Serious problem with Australia

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skatertudoroga

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Blue Ring Octopus
This octopus has distinctive blue rings on its body and eight tentacles. With the tentacles spread, it is about 20 cms in diameter. The Blue Ring Octopus is a deadly venomous octopus which inhabits warm waters and shallow reefs off the coast of Australia. It also lives off the coast of New Guinea, Indonesia and the Phillipines.

Stonefish
The stonefish is well camouflaged in the ocean, as it is a brownish colour, and often resembles a rock. It has thirteen sharp dorsal spines on its back, which each have extremely toxic venom. They inhabit shallow waters along the coast.

Red Back Spider
These spiders are small in size, the females being about 1cm long and the males about 4mm long. It is Australia's most well known deadly spider. They are found all over Australia, and are common in urban areas. The Black Widow Spider (found in the USA) is a close relative of the Red Back. These spiders are usually found under logs, rocks, bricks, sheds and outdoor toilets.

Brown Snake
The brown snake is approximately 1.5 metres long, and is one of Australia's more deadly creatures. They have venom which can cause death to humans relatively quickly if left untreated. Brown snakes up to 2.3 metres have been recorded in Australia. These snakes are found in Eastern Australia, however they are not found in Tasmania.

Tiger Snake
They are usually around a metre long, and have a striped marking. This is not always the case however, as the markings can change due to the seasons and the age of the snake. They can grow up to 1.5 metres in length. These are venomous snakes, and will attack if they are disturbed or threatened. Otherwise, they can live quietly. They are also often territorial. Death from a bite is quite rare these days, as anti venene is readily available.

Great White Shark
They range between 3.5 to 5 metres long, and weigh on average 1,300kg. They are grey in colour from the top, and white underneath. They have an amazing sense of smell, and can pick up blood in water a long way away. They are solitary animals, but have also been reported to swim in pairs or groups. They are found on all coasts of Australia.

Funnel Web Spider
Funnel-webs are large spiders, 1.5 - 4.5 cm body length, with glossy dark brown to black carapace. The abdomen is usually dark plum to black and not patterned. Bites are dangerous and can cause serious illness or death. They are found in gardens, houses, garages and sheds - particularly ground-level dwellings on concrete slabs. They are found in eastern Australia, including Tasmania, in coastal and highland forest regions - as far west as the Gulf Ranges area of South Australia.

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Troll alert, moderators please step in.

Aside from the sensationalistic title ("serious"? nah...), I don't find this particularly troll-like.

Yeah, there are a lot of creatures in Australia that can hurt/maim/kill you. Fortunately, few are common, and most don't outright kill. Most dangerous spiders aren't in the population centres, snake bites usu have anecdotes (note what color it was before coming to the ED), irikanji has mag sulphate, stonefish is chiefly an infection risk, and fewer people here die of shark attacks per year than they do in the US.

I say the venomous creatures just add a bit of spice to Australia.
 
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There are 1-4 deaths by snakebite every year in Australia. Compare that to 10-12,000 in India... but I've never heard anybody say "I can't go to India because of the snakes."

There are about 3,000 total snakebites per year in Australia, and about 45,000 in the US. That translates to one per 7,000 people in both countries. In other words, if you're concerned with snakes in Australia, stay out of the US too.

There is also one death per year by shark attack, and less than one per year by crocodile attack. Although considering that 300 people drown here every year, you should probably stay away from the water anyway.

Meanwhile, there are two deaths per year by lightning strike. You should probably be more worried about that.

Also, 3000 people die in Australia every year as a result of car accidents. So if you come to Australia, make sure to stay away from any roads.
 
I agree this information is kind of silly, but mainly because it's unrelated to medical studies.. As such I wanted to ask for further info on Australia that is not directly related to medical school(i.e. if my ultimate goal is not to finish the medical school but to settle there after graduation).

1) I find Flinder and UTasmania to be the cheapest options for an international and also they are in the provinces that are least affected by the internship shortage. I would prefer to do 4yrs over 5 but still. 1 question I have is to describe the cons and pros of each school in terms of curriculum? What's the difference during preclinical and clinical years? Are there possibilities to get jobs as a research assistant for some professor at either Uni, say 20hrs/wk?
2) What is the difference between Adelaide, Tasmania, and your capital cities(Canberra/Sydney)? I live in northeast usa and do not want to live in texas. I have used wikipedia to learn about australia. So what could you tell me about cycling, leaving your bike on the beach and going swimming in Adelaide vs Tasmania? How about cycling from 1 city to another as a form of exercise? How are the roads/drivers? Is Tasmania cheaper than Adelaide? Could a poor student afford to rent a sailing or rowing boat for recreational use at one of the beaches? Which cities would be the counterparts of Adelaide and Hobart in usa/canada?
Thanks!
 
As the Colonel from Avatar says: "Out there, beyond that fence, every living thing that crawls, flies or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes for jujubes."

Its practically true for Australia as you head inland, along the coast line where most cities are you should be safe
 
2) What is the difference between Adelaide, Tasmania, and your capital cities(Canberra/Sydney)? I live in northeast usa and do not want to live in texas. I have used wikipedia to learn about australia. So what could you tell me about cycling, leaving your bike on the beach and going swimming in Adelaide vs Tasmania? How about cycling from 1 city to another as a form of exercise? How are the roads/drivers? Is Tasmania cheaper than Adelaide? Could a poor student afford to rent a sailing or rowing boat for recreational use at one of the beaches? Which cities would be the counterparts of Adelaide and Hobart in usa/canada?
Thanks!

