Attack of the camels!!

[jethro]

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/19724/1615521525_kurdaitcha.jpg

Noticed a pair of these shoes in a store up here in FNQ a few months ago and thought they were interesting apologies about the poor quality photo.

- Soles are made of emu feathers and the uppers from human and animal hair.

Some poor Kaditcha Man has lost his slippers. or do they have a little tag that says Made in PRC

 

[WAZZA TEMPLE]

There has only been a few occasions when I have been concerned about my safety in the bush. Number 1 scariest moment was when my grandad, brother and I had a featherfoot in camp one night by far the scariest experience of my life!!!! The second time involved a puma/ panther type cat growling in the bushes at us in camp one night.

What happened to me the other day moves up to second place in my scariest encounters in the bush.

I wasnt having the best trip and really struggling to get good gold. I headed over to some hills where I had found gold in the past, it was maybe 2km from camp. I noticed some camels on the hill as I approached. I continued on towards them and they left off the back of the hill. About 20 minutes later I heard this huge roar!!! The biggest bull camel of the pack had come back and was roaring at me. I yelled at him to keep it down because Im trying to work over here!!!

The big camel started making its way towards me, I turned and started detecting my way back to camp. When I looked back the big fella was in full gallop like a bloody Melbourne cup winner. I started sprinting across the flats as fast as I could go with detector, pick and all my other equipment with me. I was really belting across the paddocks trying not to think about what this thing was going to do to me if he caught up.

I was looking for any way out but there was no where to go. I glanced back and seen the camel still gaining on me, now Im running for my life, gotta get back to camp is all Im thinking.

The chase lasted all of about a kilometre but I didnt stop running until I was back at camp. From the hill in front of my car I could still see him standing out there. I yelled at him to keep coming as I had a little something in store for him back at camp.

I didnt see the camel again that day.

Next morning I was detecting near camp, I was weary to go too far away so I was just up the track a bit and Nigel was back in camp crushing rocks when I heard some yelling, I made out the word camels!!! I dropped all my gear and bolted to camp to see what was going on. On a steep rocky ridge right behind camp the big bull camel stood with his mob. He was back for blood, I could see the murder in his eyes!!! I ran through the camp and dived into my cruiser, found some earplugs and grabbed a box of .223rem. The beast was about to start his descent down the hill and unleash hell on me in my camp. I have never seen nothing like this before!!!!

I grabbed my T3X out of its bag and started slamming rounds into the mag as fast as I possibly could, as I stepped out to get a scope on it they seen the rifle and started moving. I couldnt take a shot as they were on top of the hill so I put a round into the side of the hill then I went barreling up the hill to see if I could get him on the other side. Turns out those camels can really move and I couldnt see them anywhere.

Now Im in my early 30s and Im not very fit but Im not out of shape exactly either. I dont think I would have been able to get away if I had been in my 50s or older. Most prospectors I have met would have had no chance of getting away from that blood thirsty beast.

I believe Ill be looking at a bigger rifle such as a .300 or a .338 so I can reduce the number of these dangerous feral beasts. Im sure the pastoral lease holder here wont have a drama with a permission letter for me to get larger caliber firearms. I know they arent real fond of camels around here. I might start bringing a bike out with me too so I can park it close by when detecting.

It was an experience I wont forget anytime soon. If I didnt have a rifle with me when they came into camp next morning who knows what the outcome could have been.

Bloody Hell! I didn't have Camels as a Danger on my list, so I don't have a rifle but how hard is it to get a licence for a firearm in W.A.? All I have in my arsenal is a very loud air horn and a screamer device with a pull pin activation. Would a flare gun be a deterrent, though it would start a bush fire, so I guess not a good idea. It reminds me of that movie where the girl travels across Australia with her camels and the old man warns her about these crazy camels on heat, which she should'nt hesitate to shoot. What other dangers are out there besides dingoes/snakes/mine shafts etc.?

 

[grubstake]

Bloody Hell! I didn't have Camels as a Danger on my list, so I don't have a rifle but how hard is it to get a licence for a firearm in W.A.? All I have in my arsenal is a very loud air horn and a screamer device with a pull pin activation. Would a flare gun be a deterrent, though it would start a bush fire, so I guess not a good idea. It reminds me of that movie where the girl travels across Australia with her camels and the old man warns her about these crazy camels on heat, which she should'nt hesitate to shoot. What other dangers are out there besides dingoes/snakes/mine shafts etc.?

Not even worth considering for a non-permanent WA resident, without a fixed address here where an approved locked steel gun cabinet suitably permanently fastened in place, can be installed and police-inspected. You'll also need written permissions from land-owners where you propose to use the gun.

From a strictly prospecting perspective, I doubt that there's a mining company anywhere in the state that would want you carrying a firearm on their leases, just in case something went wrong and they were found to be liable.

 

[Westozadventures]

Bloody Hell! I didn't have Camels as a Danger on my list, so I don't have a rifle but how hard is it to get a licence for a firearm in W.A.? All I have in my arsenal is a very loud air horn and a screamer device with a pull pin activation. Would a flare gun be a deterrent, though it would start a bush fire, so I guess not a good idea. It reminds me of that movie where the girl travels across Australia with her camels and the old man warns her about these crazy camels on heat, which she should'nt hesitate to shoot. What other dangers are out there besides dingoes/snakes/mine shafts etc.?

Firearms are very easy to get in WA, you don’t even need to know someone with land, the gun shop will usually be able to sell you a property letter . It’s not too dangerous but I have heard stories of potential bush rangers getting around robbing prospectors camps this year. Apparently they are on dirt bikes with machetes and rifles and taking gold and detectors.

 

[Westozadventures]

Not even worth considering for a non-permanent WA resident, without a fixed address here where an approved locked steel gun cabinet suitably permanently fastened in place, can be installed and police-inspected. You'll also need written permissions from land-owners where you propose to use the gun.

From a strictly prospecting perspective, I doubt that there's a mining company anywhere in the state that would want you carrying a firearm on their leases, just in case something went wrong and they were found to be liable.

I got a cheap safe from bunnings, the police never inspected it, I just sent through photos

 

[Pete E]

I have a mate who is petrified of cattle! I am not talking the semi wild scrub bulls you guys get, rather the docile milkers we have that are generally too sloppy to hurt anyone...it's quite comic to see the panic set in if cows suddenly appear in the same field even if they are a few hundred yards away minding their own business...

When I was younger I did *a lot* of lamping rabbits and foxes on foot at night. Some of the farms were up in the mountains and I was well away from roads ect.

My then wife used to ask me if I wasn't scared of who I might run into, in the dark and on my own to which I would always laugh and say I was the one with the rifle!

Can't say I have ever really felt uneasy at night when out in the sticks as we have no wild animals that present much of a danger, except perhaps feral/wild boar..

However, when out deer stalking one day, the chap I was with took me to a bit of woodland where a local Witches Coven met...

It was first light and we had been still hunting through some dense woodland when we came across a clearing in the woods. At the centre of this clearing was a single Rowen tree and this was covered/decorated with loads of hanging ribbons and CD's plus laminated A4 sheets of paper with various "curses" on it...we walked a distance further, and saw another similarly decorated Rowen tree in a field, about 50 yards from the edge of the woods...When we approached for a closer look, I could see it had been planted where a natural spring came up out of the ground...

The chap explained a local Witches Coven was known for carrying out black magic/Satanic rituals at both sites and he would very often find the remains of animals that he believed had been sacrificed. He freely admitted that he never ventured into the woods of an evening and at times of a full moon avoided the area completely...