Weird stuff you see when travelling!

[coastdude]

When crossing the Nullarbor Desert in the 80's I came across lots of dead wombats on the road, a local told me that when its really dry they'll come out at night to lick the white line that they think is water. He then showed me a girls car that had hit one last night the whole fender was smashed and torn... I completed the ride to Esperence in daylight only, those things are like small boulders!

[RANDM]

When crossing the Nullarbor Desert in the 80's I came across lots of dead wombats on the road, a local told me that when its really dry they'll come out at night to lick the white line that they think is water. He then showed me a girls car that had hit one last night the whole fender was smashed and torn... I completed the ride to Esperence in daylight only, those things are like small boulders!

Yeah they are aren't they. Strong too, I like wombats.
We have Echidas locally that we look out for, a bit hesitant
and slow crossing the roads - they amble slowly and stop at
the first sign of anything. The locals all stop and Shepard them
over - most of the tourists would drive staight over them.

Gotta be careful of Bluetounges in Summer too, they all head
for the Backbeach to mate and they gotta cross roads to get
there, and Swamp Wallabies and Eastern Grey Kangas - the
locals tend to know their schedule and when to look out, out
of towners not much.

Maurie.

[kirby1923]

Ummm ................... You stopped and what? Why??
I'm guessing it was "immobile" - if you'd tried that on
an adult male you'd quite possibly be carrying your
intestines home in a bag.
Not a lot of fencing in the Bush either.
We like variety - you can take your pick from Roos,
Wallollabies, Cattle, Wild Pig, Wombats, Camels, Wild
Goats and Buffs up North. Dad hit a Boar once the size of
a young cow, after waiting a bit he thought he'd killed it and
got out to check. He'd only knocked it out and as he came
round the front of the car it grunted, got up and shook his head
and then, deciding it was properly pissed off it proceeded to
dismantle the car. Dad reckoned he'd hit it at about 35mph
or so, and that he barely made it back into the car.

Maurie

Yes it was dead!
I got to thinking about it and I was wrong it was a wombat not a walloby.
I saw a great red roo once. I had a debate once with some OZ air force pilots in the o club about which would come out ahead in a fight between a grizzly bear or a great red. I figured the bear with no problem but after seeing the great red I'm not so sure.

[oldbike54]

 I'm betting on the Grizzly , Roos are formidable , but come on , a Grizzly would bounce a Roo like a basketball mano a mano so to speak .

 Dusty

[johnr]

Over here the only kind of Lovin' they need is from a piece of hot lead flying supersonic! Hit one of those bastards, car or bike, and you'll know about it!

I understand that Australia is exporting camels to the middle east. The ozzies are only ones who kept the bread pure.

[oldbike54]

I understand that Australia is exporting camels to the middle east. The ozzies are only ones who kept the bread pure.

 Pure bread is always better  Sorry John 

 Dusty

[RANDM]

Wombats are solid alright but if you could dig a 2' dia, 4 or 5
Metre hole in solid clay with your hands you would be eh?

I'd bet on the Bear - biggest Red I've seen would have been
about 6.5' - 7' tall, I think a grizzly goes bigger than that
standing up? The bears heavier with much better weapons
too and a Roos fighting technique would have it over pretty
quick. Roos fight ritualistically for dominance, they basically
Step up, grab each other's upper arms, stand on they're tails
and take turns kicking each other in the guts until one gives
up - Bear hug anyone?

I've heard about the Camels too - they want them for racing
I think. Don't think it was "Aussies" though, the Afghan traders
Brought them over and they had a good eye. When roads and
trucks killed the trade they were released and Natural Selection
did it's thing, so I'd think good bloodlines and a hard Environment
Tempered their steel.

Maurie.

[pete roper]

Pretty much. What many people including many of our countrymen don't realise is that despite the odious 'White Australia' policy there have been long established migrants from non English speaking backgrounds here for as long as white folks. The Afghans were early arrivals with their camels bought over precisely because of their experience of the sort of hostile country that makes up the majority of this continent!

You don't get to control the Silk Road and be the major trade provider across the Gobi desert for hundreds of years, (Or invade most of India either!) by being a bunch of feeble sooks who can't handle a camel!

Pete

[rodekyll]

You folks are turning the unusuality of what I saw into commonplace except for the wombats.

I'll go with the Grizzly.  They're a half-ton + of mean-to-the-bone.  There's a filmstrip of a moose charging a brown bear.  The bear sidesteps it and brains it with a single swipe as it goes by.  The moose drops like it was shot.

