,it would take normally five days and nights....because of the poor road conditions....
Adelaide to Darwin was about four days and nights....because of poor roads.....
LOL i understand and mmmm can't really throw a boomerang now can I Rashmi...it would return and leave me in about the same position..LOL.
ReplyDeleteAnd if it rained.....forget it!!
ReplyDeleteThere was no way of getting through, until the roads dried out......
Now, of course, its easy on the sealed roads, unless flooding knocks out the road..............
yair....a boomerang that doesn't come back, is just a stick....lol
ReplyDeleteI was waiting for you Pete because you certainly know the beauty and the beast of our huge expanses of outback...
ReplyDeletethanks Anders.
ReplyDeleteyair....it was nothing to be drivin along, boomers jumpin out onto the highway, and flattening them with the bullbar of the truck....
ReplyDeleteI did a count one trip, between Port Augusta and Meckering, I actually hit and killed twenty seven roos, one wambat, two koala's, and nine emu's.......
And thats just an average trip......
Awww that always makes me so sad....I do know its a part of the road life out there though.
ReplyDeleteBut the scariest night, ........
ReplyDeleteIt was a full moon....in about the middle of the Nullabor, I saw this huge white roo, hip-hoppin down the middle of the highway...I'd move right, it'd move right.....I'd move lefty...it'd move left....then all of a sudden, it just vanished........
Scared the livin f**k outta me...
I never used a pill after that night......................
But sittin up high in my Lousville, on a moonlit night, lookin out over the desert.....
ReplyDeleteIt truly is anawesome sight, seein over top of the saltbushes.... watchin the gumtrees swayin in the gentle breeze.....and on the sides of the roads, seein the liddl critters scurryin about, doin their nightly chores.....
Yup, it did have its good side out there......................
Fascinating visual Milli! I knew Australia was huge, I think I was more surprised by how small the other countries are. Have you ever been to Ayers Rock? I would like to see it one day. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI have not been to Uluru as yet John but wish to go there soon. It is awesome however there are other places up there that are even more amazing and those I wish to see as well.
ReplyDeleteSome info for you gleaned from the Ayers Rock site.
Ayers Rock is the most commonly used name, especially outside Australia.
Uluru is the Aboriginal and official name.
Uluru does not mean "waterhole", as you might have read. It is simply an Aboriginal place name, referring to both the rock itself and the waterhole on top of the rock.
Kata Tjuta (the other rock formation in the national park) does have a translation. It literally means "many heads".
The commonly used English name for Kata Tjuta is "the Olgas" or "Mt. Olga".
The Aboriginal owners of Uluru call themselves Anangu, and ask you to do so, too. They are often referred to as the Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people, Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara are actually the two languages spoken by the Anangu.
Yulara is the name of the Ayers Rock Resort just outside the park. The name means "crying", "weeping". (Nasty tongues say because that's what visitors do when they see their bill...)
Read more: http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/ayers-rock-facts.html#ixzz0UY2A99QD
Johnoh....
ReplyDeleteAyers rock (proper name ULURU), is nothing special during the day, its just a big red lump of rock in the desert.
It is reportedly a meteorite that crashed into the Earth's surface a long time ago.
The spectacularity is at dawn, and sunset, when the first and last rays of sunlight bounce off it, creating a formidable rainbow of colours and (if you believs Aboriginal folklore) the images of many creatures that lived around the rock over the centuries.
I've never seen the images, but the lighting show, I've seen many times.
There is nothing on this earth that compares to it.............
On days when theres a bit of cloud about, the colours reflect back onto the clouds, creating some really surreal sunsets or dawn mornings.,
i'm contemplating a job in a catholic school in perth. i will have to seriously think about it. i don't want to get lost. your country is sooo huge. imagine, korea is only 100,000 sqms. just a speck compared to an australian city.
ReplyDeletebtw, what do you call that animal who pretends to be dead on the road? an aussie teacher i met in this seminar told me about it but somehow i can't remember how it's called. i couldn't quite get past through the accent. is very confusing.
I have never seen a Roo in real life even though I have seen so many photos of them and they really facinate me. I am no stranger to having animals intruding into residential colony as we have to navigate around cows, mules, horses, dogs, pigs, etc in certain areas. Sometimes, the cows decide to sleep right in the middle of a major intersection and bring traffic to a standstill. No amount of pushing and persuation can make a sleeping cow move. U gotta trust me on this. Also....It's no fun being chased by one either....lol
ReplyDeletePossum?
ReplyDeleteno comment what so ever. . .
ReplyDeleteyeah. possum! i got it. thanks!
ReplyDeleteI see room where you could probably add about 20 states from here as well. Very good depiction of Australia's size.
ReplyDeleteJohnoh.. I think Pete explained everything perfectly here....got to get up there with the camera.
ReplyDeleteTake the job MJ and you will never look back....
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you are referring to a wombat? No not the teacher pretty girl LOL but the animal on the road...not to sure about a possum..they live in trees and are nocturnal and they scamper around mostly at night. I will find out for you what it is that pretends to be dead on the road. Mind you so many animals would not really be pretending.
ReplyDeleteGreat and informative post Milli, thanks! Yes, Australia is very big for sure. I've played golf with kangaroos, well, it was more like they were watching me play lol. And we all can play possum he he he...
ReplyDeleteMilli, pretending to be dead is called "playing possum". Maybe it's a NZ expressions then, as they are the most common road kill here...
