Australia 2010

[zog]

So who will be visiting Melbourne for Sakai-sensei's visit in December?

I will be there. I won't be staying at the Midfur hotel, but rather at my home nearby.

[Stan Sakai]

So who will be visiting Melbourne for Sakai-sensei's visit in December?

I will be there. I won't be staying at the Midfur hotel, but rather at my home nearby.

Wonderful!

Are there any interesting sights in or around Melbourne?

Also, let me know about a month before the convention if there is anything you would like me to bring.

[zog]

Wow thank you. I had already been devising my list of
what I could ask you to bring. Very near the hotel is the Old Melbourne Gaol which you can go through for some Ned Kelly history. I am trying to work out how you can see some wild animals nearby...Also if you enjoy plays or musicals, then australia's premiere theatre districts are also a short stroll away.

[Knight]

Im based in Sydney and with my heavy/busy work schedule around that time of year I will not be able to journey down to Melbourne for the convention.

Im not to familiar with Melbourne so not sure on the sights

[Stan Sakai]

Im based in Sydney and with my heavy/busy work schedule around that time of year I will not be able to journey down to Melbourne for the convention.

Im not to familiar with Melbourne so not sure on the sights

No problem with not traveling to Melbourne, but you can still give us some advice.

Sharon and I are first spending a few days in Sydney. I think we will be staying around Darling Harbour. We will be arriving Sunday, November 28, and going on to Melbourne on Wednesday, December 1. Are there any must see sights in Sydney? I know of the Opera House and the bridge, but little beyond that.

[Knight]

Must sights to see in Sydney would be:

The Sydney Opera House - you get a great look at the Harbour Bridge from here.

Taronga Zoo - one of the best zoo's in the world, you get to see Aussie furry animals too and you get there via a ferry ride across the harbour .

The Rocks - This is the area around the Harbour Bridge, probably the most historical area you will find in Sydney (we are only 222 years old as a country).

The Three Sisters - This would be a day trip and requires alot of walking, its a famous rock formation in the Blue Mountains, its steeped in Aboriginal legend and a good day in Australian Flora.

Botanical Gardens - This is in the city and walking distance from the Sydney Opera House, worth a stroll with lots of exotic Australian flora.

I'll think about it some more and post some other ideas as I think about it

[Thomas Froehling]

Australian flora seems to be spectacular from what I hear; but there are some aspects of Australian fauna that seem to be worth avoiding:

Above all these little buggers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_funnel_web
who tend to come into houses as well.

Snakes are beautiful creatures when seen from safe distance or behind thick glass walls, but in the wild...
Cited from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakebite :

In Australia, the only continent where venomous snakes constitute the majority of species,[52] the Taipans, tiger snake and Eastern brown snake inflict virtually all reported venomous bites,[6][52] with the latter responsible for perhaps 60% of deaths caused by snakebite.[52] Although Australian snakes are highly venomous, wide access to antivenom has made deaths exceedingly rare, with only a few fatalities each year.

The articles about Australian snakes:

Taipan

Tiger snake

Brown snake

Call me Caspar Milquetoast or fraidy cat, but if I were to take a walk into the countryside there, I'd wear high and heavy boots, thread heavily behind a line of people, and take a close look on the ground and/or whenever putting on said boots.

This is not to discourage from having a look at nature down under; just do it safely.

So, no worries, eh, mate?

[kurreltheraven]

So who will be visiting Melbourne for Sakai-sensei's visit in December?

Me! I'm flying over from Perth on the west coast of Australia.

I only started reading UY because i heard Mr Sakai would be there as a guest of honour, had seen it in stock at the local comic book store, had heard it was rather good, etc.

And of course now i love it to bits. The only downside is that it does leave me with the very real possibility of being too awestruck in Stan's presence not to make a complete git of myself.

Melbourne-wise, the last time i was there i liked ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) - the Screenworks exhibition had a great strobe-lit 3D zoetrope in it.

Sydneywise, Taronga Zoo's got a lovely view of the harbour along with its share of Australian animals.

Also i'm happy to report that with one or two exceptions, beyond the northern tropical parts of the country the dangerous/venomous fauna are generally a long way from being an ever-present hazard to one's health. The way some people go on about Australia you'd think we were all rugged frontiersmen who wrestle crocodiles and snakes for our continued survival..

