Bushfires 2019/2020!

[Julesmac]

A friend of mine is involved in animal rescue (in her case it's dogs) and today is going on a 'Black Walk' with a group including vets who are being allowed in to burnt areas to try and find/assist injured wildlife. She raised $1,000 amongst her friends in just 3 days and yesterday translated that into $2,000 wholesale's worth of medical & food supplies. I was happy my $50 gets practically and precisely where it's an immediate help. We already donated to the Salvos but also plan a road trip when things get more settled, as we did in Healesville after Black Saturday putting funds into local businesses.

 

[serfty]

I don’t want to be critical or suggest the communities that have suffered bushfires are undeserving of charity but since when was Australia, a very rich country by any measure, so deserving of foreign charity?

I think the overseas interest is spurred by the destruction to wildlife - can’t resist koala and kangaroos. Social media is also a factor - overseas wouldn’t have even known about fires 10 years ago whereas now it can spread instantaneously. Someone like Celeste Barber has millions of followers.

I am thinking it is more to do with misunderstanding the extent of the fires.

There was wide distribution via social media of graphics that seemed to indicate much of Australia was burning when in fact the bushfires burned in a much smaller are than those graphics indicated. That was not what the creators of these images meant to imply but that how they were promoted with widespread re-posts/sharing etc.

Facebook has now been removing these images from posts as "false information".

How 'misleading' viral bushfire maps have been fooling the world

Viral maps of Australia have been spreading around the world, supposedly showing almost all of the east coast on fire and leaving residents in states not under threat scratching their heads. So what's causing all the confusion?

www.abc.net.au

How fake bushfire images and misleading maps of Australia are spreading on social media

Photos from old bushfires and fake maps have been shared on social media during the bushfire crisis.

www.sbs.com.au

Australia fires: Misleading maps and pictures go viral

Maps of Australia's fire crisis are spreading on social media but many are misleading.

www.bbc.com

 

[Flying mermaid]

Don’t disagree that there is a lot of false info around, but still think it is the plight of the animals. There have been some iconic photos that have gone viral and look how very early in the piece donations of cash, mittens etc flooded into to help koalas.

After Australian Bushfires, People Knit Mittens for Burnt Koalas and Raise Almost $2 Million to Help

In addition to crafting hundreds of pieces of knitwear for injured animals, people from all over the world have raised almost $2 million in donations.

www.goodnewsnetwork.org

 

[Flying mermaid]

A friend of mine is involved in animal rescue (in her case it's dogs) and today is going on a 'Black Walk' with a group including vets who are being allowed in to burnt areas to try and find/assist injured wildlife. She raised $1,000 amongst her friends in just 3 days and yesterday translated that into $2,000 wholesale's worth of medical & food supplies. I was happy my $50 gets practically and precisely where it's an immediate help. We already donated to the Salvos but also plan a road trip when things get more settled, as we did in Healesville after Black Saturday putting funds into local businesses.

The Kings Highway should open next week and probably the week after we plan to do a trip to Braidwood and have lunch there and buy some things from the bakery. They have lost a lot of business at their peak period so it’s a practical way to help.

neither our fish nor oyster people were at the Epic markets on Saturday so a bit concerned for them . They are both from the South Coast and we hope they haven’t been impacted too badly

 

[get me outta here]

A lot of people are going this weekend including a convoy of Mustangs, cars that is. Was busy in Braidwood yesterday.

The Kings Highway should open next week and probably the week after we plan to do a trip to Braidwood and have lunch there and buy some things from the bakery. They have lost a lot of business at their peak period so it’s a practical way to help.

neither our fish nor oyster people were at the Epic markets on Saturday so a bit concerned for them . They are both from the South Coast and we hope they haven’t been impacted too badly

 

[love_the_life]

A lot of people are going this weekend including a convoy of Mustangs, cars that is. Was busy in Braidwood yesterday.

A friend took a day trip to Braidwood yesterday and commented on the Mustangs and other cars.

 

[Flying mermaid]

A lot of people are going this weekend including a convoy of Mustangs, cars that is. Was busy in Braidwood yesterday.

Yes I thought I would leave it for a bit to let the rush die down - mid week should be better and we are off to Melbourne this week to take Ms FM to Harry Potter.

 

[straitman]

Nowhere does it say don't come to Aus
Only exercise increased caution.

It did say "read the entire travel advisory" on the first line

Koala petting still available in Zoos.

We had housesitters organised for 16 days in March and they have just cancelled. Reading between the lines of their email it seems reactionary to this advisory. I have had a look and the air quality here is currently much better than where they live.

Hello Bill,

We are exceptionally regretful to write that we cannot keep our plan for our upcoming housesit. We have been talking a lot about the fires in Australia and beyond concern of how and where fires may be in the coming weeks and months, we continue to read about poor air quality and health issues of those living far from the fires, due to their extensive and ongoing destruction. We realize your home and area may not have any effects, but at this time we think it is best to adjust our travels through Australia and ideally can make a longer and more extensive visit at another time. We truly apologize for our adjustment.

Our sincere and best wishes,
the xx_xx_s

 

[Pushka]

We had housesitters organised for 16 days in March and they have just cancelled. Reading between the lines of their email it seems reactionary to this advisory. I have had a look and the air quality here is currently much better than where they live.