[pete roper]

No 'roo would be a match for a bear of any sort. They are vegetarian and dumber than a box of rocks.

Pete

[RANDM]

Pretty much. What many people including many of our countrymen don't realise is that despite the odious 'White Australia' policy there have been long established migrants from non English speaking backgrounds here for as long as white folks. The Afghans were early arrivals with their camels bought over precisely because of their experience of the sort of hostile country that makes up the majority of this continent!

You don't get to control the Silk Road and be the major trade provider across the Gobi desert for hundreds of years, (Or invade most of India either!) by being a bunch of feeble sooks who can't handle a camel!

Pete

Come a long way considering our present refugee policies
eh Pete?

RK - it's only commonplace to us cause we're here living
with it mate.
My Wife and I went up to a wood fired Pottery Kiln on
Main Ridge this arvo for a working bee. It's 10 klms away
with 5 being wooded - we counted 2 Wallabies and 3 Eastern
Greys in that 5 klms that weren't there 4 days ago.

Maurie.

[rdbandkab]

[kirby1923]

I'm betting on the Grizzly , Roos are formidable , but come on , a Grizzly would bounce a Roo like a basketball mano a mano so to speak .

 Dusty

Here is a story for ya.
When I was a teenager one of my jobs on the ranch was critter control and I was good at it.
One day I was in the barn and cornered a big Texas jack rabbit in one if the stalls. I was unarmed so I figured I'd subdue this rascal manually.

He? was cornered so I attacked with the idea for grabbing and ringing its neck. I was wearing leather gloves and headed in for the kill. When I grabbed it I was shocked at the ferocity of his defense. He probably weighed in at about 15 to 20 lbs.? but when the fight started it was like I had grabbed something much heavier and much stronger than I had anticipated.

I weighed in at about 160 in those days and could standing military press more than my weight so pretty strong. Startled I stepped back and the jack made his escape, but not before taking a big chunk out of one of my cloves and inflicting (found out later),a big bruise when he had kicked me.(glad he got away cause I was getting my ass kicked by a rabbit and it could have been worse).

So what does that have to do with the big red/grizzly fight?

Well after I had the debate on the subject I was taken out to a station and shown a red and talked to a bloke out there that knew allot about the animal.

Turns out that they(the reds) can grow to 7' or a bit taller, and weigh in over 200 lbs. The reds can, at full stride hop over 30 feet. I would say that anything strong enough to propel a 200 pound body in 30 foot strides, when fighting for its life would have the potential to be much more than just formidable.

Just say'in
 

[Clancy]

we counted 2 Wallabies and 3 Eastern Greys in that 5 klms that weren't there 4 days ago.

Most mornings on my way to work there's at least one newly fresh roo road kill......and I live & work in the CAPITAL CITY of this country!
(I've even seen roos outside my local shopping centre)

Saw this guy a couple of weekends ago.
Only unusual in that it was daytime.

[RANDM]

My brother had a similar exp. with a Water Rat - think of
a Rat the size of say a Scottish Terrier maybe a touch
smaller. He cornered it with ill intent and it went for his
Throat - scared the living s^*t out of him!

I can't really agree that any animal is stupid, their
intelligence is just centered around a different point than
Ours. They've all survived millions of years of everything
 that life throws at them, their intelligence evolved tailored
by their abilities and needs - but you don't survive that
long being stupid. The World has a way of killing off stupid.

Here's a personal exp. of a Roo's jumping abilities -
I used to work at Lysahts/BHP Steelmills in Westernport -
about 45klms from home through semi-rural/ rural woodland
Coming home about 3am after an overtime shift through
Bittern/Dromana twisties one night - the road curls around
hills and gullies, drop off to the left, embankment to the right
6' to 8' high with 2' to 3' bushes on the top.
I came around a bend to spot a mature Eastern Grey male -
about 6' - sitting on the edge of the low side of the road.
No problem for me, plenty of time to slow and keep an eye
out. That Roo clocked me and deciding to move - from a
standing start he took ONE hop to land on the other side
of a two lane Rd. and one more to go OVER the top of the
Embankment without touching the bushes on top of the
Bank. One of those shake your head in wonder moments
That I treasure. He did it so gracefully that he didn't seem
to be even really trying!

They can be formidable if you don't know their ways, they
can rip you up badly and disembowel you at worst, but very
much mind there own business if you mind yours.
The best tips for visitors not in the know is simple - don't
Just walk up to 'em like they're cuddly toys, they aren't.
And don't ever get between the dominant Male and the
Females!

Maurie.