[Thomas Froehling]

The way some people go on about Australia you'd think we were all rugged frontiersmen who wrestle crocodiles and snakes for our continued survival..

No offence meant, mate; maybe it's just me, but there are no seriously venomous animals here in Germany (or Europe for that part), and I for one am not afraid to touch spiders and snakes here; since my approach to said creatures could possibly lead to fatal encounters anywhere else, I have to remind myself of the potential danger. And, being a nurse, I can't help but warn others as well, even if it might not be necessary.

I'd love to visit Australia one day; one of my former colleagues is working in the outbacks there, sending occasional reports which sound... interesting, to say the least.

So, don't be annoyed; it's just my safety thinking.

[kurreltheraven]

No offence meant, mate; maybe it's just me, but there are no seriously venomous animals here in Germany (or Europe for that part).

True, but last i checked Europe has bears.

[Steve Hubbell]

Always remember to take along some bear bite Antivenom when travelling in Europe....

[coolray85]

;)bear bite antivenom;)....
a year or so ago, here in germany there was huge media coverage about this bear in the woods somewhere in bavaria...the bear inhabited a tiny part of a forrest next to a small path and he was reported to have attacked some people...now since such incidents are believe it or not a mere rarity in europe these days;) the media was all over the bear for a very long time...they even gave him a name...I don't remember it anymore...-hey thomas, do you recall his name?was it benno?...
I have encountered haribo gummi bears dediated to the bear...tttzz, these bastards...

[Knight]

Caution is definetly warranted here in Sydney...

I live 45 minutes from the CBD and in a regular suberb, yet I still frequently swat a funnel web or a red back spider... I have had 2 encounters in my backyard with two of the top ten deadliest snakes (red belly black snake and a brown snake)!!!

I assure you, Stan and family will be not in harms way in the CBD though

Appart from the cab drivers... but I think thats universal.

[Thomas Froehling]

The bear was called Bruno and the year was 2006; so Sensei has been to bear-infested Europe five times without noticing....

Bruno was declared a nuisance bear or "Problem Bär", although the only trouble with him was that he had learned some useful (from the bear's point of view) things:
1) If there are humans somewhere, there's surely some food for bears.
2) Sheep are tasty and easy prey.
3) When it gets loud and rowdy, run away and hide in the woods.

I don't know who taught him these things, might have been his mother, but bears are picking things up quickly and form their habits accordingly. So he had formed a habit of looking for sheep and other cattle, killing some to feed on and turn away not to come back the other day.

Now that really is bad behaviour (from the human point of view, both hunter's and shepherd's), because he could have sated his appetite for a week on a single sheep and he could have been shot while doing so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JJ1

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/JJ1

The German article is considerably longer than the English one; note that the only time people were in danger was when a couple of excursionists tried to follow the bear on mountain bikes, till he turned around and started following them instead.... now talking about stupidity and carelessness...

Cited from the German article: "Ausflügler, die JJ1 am 24. Juni 2006 sichteten, gefährdeten sich selbst, indem sie den Bären mit Mountainbikes verfolgten – bis dieser umkehrte und seinerseits auf die Menschen zuging"


But enough of that, even if it's an interesting sidetrack, it still is a side track; the heading of this thread is "Australia 2010" , not "Austria 2010"

a year or so ago, here in germany there was huge media coverage about this bear in the woods somewhere in bavaria...the bear inhabited a tiny part of a forrest next to a small path and he was reported to have attacked some people...now since such incidents are believe it or not a mere rarity in europe these days;) the media was all over the bear for a very long time...they even gave him a name...I don't remember it anymore...-hey thomas, do you recall his name?was it benno?...
I have encountered haribo gummi bears dediated to the bear...tttzz, these bastards...

[zog]

Could we plan a specific time for a forum-meet? Or just find each other Thursday night or Friday night...my namebadge is either Zog or Jotaro or Adam. (I can't remember!)...what will yours read Kurrel? Or PM me and I will give you my mobile number.

In Sydney, Mr Sakai, get on one of the public transport ferries for a better, pleasant experience of the harbour. Jump off at Cockatoo Island or Luna Park for different views of the bridge. Or go through to Manly for a pleasant trip and destination.