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 People's Page... Mike Callaghan. [Return to Peoples page] or [Return to Cwmtillery mainpage] |
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“There’s a bushfire fire” it’s the summer words
you dread particularly if you live in the Australian Bush. Your
first response is where is it? You feel a particular sense of relief
if it’s not in your locality but you feel for the people whose homes
will come under threat. Read more....
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They are usually found under pieces of bark as was this one (missing one leg) that we came across while clearing up the garden. Their flat type type bodies allow them to do this, but they also have a unsavoury habit of entering your home and there is nothing more potent to bring you smartly back to life when you go to bed at night, lay your head on the pillow then look up and see one on the ceiling above your head. My wife is instantly changed into Road- runner with the scream of the Banshee as she leaves the room at a considerable rate of knots The favoured way to capture the Spider is to have a clear plastic container and a sheet of thin cardboard The idea being that you place the container over the spider then slide the cardboard between the ceiling and the container therefore trapping your spider (sounds easy??) try it when standing on the bed and then trying to get down holding the enclosed container at the same time. If you let them escape they run for cover and are extremely fast and difficult to find Australia is perceived as a place of sunshine, golden beaches and outstanding natural beauty but no one mentions that nearly every thing that lives here wants to bite, sting or suck your blood but that’s life down under. .................................................................................................................................................................... |
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These stones were originally a fireplace in the home of an early gold prospector of the1800s, or thereabouts and would have housed him and any companions. Such a fireplace would have been of great importance in the house for heat and cooking, and was usually the first item to be constructed from gathered stones and mud which was used as cement binding. The house was then constructed from tree trunks and covered in anything available such as the local tree branches and bark which have rotted away hence the only sign of human inhabitants being the chimneys and fireplace. These houses were so basic that today they would be considered unfit for livestock never mind humans, but they served the purpose until the prospector considered the patch worked out and they then moved on. Gold prospecting was so profitable in those early days that nuggets could be picked up off the ground, or what is called potato digging The potato method was to pick up a shovelful of earth throw it in the air and catch it again on the shovel and if they heard a clanging noise they knew they had a nugget, but just imagine what they missed which makes today’s electronic detection well worth pursuing. Gold is usually sold off to dealers or made into rings such as this and a ring like this which belongs to my wife complete with black opal is worth about four to five thousand dollars US When you look at these places you feel a little uncomfortable almost like an intruder as they are silent sentinels to what was maybe dreams of wealth, but often ended in misery and poverty. The photograph was taken recently while we were gold prospecting in Victoria’s golden triangle. .................................................................................................................................................................... |
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Wildlife in Australia
Blue tongued lizard quite common during summertime and this one had wandered into our property and was cornered by the dog, we rescued it put it into a bucket and released it back into the forest. Local children sometime keep them as pets as they are quite harmless, though will give you a nip if handled roughly
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Old steam locomotive known as “Puffing Billy” which runs through some beautiful scenery near our home in Victoria it’s a tourist train now and is very well patronised by Victorians interstate and overseas tourist
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The Impossible Dream...My thanks to a patient Mum, Who held me as a child and through her tolerance and understanding helped me to understand my future, and that gave me the knowledge to be the person I have become, and if my Mother is looking down I am sure she would be smiling and remembering this. A true story in the age of no Television. The Impossible Dream
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This rather unusual sight is a water race and Wheel, which have become calcified due to the amount of limestone in the water. This photograph was taken in Western Australia in 2006
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 Effigy of a Welsh rugby forward What is an effigy of a Welsh rugby forward is doing in a Pandanus Palm in far North Queensland. Well, his name is Teddy Taff-scrum (or TTS) a gift from my mother when I left Wales to come Australia and with my ears ringing with Welsh mother logic” don’t you dare forget where you’re from our Michael and this is to remind you that wherever you go a little bit of Wales goes with you.” So back to TTS - every night when outback traveling I would place him in a strategic viewing position as if to keep guard and out of the way of my dogs that had this idea that I gave too much attention to him. Read More
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The Northern Territory...Buster, my cattle dog stopped for a doggie comfort stop. We are in the Hart Ranges in
the Northern Territory fossicking for gem
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Paddle Steamer...This is a small Paddle Steamer operating at Swan Hill Victoria which takes tourist on river cruises along the Murray River which borders New South Wales and Victoria right down South Australia. The boat itself like many others was originally the only means of transportation of supplies and passengers to the inner reaches of the State. It is a relic of a very hard but romantic time in Australia’s history.