ReplyDeleteLOL I can imagine how stubborn those Bovines can be...funny image comes into mind. Thanks for visiting too!
ReplyDeleteMiadelight......
ReplyDelete"playin possum' is a colluquium here too.....
But not heard all that often anymore..............
Yo know what Mia..I think that could be what the teacher meant. We say the same playing possum. When you drive at night which is a foolish thing to do anytime in the outback..you see all kinds of nocturnal creatures by the road side. But the big danger in the out back are the bigger animals, cattle, horses, buffaloes,camels to name a few. New Zealand is quite different. Do you have a type of kangaroo there too?
ReplyDeleteyair...thats why Mum had recipe's for....
ReplyDeletepossum pie...
possum stew...
bbq possum....
possum soup....
minced possum....
Possum Bourne......whoops...he was a rally driver.....sorry.....
Pete did any specific animal play dead on the road before you changed its state of being forever?
ReplyDeleteGosh that sounds scary indeed. Last time we drove in the South Island we hit about 7 rabbits and that was scary enough. We have no kangaroos here, but there are wallabies on Kawau Island and in the South Island, brought over from Australia at some stage.
ReplyDeletebloody snakes!!!!
ReplyDeleteI used to line them up, so all 31 wheels, down one side of the roadtrain, ran them into the road......
LOL Pete, no idea why he was called possum though...
ReplyDeleteDon't forget
ReplyDeleteBroiled Possum
Baked Possum
and a favourite
Possum scones..LOL
theres only one sound better than the POP as you run over a snake......
ReplyDeletethats the BANG of a cane toad.....
Lmao.....
Possum scones Milli, the mind boggles. I love possum fur though, they make great bead spreads...
ReplyDeletepossum scones?????????
ReplyDeleteI used to love minced possum on toast, with cheese melted under the griller over it........
As you know Mia Peter Was once a Kiwi LOL
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't know he was once a bird lol
ReplyDeleteand better fleecy lining than sheep.....
ReplyDeleteI sprouted wings and flew to Australia....lol
ReplyDeletecoz he killed more possums rally driving in NZ than any other driver.....lol
ReplyDeleteI'm only guessing......
You have no snakes in New Zealand so Peter has made up for that in Aus...LOL..nah he is no Birdie...
ReplyDeleteOi....we have trouser snakes....lol
ReplyDeleteHe he I thought that might be the case ...
ReplyDeleteThanks Bill, we could add those states but at the moment they would not be sustainable..if you can ever google our centre it is fascinating try the Ariel view around Katherine in Northern Territory and the Katherine Gorge..fascinating..
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post Milli. I had no idea of the size of landmass there. Thanks for the info and the comments too, very informative.
ReplyDeleteVery Welcome Lynn...
ReplyDeleteso it's not possum? lol. guess am not paying attention to the aussie teacher.
ReplyDeletei want the job but it's in a catholic school. i might burn you know. burn as in like body and hair in flames.lol.
A BBQ team from Aussie is coming to Lynchburg, Tennessee this weekend to compete in the Jack Daniel's World Championship Cook Off. Teams from all over the world will compete. Each year about 50,000 people show up for the event and to eat some great BBQ. The teams from abroad are required to give samples of their meat to the crowd. Long lines form when they are giving their samples. Many times when you get to the head of the line they run out. You get in another line and if you are lucky there is something for you. Your invited!!! Hugs>>>>>>>>
ReplyDeleteEurope is a dwarf.
ReplyDelete...But I cringe at seeing so many possum recipes. HEEEEELP!
ReplyDeleteI really loved this description.
ReplyDeleteThis would scare the jeepers out of anyone. I would yell GHOST!!!!
ReplyDeleteGod I do love visiting your site hon...........your pictures and words always make me feel so homesick for my Australia............now I am a blubbering wreck.........sniff
ReplyDeleteHow'd you like2meet THIS kangaroo?:
ReplyDeleteOr what about THESE kangaroos that pump our gas for us here in Canada?:
size does not matter, really speaking...look, Carol...a small country UK...was ruling over the most of the world nations...Switzerland is small, but the people are smart....that really matters much....thanks for the nice blog...Sanat.
ReplyDeletehi thats great idea to show u r size of country thnks for info
ReplyDeleteWe just finished bricking a house in Plenty (sorta a little north of Melbourne) and we had a few Roos coming through regularly. It's a green area but they'll be forced on soon enough...
ReplyDeletehi, Carol...i need your picture...let me meazure your size, pleeeeeeeeaasssseeeeee...SANAT.
ReplyDeleteHow'd you like2meet THIS kangaroo?: I loved those two little videos John LOL. I did see that movie BTW, however the Gas pumping Kangaroo is totally new to me...Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes there will be plenty of houses in Plenty so less than plenty roos..Glad you dropped over.
ReplyDeleteIf there are two distinct opposites in the World it has to be Australia and Europe for two single reasons.
ReplyDeleteThe Road System and Population Numbers.
Yes it is beautiful in places but really naturally hostile everywhere.
Half a ton of Roo hopping around is not my idea of fun and as for the Outback, that friendly name for danger everywhere, that is only beaten by the sea near Cairn? where for hundreds of square miles even paddling is too dangerous.
Move out of the Population areas and it's Creature Bandit Country with nature in charge.
Give me the Smoke any day.
I just love roos but I guess it would be a bit of a problem if they were as plentiful as mice. Bit bigger and all.
ReplyDeleteAbout the only place that can compare to Australia is the US and we are broken up into a bunch of states