[Arizona Wayne]

Weird stuff I've seen.............3 of us spread out on a country road when all of a  sudden I see an adult mtn. lion in full run mode coming towards us from our left off a hill    it ran between 2 of our bikes and kept running full speed towards a wire fence.  I think it's going to kill itself when it hits the fence.  In stead it stretches out in the air and runs THRU the wire fence, touching down on the other side of the fence and keeps running !!!  as if the fence wasn't even there. 

Another time...we're riding 2up on our Convert. pulling a tent trailer in the mtn.s on a 2 lane road.   All of a sudden out of nowhere is a full grown elk right next to our bike running @ our speed(50 mph).   There's no way I can avoid this elk if it comes our way.  I slow down to 45 mph.  All of a sudden the elk shoots left right in front of us and I hear it's hooves click the metal guardrail as it goes down the mtn.s side on our left.   This episode got me to wondering if it's time to quit riding in the boonies.   This was about 10 years ago and I'm still riding.   

[Arizona Wayne]

Man that's funny!
Where I grew up on the ranch in W.TX we had 2 camels, one of which got real confused and did the same thing!
Amazing to watch!!!

:-)

Decades ago when I was about 10 yo we were at a zoo in Chicago? and some black people dressed in all black were making fun of a male lion in his cage.  That lion turned his rear towards them and peed on all of them head to toe!      His pee shot out so far I couldn't believe it.  That's when I learned to never tease a wild animal.   

[Arizona Wayne]

Out west in the states we have cattle country. Open range!

Cows up to 2000 pounds can ruin your day in those areas.

I remember riding in OZ and they would tell me that riding at night was not a good idea 'cause of the roo's and wallaby's?(sp) Stopped and kicked one in the road once, like kicking a big rock!
I headed that advise.

A few years ago on 395 in east. Oregon I ran into a big black bull standing crosswise in the middle of the road all alone.   I didn't proceed until he moved away for me.   Same thing has happened to me in central Utah too.   Sure as heck don't toot my horn.

[Guzzistajohn]

Man some of you guys are sure wordy! You know what they say what a picture is worth. Well, this is some of the weirdest shit I have EVER seen 

[Arizona Wayne]

Man some of you guys are sure wordy! You know what they say what a picture is worth. Well, this is some of the weirdest shit I have EVER seen 

Maybe you have lived a sheltered life.   

[oldbike54]

 Let's see , crazy things I've seen while traveling . Well there was this crazy guy that stopped on a road in OZ and kicked a dead wallaby , never have figured that out . Then there was this Ozzie riding a motorbike that resembled an Orca , which in its self isn't so odd , except it was 100 F with humidity in the 90% range . Oh , then there was the time some guy on was stopped in the road watching a large black bull , not sure what that was all about . Yeah , strange stuff indeed 

 Dusty

[Arizona Wayne]

Let's see , crazy things I've seen while traveling . Well there was this crazy guy that stopped on a road in OZ and kicked a dead wallaby , never have figured that out . Then there was this Ozzie riding a motorbike that resembled an Orca , which in its self isn't so odd , except it was 100 F with humidity in the 90% range . Oh , then there was the time some guy on was stopped in the road watching a large black bull , not sure what that was all about . Yeah , strange stuff indeed 

 Dusty

Maybe I should have explained there were no trees, bushes, buildings, just dirt and a big black bull standing crosswise on the only road within miles?   Maybe I should have assumed some of  you guys haven't seen the wide open spaces out west compared to the east or midwest?

[rodekyll]

I was riding out toward the north end of the road one night when a brown bear suddenly appeared galloping alongside the guard rail on the opposite side of the road.  I thought "If this guy decides to cross the road I'm gonna be hard to untangle from the bike."  But he didn't.  He jumped the rail without breaking stride -- while running parallel to it.

[Arizona Wayne]

I was riding out toward the north end of the road one night when a brown bear suddenly appeared galloping alongside the guard rail on the opposite side of the road.  I thought "If this guy decides to cross the road I'm gonna be hard to untangle from the bike."  But he didn't.  He jumped the rail without breaking stride -- while running parallel to it.

What are you trying to say, RK?

[johnr]

Decades ago when I was about 10 yo we were at a zoo in Chicago? and some black people dressed in all black were making fun of a male lion in his cage.  That lion turned his rear towards them and peed on all of them head to toe!      His pee shot out so far I couldn't believe it.  That's when I learned to never tease a wild animal.   

I was similarly dealt to by a leopard in the Auckland Zoo.
 