I can answer this question a little bit better.... Adelaide and Hobart are much more like Canberra than they are like Sydney. (canberra is the capital, but it only has a population of 320,000. Nice and small :)) Adelaide is a bit bigger, hobart is smaller. Hobart is colder than Adelaide - a lot more rainy, overcast, cold, so if you like that sort of weather, thats where your at. Nice and green and rainforesty. Adelaide doesn't get as cold, gets much hotter in summer (between 35-40degrees C most days).

Both cities are quite isolated - I'm not sure what you mean about cycling to one city to another? To cycle from Adelaide to Melbourne (next closest major city) its like, probably nearly 1000km? Hobart is on an island, so you're not really cycling anywhere except maybe Launceston? If you mean cycling in general, Adelaide has really nice cycle paths and routes to follow, and is a really nice city to spend time outdoors in, you could definately have a great time cycling around there. Hiring boats is expensive. Only the rich here have anything to do with sailing - unless you want to go kyaking - but there are cheaper ways to stay fit (like running!)

I'm not sure what you mean about the texas comment - if you mean are hobart and adelaide filled with rednecks, the answer is no. We actually don't have large areas filled with one style of living like the US does (the south, texas etc). I think maybe you find far more diversity across the board in that regard.

Adelaide and hobart are both modern cities, with lovely countryside and all the mod cons. Just both are very isolated.
 
I can answer this question a little bit better.... Adelaide and Hobart are much more like Canberra than they are like Sydney. (canberra is the capital, but it only has a population of 320,000. Nice and small :)) Adelaide is a bit bigger, hobart is smaller. Hobart is colder than Adelaide - a lot more rainy, overcast, cold, so if you like that sort of weather, thats where your at. Nice and green and rainforesty. Adelaide doesn't get as cold, gets much hotter in summer (between 35-40degrees C most days).

Both cities are quite isolated - I'm not sure what you mean about cycling to one city to another? To cycle from Adelaide to Melbourne (next closest major city) its like, probably nearly 1000km? Hobart is on an island, so you're not really cycling anywhere except maybe Launceston? If you mean cycling in general, Adelaide has really nice cycle paths and routes to follow, and is a really nice city to spend time outdoors in, you could definately have a great time cycling around there. Hiring boats is expensive. Only the rich here have anything to do with sailing - unless you want to go kyaking - but there are cheaper ways to stay fit (like running!)

I'm not sure what you mean about the texas comment - if you mean are hobart and adelaide filled with rednecks, the answer is no. We actually don't have large areas filled with one style of living like the US does (the south, texas etc). I think maybe you find far more diversity across the board in that regard.

Adelaide and hobart are both modern cities, with lovely countryside and all the mod cons. Just both are very isolated.

Thank you. I was actually very ignorant when I asked those questions. Regarding texas I meant that I did not like the climate and infrastructure.
 
You're kinda asking for a heap of information -- which is good, but just realize there's likely to be a lot of subjectivity and personal experience in the answers from people who probably have a lot of different perspectives. I didn't spend enough time in Adelaide or Hobart to be specific about them beyond that they are "smaller" but generally considered to be nice, complete cities, and don't know much about their curricula so can't comment there either -- so keep that in mind before reading further. With that said, I don't think you're likely to regret spending 4/5 yrs in either place, unless you're really particular -- in which case I think you should splash the cash and visit them personally before diving into that sort of commitment.

Cycling: Personally I rode around Sydney for a few years, but it ain't for the faint of heart. There were a -few- decent places to ride for exercise and such, but to actually get around meant sharing road. I heard some of the "smaller" and "newer" cities are better about this, including Canberra. As for cycling between cities, that depends on what you mean. The major cities are too far apart for that sort of thing, unless you're touring for days at a time. On the other hand, the major cities have lots of suburbs, if you will, that sprawl out and in some cases can even be walked to & from without much grief.

Roads/drivers: Some are crappy, some are good. Lots of roundabouts, if you're not used to that sort of thing. Lots of red-light and speeding cameras. As an aside, the public transport at least in Sydney & Melbourne was much better (clean, safe, & accessible) than in most places I've been. Not that I've lived in very many cities.

Cities: For me it's hard to compare Aussie cities to U.S. ones. The infrastructure is generally different -- some things have an older feel down under, and others don't. I never got completely used to the relative scarcity of air conditioning. Weatherwise, down south and along the coast it's generally mild but windy...winters touch freezing, but summers can be fairly hot. Move north but still along the coast, it generally gets warmer and wetter. Move inland and it generally gets drier and more extremes of temperatures (desert effect). Sydney & Melbourne are like most biggish cities, though generally more friendly than similar sized U.S. cities. Melbourne I always thought fancied itself as more cultural, and Sydney more international. Canberra is its own little quirk, built as a capital city stuck between Sydney & Melbourne, but definitely a smaller feel.

Safety: Physical safety is pretty good, but again that's as compared to similar population centers in the U.S. I wouldn't leave my bike lying on the beach unchained or anything -- but I always felt physically safe wandering around. Then again I'm 6'4" and male...though was still under 200 lbs at the time.
 
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