I come from a land down under!

I love to travel and I must say over time, I have been to some amazing places: Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, Croatia, South Africa, Grand Cayman and so much more…  But I am not done yet.  The world has WAY too many places that I need to check out before I kick the bucket.  Often before I travel, I decide if I want to just go to by my gut, let fate take its course and just fly by the seat of my pants when I arrive at my destination or do I want a day by day planned itinerary?  I have done both and both were equally satisfying for very different reasons…  Either way, Australia in on my lists of places that I NEED to see.  So, how excited was I this weekend when I sat down to enjoy my Mini-Wheats when National Geographic had a special on Oz?  But 3 minutes in, I realized that is was a show on Australia’s DEADliest creatures.    Uh yeah…  I learned that Australia is home to some of the most venomous creatures on the planet.  There are more toxic animals per square foot there than anywhere else.   When you think of Australia, you think of koalas, wallabies, wombats, kangaroos…  yeah, try again!!!   You got snakes, spiders, jellyfish and platypuses!  All venomous and somewhat deadly.  Yes, deadly!

Here’s what National Geographic taught me to watch out for when down under:

• The world’s top two venomous snakes–the inland taipan and the brown snake–both make their home in Australia.

• The Sydney funnel-web spider can be found creeping around homes and swimming pools. Funnel-web spiders are considered the most deadly on the planet, and are known for their aggressive behaviour, such as rearing and displaying their large fangs.

• The stonefish is the most venomous fish on the planet, but instead of using aggressive tactics, the stonefish ambushes its prey. Lying on the ocean floor, the stonefish remains still until its prey passes by. At exactly the right moment, the stonefish sucks in its meal–in only 0.015 seconds. The stonefish’s incredibly venomous spines are intended only for defence.

• The box jellyfish kills more people than sharks, crocodiles, and stonefish combined.  They have four eyes, but it’s unclear how their visual information is processed, as they have no brain. They are much stronger swimmers than typical jellyfish, who depend on the current for most of their movement.

• Platypus venom is released through spurs on the male animals’ hind feet. The venom is so intense it cannot be relieved by painkillers such as morphine–but has not been known to cause death in humans.

Wow, not so bad eh?!

Sure, so you can’t hang out in the water, your own house, or on land.  Great…….

Here are some other facts that I was not aware of:

• There are 1500 hundred species of Australian spiders.
• The average person swallows three spiders a year.
• The combined mass of all termites in the world is more than ten times the mass of all people.
• Australia has the world’s largest population of wild camels with one hump.
• The Tasmanian Devil does exist, and it has the jaw strength of a crocodile.
• Sharks are immune to all known diseases.
• There are more than 150 million sheep in Australia, and only some 20 million people.
• No part of Australia is more than 1000 km from the ocean and a beach.
• Australia has the world’s largest cattle ranch. At 30,028 km2 it is almost the same size as Belgium.
• The Great Barrier Reef has a mailbox. You can ferry out there and send a postcard, stamped with the only Great Barrier Reef stamp.
• The Australian Alps, or Snowy Mountains as they are also known, receive more snow than Switzerland.
• Melbourne has the second largest Greek population in the world, after Athens.
• The Sydney Opera House roof weighs more than 161,000 tons.
• The Great Barrier Reef is the largest organic construction on earth.

Those facts are definitely much more interesting!!!!  Well, I have many Aussie friends and know a number of people of have visited and they are all still alive.  So, then i know it’s safe to go where women glow and men plunder and where the beer does flow and men chunder.

Until next time….