There was both a male and a female in the enclosure.  It was raining and though there was shelter available for them through a door, it was evident that these two cats were having a 'domestic',  and She was not letting He back inside.
 
The anthropomorphism was hilarious and we were laughing at the males plight.

The male, with an annoyed  look on his face came over to the fence separating us turned and pissed all over my fathers great coat! (which I was wearing at the time)   It stunk for weeks!

[Guzzistajohn]

Maybe you have lived a sheltered life.   

I'm sure you've seen more than I'll ever dream of as long as you've been around. Tell us about when the wheel was invented Wayne 

[rodekyll]

What are you trying to say, RK?

I'm trying to say the bear did a 4' sideways hurdle at a full gallop without falling over itself.  It impressed me.  Could you imagine if it was unsuccessful?  Talk about sliding down a guard rail . ..   

I guess I'm also implying that the bike frightened the bear, but I don't know that for sure.  It could have been running for some other reason, though I doubt whatever the reason was involved kangaroos or wombats.  Not that I'm comparing it to kangaroos or wombats, although I think wombats are kinda cute.  Not so much the kangaroos.

[RANDM]

Then there was this Ozzie riding a motorbike that resembled an Orca , which in its self isn't so odd , except it was 100 F with humidity in the 90% range .
Dusty

At the risk of being slapped on the wrist because it's not a
"seen while riding story" - I do have an Orca story that I
know is true that you'd probably refuse to believe is possible.

Anyone heard of the "Killers of Eden"?

Maurie.

[oldbike54]

At the risk of being slapped on the wrist because it's not a
"seen while riding story" - I do have an Orca story that I
know is true that you'd probably refuse to believe is possible.

Anyone heard of the "Killers of Eden"?

Maurie.

 No slapping from me Maurie , tell us good sir 

 Dusty

[RANDM]

OK - I'll keep it as brief as I can but will give a 'wordy alert' to Gussistajohn, if your attention span starts to slip just slap yourself about the face a few times and
try to keep up!

In the late 1800's early 1900's there was a land based Whaling Station in Twofold Bay at Eden - South coast of NSW run by the Davidson family. The father set it up, but the the story centres around the son George Davidson's experiences. I can't remember why they took it into their heads to start it but know the local Yuin
people believe that Elders of the right clan, when they died became one of the Orcas that seasonally frequented Twofold Bay hunting the Humpbacks and other Whales migrating up and down the Eastern Coast - they used to herd them into the Bay, trap them there and kill them. The Davidson's were friendly with the Yuin, George grew up with the locals so maybe they learned things others didn't.

Cutting to  the chase a relationship developed between the Orcas and the Davidsons and their Aboriginal crews in which they worked together as a team to hunt the Whales.
When the Orcas had a whale trapped in Twofold Bay one of them would head for the Whaling Station where, in season, the boat crews stayed and slept at night.
They'd get someones attention, if it was night they'd flop around and slap their flukes and pecks in the water to make a noise and wake someone up, then they'd wait for the crews to jump in the whaling boats and lead them out to where the rest of the pack would be holding the Whale up near the surface. They'd Harpoon it and the usual sleigh ride happened except the Orcas would keep hounding the Whale getting under it and forcing it up and even flopping over it's back to block it's blowhole so it couldn't breathe properly.
When they'd lanced and killed the whale, they'd anchor it in place and leave it to the Orcas, they took the Tongue and lips as their share and after a few days the stomach gasses would float the Whale and they'd row out to tow it back in for processing.

How close was the relationship?
Well, others tried to take advantage of the situation but didn't work with or understand the Orcas and they ended being ignored, the Davidson's were the only ones the Orcas would work with.
On one occasion George D. got thrown from the boat about 3 miles form shore - The Harpoon rope caught his leg when it went taught as the ride began. All they could do was throw a small water keg over board for him as a float. Now the South Coast is Great White and Mako Shark Territory and they had G Whites >20'
that attacked the carcasses of Whales at the jetty where they'd process them. With a lot of blood in the water George didn't like his chances of getting back to shore and as he started a bloody great fin came out of the water near him and at first he thought he was done, bit then recognised Tom's Fin - Tom was the leader of the Orcas and they recognised each individual Orca by the Fins shape.

Tom came up right beside George D. and sheltered him all the way back to protect him, waited until he climbed out on the rocks and then head back out to his pack.
 
I read the book as a kid and spent some time with a Yuin Elder who was the Grandson of one of the rowing crew - Tom's skeleton is preserved in the Whaling Museum at Eden.

Maurie.