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MarcelNL said:
seems to me that Australia somehow ended up with more than a fair share of dangerous animals and critters..
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True, there are quite a few dangerous animals in Australia. What people forget is that you basically never see them, at least not as a city dweller.

Having lived here for over forty years, I have only seen a handful of the thirty species in the flesh (other than in a zoo), and most of them only rarely (as in once or twice): bees (doh!), brown snake, giant centipede, tick, redback spider, bluebottle, yellow-bellied sea snake, lionfish, and toadfish. To see the last three on my list, I had to go scuba diving, so I guess we can discount those. Of the remainder, most are harmless because they are not interested in people. It's not exactly difficult to leave a centipede alone…

But, even in the countryside, you will rarely come across anything other than snakes. Most snakes are easily as afraid of you as you are of them. Most of the time, when I come across a snake (once every ten years or so), I'm lucky to just see its tail disappear as it runs away. The one exception are brown snakes, which tend to be aggressive. If you see one, just give it a wide berth and you'll be fine.

The whole Australian animal thing is grossly overblown. Sure, go for a walk through the bush at certain times of the year, and you might collect a tick. Not a big deal. If you are unlucky, you might brush against a bluebottle while swimming. That's unpleasant, but definitely not deadly. Irukanji and box jellyfish are indeed dangerous, but they show up only at certain times of the year and in certain areas. You know when they are there, so you don't go swimming around then. Great white sharks are indeed dangerous, but the probability of actually getting attacked by one is extremely low. You are more likely to get struck by lightning than getting bitten by a great white shark.

And pretty much the only people who get taken by saltwater crocodiles are the ones who decide to go swimming right beside the sign reading "Extreme Danger - Very large estuarine (saltwater) crocodiles inhabit these waters." Every time one of those people gets eaten, the average IQ of humanity goes up by a tiny fraction…
 
Michi said:
Most of the time, when I come across a snake (once every ten years or so), I'm lucky to just see its tail disappear as it runs away.
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NameAlreadyTaken said:
I like the idea…. And kangaroo and emu and crocodile are delicious…….
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I've never seen emu nor crocodile here so I never got to try it. Kanagaroo however I eat fairly regularly. It's awesome meat, and surprisingly cheap! I guess it's because they're cute and cuddly, which drives down the price. For the price it's very hard to beat it in taste; it's better than most beef.
 
Jovidah said:
I've never seen emu nor crocodile here so I never got to try it.
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Emu is nice. Very lean red meat, milder flavour than kangaroo, and it doesn't turn into shoe leather quite as easily. Crocodile is a bit strange. White meat, fairly neutral flavour, but quite stringy and not as tender as chicken. I like emu and kangaroo. I'll eat crocodile every now and then, but it's something I can take or leave. Objectively, I don't think crocodile meat is something worth seeking out.
 
I'd be curious how similar croc and gator taste. The farmed gators are muddy and gross, wild tastes better but you still have to know how to cook them and get a certain size range so they aren't chewy as hell. I rather like it when it's prepared correctly, but agree with Michi it's usually not worth seeking out as most of the time it's more novelty than culinary art.


Sometimes football tailgates get out of hand though:
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Michi said:
Emu is nice. Very lean red meat, milder flavour than kangaroo, and it doesn't turn into shoe leather quite as easily. Crocodile is a bit strange. White meat, fairly neutral flavour, but quite stringy and not as tender as chicken. I like emu and kangaroo. I'll eat crocodile every now and then, but it's something I can take or leave. Objectively, I don't think crocodile meat is something worth seeking out.
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I guess emu would probably be similar to ostrich? Or would that be wrong?

Croc tasting a bit like chicken is actually not that surprising. I think they're somewhat in the same neighbourhood of the animal kingdom.
 
I've never eaten ostrich and I've never eaten alligator, so I can't offer any opinion. Would like to try them both, and will if I get a chance. If nothing else, to convince me that I haven't missed all that much :)
 
We figured this was going to be a no shade hot hike. Instead weather was perfect. Little overcast fast moving clouds strong trade winds gust up the 40 mph. Hanauma bay closed on Tuesdays.
We hiked the high side of crater it was awesome day. We ate at Teddy's Burgers after at Koko Marina.
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Johnsmyname said:
Connecticut, USA

Some of the best trout fishing in the country.
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While you seek places for solitary enjoyment, alas, the places I go to are sometimes
shoulder-to-shoulder with what I call my “classmates” 🤪
IMG_2613.jpeg


Morning view of Ralph Lauren's Ranch, Colorado. To my right, you can see class is in session...

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Gavva said:
While you seek places for solitary enjoyment, alas, the places I go to are sometimes
shoulder-to-shoulder with what I call my “classmates” 🤪
View attachment 304806

Morning view of Ralph Lauren's Ranch, Colorado. To my right, you can see class is in session...

View attachment 304807
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That’s gorgeous! Is that really a class or are there that many photographers there?
 
Michi said:
True, there are quite a few dangerous animals in Australia. What people forget is that you basically never see them, at least not as a city dweller.

Having lived here for over forty years, I have only seen a handful of the thirty species in the flesh (other than in a zoo), and most of them only rarely (as in once or twice): bees (doh!), brown snake, giant centipede, tick, redback spider, bluebottle, yellow-bellied sea snake, lionfish, and toadfish. To see the last three on my list, I had to go scuba diving, so I guess we can discount those. Of the remainder, most are harmless because they are not interested in people. It's not exactly difficult to leave a centipede alone…

But, even in the countryside, you will rarely come across anything other than snakes. Most snakes are easily as afraid of you as you are of them. Most of the time, when I come across a snake (once every ten years or so), I'm lucky to just see its tail disappear as it runs away. The one exception are brown snakes, which tend to be aggressive. If you see one, just give it a wide berth and you'll be fine.

The whole Australian animal thing is grossly overblown. Sure, go for a walk through the bush at certain times of the year, and you might collect a tick. Not a big deal. If you are unlucky, you might brush against a bluebottle while swimming. That's unpleasant, but definitely not deadly. Irukanji and box jellyfish are indeed dangerous, but they show up only at certain times of the year and in certain areas. You know when they are there, so you don't go swimming around then. Great white sharks are indeed dangerous, but the probability of actually getting attacked by one is extremely low. You are more likely to get struck by lightning than getting bitten by a great white shark.

And pretty much the only people who get taken by saltwater crocodiles are the ones who decide to go swimming right beside the sign reading "Extreme Danger - Very large estuarine (saltwater) crocodiles inhabit these waters." Every time one of those people gets eaten, the average IQ of humanity goes up by a tiny fraction…
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this apologia uses far too many words, and mentions far too many creepy deadly animals, to be convincing.

i'd be more than happy to drop by for a baking and meat curing seminar, but i'd have to wear a hazmat suit to feel safe!

.
 
Gear recommendation: Sitpack Campster 2

The best thing about backing Kickstarter projects: by the time they arrive, you’ve completely forgotten about them so they come as a welcome surprise.

This week a pair of Campster 2 chairs showed up, together with matching table.



I don’t hike as much as I used to. Nowadays I find myself standing around urban environments instead with my laptop in my backpack wishing I could sit down somewhere and do work, but I’m surrounded by hostile architecture.

The solution: a folding camp chair small and light enough to fit in the backpack next to the laptop.

Sharing with you outdoorsmen

https://sitpack.com/products/campster-2-0
 
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