Australian Yowie encounters

But we don't have Donald Trump!

We also have the Drop Bear.

And we ride in kangaroo pouches to get around.

Firstly, my relatives are not that insane and secondly, they learned to use a razor and thirdly, none of them live in Nimbin.

I have. I have family who own a holiday home down that way. And and the water does not do that all the time. Usually when the algae blooms are thriving.

But Jervis Bay also has mucho sharks. So have fun there!

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

Fruit bats and some micro bats here can carry the Hendra Virus. A deadly disease and if you are ever bitten or scratched by a bat or eat fruit which a bat has bitten into, an immediate trip to the doctor is necessary. Many horse studs have been put into lockdown in South East Queensland when there is an outbreak and yes, it can transmit to humans as well.

In short, bats aren't poisonous. They just carry a disease that can kill you.

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

You say that and then you are confronted by a red belly black snake or a brown snake or a funnel web spider...

During the wet season, yes.

But if you want to "experience" thunderstorms. Come to Queensland during storm season. Bring spare undies.

 

Hah!

My parents own a home in the bush on the Gold Coast, close to Ormeau as was mentioned in the OP.. The only scary thing there is during Koala breeding season. The noises they make.. I still remember the first time I stayed there and I actually thought there was a rabid animal outside. I lay awake in absolute terror all night. The next morning revealed a koala in a tree just over the fence, sleeping peacefully. It was hard to believe that tiny creature was making those noises. But it did. And so do the possums... *shudders*.. We know the sounds now. I live hear bushland as well and we are used to those noises, but if you aren't used to it, I can easily see how people can assume it is something that it is not.

Then of course was when my folks were building the house and I had taken my mother there one morning, to speak to the builders about something and I had parked my car onto the nature strip, right on the border of the bush forest and we had walked back to the car and it was a hot still day and I just remember hearing the bush rustling. I turned around and I saw a patch of long grass moving in a direction towards me. The grass was about mid thigh high.. the tall grass that exists in bushland. And it was coming towards me really fast. I couldn't see what it was. I had the car keys in my hand and I turned around to speak to my mother and she had literally bolted down the road, screaming in sheer terror. I didn't know whether to run or try and get in the car and my curiousity was equally strong as my fear, to be honest. It turned out to be a giant goanna lizard that was rushing through the scrub and as I watched, the rustling stopped and it started to climb up a tree stump and that was how I figured out what it was. The builders had heard my mother screaming and had rushed down to see what the problem was and I have never seen a bunch of grown men run away as they did when they saw what it was. I was told to not park my car there and to be careful, because if they get spooked, they can climb up people as well as they head for high ground when spooked. I never asked if that was true or not, but looking at the claws on that thing, I didn't want to be anywhere near it.

But I had forgotten about the bunyip.. Good times..

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

Wild feral dogs are becoming a problem in some areas of the Coast. They have taken some pets and injured others. It comes down to having proper fencing now. It's a shame. There are a lot of walks down there that I would not do now because of the threat of wild dogs and the council won't do anything about it. They aren't even baiting them anymore, so they are running wild. It's bad enough in some areas that it is only a matter of time before they attack someone.

As for the big lizards, I tend to avoid them. We get the run of the mill water dragon lizards everywhere in the warmer months. We still see them at my parents house on the coast and sometimes they venture into the front yard, along with the snakes and all the other wild life. But it goes with the territory of living near bushland here. Even the pockets of bushland near the cities has amazing wildlife. And some not so welcome like the red belly blacks and browns we get in the yard on a few occasions where I live. The local snake catcher loves me.. Having kids and pets, I prefer to have them moved asap because I don't want stuff like that in the yard or even in the pool.. We've had those a few times. So we have to check everything every day in the warmer months. Whether they (the goanmas) will climb people in their bid to head to high ground, I don't know, but with the claws being as big as they are and their sheer weight, I don't want to imagine them doing it.

 

She has obviously never been to Nimbin or encountered a "feral" from Nimbin....

 

There are feral apes in Australia and they reside in tribes in Nimbin and its surrounds, in the forests and bush in the area.

 

There are actual feral communities and tribes around Nimbin and its surrounds.

This is a fact.

They literally live in tribal groups, in the bush surrounding these areas. They are mostly self sufficient, living off the land and many many of them grow weed, make hemp products and sometimes come into the local markets to sell their wares.

They call themselves 'ferals' because from decades ago, they gave up the trappings of modern life. So they literally live a wild existence.

They are fierce protectors of their environment and the environment in general. Some call them eco-warriors, but I don't know if that name is apt. These are people that embraced a lifestyle that most would struggle with.

The term "feral" stems from many years ago, and it's stuck and they are proud of their label. They interact and get along well with local Aboriginal tribes and they are fiercely protective of them and their rights to the land.

Nimbin and surrounding towns are often joked about because of them and the strong stench of weed that is so pervasive when you visit there. Police have tried to crack down on it all, but it is a lost cause and locals would not have it any other way. They are as a part of the landscape and the regions of that area would not be the same without them, to be honest. They put those areas on the map.

 

Ferals of the Northern Rivers in New South Wales are not mythical creatures. They are real people.

And some of them are terrifying. Such as one of the ones we encountered years ago, buck naked, dreadlocks down past his backside, I don't think he had ever seen a razor or bar of soap in his life, with a spear and dead possums draped over his shoulder.. He was hovering by a road and yelled abuse at us as we drove past. Never seen my kids scream in terror like that in my life. I swear, if my ex husband didn't floor it, he'd have come at the car.

This goes beyond an alternative lifestyle. Some of them live like hunter gatherers. Some of them even scare the local Indigenous population, because they can be very violent.. And the kids..

It's something you need to see for yourself. As I said, they aren't mythical creatures. They aren't made up stories to scare kids at night, like the yowie and bunyip are made up stories designed to scare kids while out camping and the like. These people actually exist. And some of them are scarier than any mythical creature anyone could make up.