Australian Thoughts at the Weekend. 4th and 5th October, 2008.

Australian Thoughts at the Weekend. 4th and 5th October, 2008.

A few days ago, a grey nomad was taken by a very large crocodile. This man and his wife were camped by the Endeavour River and he went to check his crab pots (traps)which he had set in the river. He never came back. The tracks of a large crocodile were seen in the riverside mud and searchers found his sandals and his wrist watch. His video camera which was switched off was found on the river bank. Days of searching have found no other trace and police have confirmed that a crocodile attack is the most likely scenario.[See story: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,24437144-3102,00.html?from=public_rss ]

I am sure this event will confirm in the mind of many people that Australia is a very dangerous place to live. It abounds in crocodiles, sharks, snakes, spiders and other deadly creatures which make a normal life for people just about impossible.

I have lived in Australia all my life. I have only ever encountered two snakes on my pathway, and if you read these Australian Thoughts at the Weekend regularly, you will know I have traveled extensively in the three eastern mainland States. I have seen a few crossing the road or a few dead ones. Snakes are so uncommon many Australians queue up with tourists to see snakes at the displays help in shopping malls or at zoos.

Spiders are different, we have plenty of them. Currently deadly redbacks seem to be in plentiful supply around our house. We remove them inside the house but live with those outside. Sydney and a few other areas have the deadly funnel web spider. This loves to hide under leaves and mulch in the garden. Some gardeners choose to follow the recommendation and use gloves when gardening. It is possible of course to have residential properties sprayed inside and out for spiders. Considering the number of spiders not many people suffer spider bite.

Midges (sandflies) are in many areas not only at the beach, and can make life very uncomfortable. Some people have an allergy to these. The patch were they have bitten becomes a itchy red lump often the day after the bite happened. My sister, a Salvation Army Officer, could not stay in one appointment because of her allergy to the midges there. The bites came up as blisters up to about 35mm (1.5 inches) across. Some of these patches then became infected.

Mosquitoes also make life uncomfortable and they can carry Dengue and Ross River fevers. This however is very rare. Mosquito carried malaria is not a problem at all in Australia like in many tropical countries. I found this description of Dengue Fever on the web: (den•gue) (deng¢e; Spanish, d[amacr]n¢ga) [Sp.] classically, an acute, self-limited disease (typically lasting 5 to 7 days), characterized by fever, prostration, headache, myalgia, rash, lymphadenopathy, and leukopenia, caused by four antigenically related but distinct types of the dengue virus. Dengue Fever is a notifiable disease in Australia. www.merckmedicus.com/pp/us/hcp/thcp_dorlands_content.jsp
Ross River Fever causes aches all over the body and extreme tiredness. Again from the web: Ross River virus (RRV) is an arbovirus of the genus Alphavirus. In humans, it is the cause of an 'epidemic polyarthritis' commonly known as Ross River fever, that in Australia infected an average of about 4,000 people annually in the decade 1995-2004 [1]. Ross River fever is a notifiable disease in Australia (see List of notifiable diseases#Australia). Ross River Fever (also known as Ross River Virus) is a germ which infects mostly rural areas of Australia. The virus is transmitted by female mosquitoes when they feed on the infected animal blood carrying the virus. The virus cannot be spread from person to person. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_River_Fever
The reaction to the mosquito’s bite varies from person to person. Some people the bite swells into a pimple sized itchy lump. For others there is just a red mark where the bite occurred. Excessive scratching of the itch can cause the area to bleed and sometimes infection or fungus can occur as a secondary condition. It therefore pays to protect oneself from mosquito bites by using personal repellants or using clothing cover or netting over beds, etc.

I remember being told that in the Australian City of Newcastle, one small Corps was very faithful in its open air ministry in residential areas. Mosquitoes were a huge problem day and night as the area was like a peninsula surrounded by swampy land. In the days before personal insect sprays the Corps Officer took a bucket of old cow manure to the open air meeting which he would set alight. As it smoldered the smoke kept the mosquitoes away. I am not sure what happened when deep breaths were taken to play instruments or how attractive it was to the listeners.

Most Australian houses particularly in the subtropical and tropical areas have insect screens on the windows and doors. These not only keep midges and mosquitoes outside but also keep flies, cockroaches, moths, beetles and other flying bugs outside.

I remember the gardening guru on one of our radio stations talking about a TV gardening guru and friend from Tasmania who has a national program. Our guru said that old guy from cold Tasmania with the Lancastrian accent has never even dreamt about the creepy crawlies and bugs we have in our gardens in this subtropical area.

We have two immigrants who love our bugs. One was invited here because of the love of bugs. The other hitched a ride probably in a shipping container, or a vehicle imported from Asia.

The first is the cane toad. The cane toad was brought here from central and south America to eat the bugs on our sugar cane. The main problem was the toad could not climb the cane to get the bugs. However, it found if it waited near an outside light or street light, there was a whole smorgasbord of bugs that gathered near the light. It also found some farmers had white boxes of bugs that tasted sweet. It only had to wait near the entry to the beehives and there was a lovely meal. The other problem was the cane toad has two very poisonous glands just near the back of where its neck would be if it had one. This meant that anything that tried to eat the toad, became very sick and died. This included cats and dogs. So with no natural predator the cane toad soon spread very rapidly and became a huge pest. Some birds such as crows have learnt that if they flip the toad over they can eat from the underside and avoid the poisonous glands.

The second hitch hiking immigrant is the Asian house gecko. They love our bugs and in the past few years have become very common around our homes. There distinctive little bark is often heard although they may not be seen. At night they can be seen on walls and windows, and sometimes ceilings chasing bugs. We do have native geckos but they are silent, so the Asian ones are easily identified. It is said if your house has Asian geckos it will not have any cockroaches.

The official word given to both Australians and tourists is be aware of the dangers and be careful. It is also useful to know first aid for the various bites. The treatment of bites and stings are a major part of first aid courses.

However, when it comes to swimming in the ocean and rivers, there are some warnings and precautions to take. In tropical north Queensland the warning is a very clear “Don’t!”

In tropical rivers near the sea the danger as seen recently is crocodiles. In the salt water area of tropical rivers, crocodiles can be considered to be present and hungry. In the upstream parts of the rivers the smaller fresh water crocodile may be present and hungry but are not considered so much of a danger because of their smaller size.

In the tropical seas , the Marine Stingers, or Box (Chironex fleckeri) and Irukandji (Carukia barnesi) Jellyfish are the deadly dangers. Other things including Ring Octopus, Cone Shells, Lion Fish, Sting Rays, and Stone fish add their own particular dangers.
(http://members.ozemail.com.au/~tropical/stingers.html).

What do you think is the main danger in other ocean waters? I hear you shout “shark!”. A danger? Of course they are. How ever the biggest killer is the water. Sea water, in fact any water, up the nose makes breathing very difficult. Also surf beaches can have uneven sandy bottoms leaving deep holes. Currents which are hidden to the untrained eye can carry a person knocked down by a wave or who steps into deep water off a sand bar out to sea. Very few people who have chosen to swim between the Life Savers’ or Life Guards’ flags on a patrolled beach have drowned. Each year we lose a number of tourists who choose to swim in unpatrolled areas of the beaches away from the flags.

Over twenty million Australians and thousands of international visitors to our land will not be bitten by a snake, a spider, a crocodile, a jelly fish or a shark this weekend. Many will be bitten by midges and mosquitoes. Some may be stung by a bee or a wasp. However, they will just go on enjoying life.

The words of the letter to the Hebrews comes to mind, as I think of how life goes on, avoiding the dangers like “the sin that so easily entangles”

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Hebrews 12 (New International Version)
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