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Jetty at Bremmer Bay...This is not a fishing tale, but you can walk to the end of this jetty at Bremmer Bay in Western Australia, virtually choose your fish and pull it in, the only drawback is the Sea Lion who waits in ambush beneath the jetty for your fish. We concluded that it was easier for him to steal than catch them for himself.
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Camels on the Canning Stock
Route...
The Canning Stock Route is one
of the most remote and isolated four wheel drive tracks in the world,
and any user
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Captain /Quartermaster and Navigator...The photograph of the strange woman who thinks she can fly is of my wife rather physically enforcing the point that she is ready to go. She is the Captain /Quartermaster and Navigator and without her we would quickly grind to a halt It was taken on route to Painted canyon in the Northern Territories on our way to the mad Russian’s mine; why he was called that I have no idea only for the fact you would need to have a reassessment of your sanity to be mining for copper in that god forsaken snake infested place.
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Mike Callaghan .................................................................................................................................................................... |
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I
guess a spider can count all his friends on one hand so to speak but they have a
very important role to play in nature’s great plan as they munch their way
through an assortment of garden pests and small invertebrates. The spider in
the photograph is a “Huntsman” common to eastern Australia and grows to a
variety of sizes up to 150 mm across including the legs in the more tropical
regions, but more to the size shown at about 50to 60 mm in the lower half of the
country. They are not poisonous but if you receive a bite you can feel real
crook for a couple of hours and I can testify to that for I committed the
cardinal sin of picking one up and paid the price
The
challenge of Fly Fishing...A few
thoughts, a few memories unfolding and the time to sit down and catch
those times, that's what you will find on this page. I'm sure some of
the articles below will make you think and remember as I have. I start
with a "The way we were......The challenge of Fly Fishing" which was
loaded to the site a few years ago, I hope you like it. "
stones where we have
found Garnet and Zirconia’s which my wife has had faceted into
earrings. On trips like this you have to be completely self
sufficient carrying water and food for the duration, and on this
particular trip about 250 litres of diesel. 
should be well prepared before undertaking this terrain.
It’s about 1850 klms long, traversing the Great Sandy Desert and the
Gibson Desert from North to South. Starting at Halls Creek in the North
and ending in Wiluna in the South. It is impossible to carry enough fuel
for the duration, so you have to arrange for an aircraft to drop you a
couple of 200ltrs drums, or make prior arrangements with the local
Aboriginal community to sell you enough for your needs, and this is
despite carrying your own 400 liters in your main /side tanks and
Jerricans.
People get romantic ideas about
deserts and Camel trains as it conjures up visions of Lawrence of Arabia
or the music of Rimsky-Korsakov’s: “Scheherazade” the truth is that
Camels stink, not an ordinary stink, but a gut wrenching overwhelming
omni prevailing stench.
Spend an hour traveling behind a
mob of wild Camels like this and you would seek refuge in a sewage farm,
unfortunately we spent an hour behind them and my sinuses were utterly
desensitized, even my dog was ill
If you are unfortunate enough to
arrive in this situation the camels will trot along in front of the
Landrover and will not allow you to pass. If you accelerate they
accelerate if you slow down or stop so do the camels and to cap it all
the old bull then wants to fight your vehicle.
As a matter of information
Australia has more wild Camels than the Middle East and I am informed
that Australia exports Camels to Middle Eastern countries.
The day after the Falconia tragedy... For years
we have crisscrossed Australia’s desert and mountain areas and our
chosen mode of transport has been our trusty 3.9ltre turbo Landrover
County, but we felt we were due for a change. After much research and
soul searching we purchased a Toyota camper. (We still kept our
Landy). It was okay but lacked the adventure to which we
had become accustomed though it did give us a better insight into
Australia and its towns and cities, and we found the country towns of
great interest, for each and every one have a little museum and its own
little part of early Australian settlement.