Hello Bill,

We are exceptionally regretful to write that we cannot keep our plan for our upcoming housesit. We have been talking a lot about the fires in Australia and beyond concern of how and where fires may be in the coming weeks and months, we continue to read about poor air quality and health issues of those living far from the fires, due to their extensive and ongoing destruction. We realize your home and area may not have any effects, but at this time we think it is best to adjust our travels through Australia and ideally can make a longer and more extensive visit at another time. We truly apologize for our adjustment.

Our sincere and best wishes,
the xx_xx_s

Oh good grief! Maybe you should suggest if they dare try book another visit that you are too concerned about guns and won’t travel to the US!

 

[get me outta here]

We had housesitters organised for 16 days in March and they have just cancelled. Reading between the lines of their email it seems reactionary to this advisory. I have had a look and the air quality here is currently much better than where they live.

Hello Bill,

We are exceptionally regretful to write that we cannot keep our plan for our upcoming housesit. We have been talking a lot about the fires in Australia and beyond concern of how and where fires may be in the coming weeks and months, we continue to read about poor air quality and health issues of those living far from the fires, due to their extensive and ongoing destruction. We realize your home and area may not have any effects, but at this time we think it is best to adjust our travels through Australia and ideally can make a longer and more extensive visit at another time. We truly apologize for our adjustment.

Our sincere and best wishes,
the xx_xx_s

Will you be able to book more sitters?

 

[get me outta here]

If ‘Come From Away’ is still on, it’s very good.

Yes I thought I would leave it for a bit to let the rush die down - mid week should be better and we are off to Melbourne this week to take Ms FM to Harry Potter.

 

[get me outta here]

They seem to be suggesting they were going elsewhere too so maybe they have reason.

Oh good grief! Maybe you should suggest if they dare try book another visit that you are too concerned about guns and won’t travel to the US!

 

[Julesmac]

I put some pics on FB (actually they are amazing - taken by a co pilot, I assume, in some of the helicopters; Vic dept of environment was the source) some of them are like looking into hell. I had very panicked calls from the English cousins worried we were in danger. I think they had also seen a picture of the extent of the Gippsland fires superimposed on a map of London to show the comparative size. Of course they can't really grasp the sheer size of our country. I assured them that in the leafy south eastern suburbs of Melbourne we were not at risk unlike so many poor souls

 

[Flying mermaid]

When we went to Singita Grumeti in Tanzania in 2014 there was almost no one there. It’s a huge private game reserve and this was peak season. The reason? The Ebola crisis - even though East Africa was totally safe and a thousand km from the affected areas that was enough for the Americans to cancel. We visited Singita again in 2018 and they told us they had learnt their lesson from that period and had moved from really targeting the USA market to trying to get a more diverse group of people.

 

[OATEK]

Oh good grief! Maybe you should suggest if they dare try book another visit that you are too concerned about guns and won’t travel to the US!

We flew to St Petersburg the day after the bombing on their metro - yes a little nervous but never considered cancelling. And even with the heightened tensions in the middle east we are going ahead with our visits to Cairo and Jerusalem in March.

Of course if someone is asthmatic or has lung disease it would not be the best time to come to Aus right now.

 

[amaroo]

This RFS captain isn't very impressed with the RFS way of doing things.

‘The RFS abandoned our village’: Balmoral laments lack of action

Balmoral RFS captain Brendan O’Connor blames an over-reliance on computer modelling and failure to take on local knowledge for the destruction of his village.

www.smh.com.au

 

[drron]

Nine years ago we had booked on a cruise from Tokyo to Anchorage on the Silver Shadow.Two months before the cruise the Japan tsunami hit.From over 350 passengers 96 sailed.The only American passengers were a mad retired Orthopaedic surgeon and some Silversea execs.
The cruise had been changed to depart Incheon.made no difference.
By the way the background radiation in Tokyo at the time of departure was less than that in Melbourne.
We had great service and learnt quite a few tricks of the trade.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

We flew to St Petersburg the day after the bombing on their metro - yes a little nervous but never considered cancelling. And even with the heightened tensions in the middle east we are going ahead with our visits to Cairo and Jerusalem in March.

We backpacked through Egypt, Jordan and Israel (mainly Jerusalem) with our daughters then aged 5, 8 and 11 the Christmas after 9/11 for 8 weeks (as part of a 10 week trip) and had an amazing time.

ie at the Pyramids of Giza there were maybe twenty other tourists when we were there, the Valley of he Kings we were the only tourists there and at the bent pyramids there were only two very bored tourist police with their camels who happily gave our daughters camel rides

Virtually everywhere we went in Egypt and Jordan the locals went out of their way to be friendly.


Post bushfire season we have already decided to plan some trips in bushfire affected regions as they will desperately need the custom.

 

[Pushka]

They seem to be suggesting they were going elsewhere too so maybe they have reason.

Then simply just say plans have changed as opposed to avoiding somewhere because of the smoke issue (that does not exist for straitman)

 

[get me outta here]

I was thinking of this statement, “we think it is best to adjust our travels through Australia ...”. And, apparently Americans are being told most of the country is on fire.

Then simply just say plans have changed as opposed to avoiding somewhere because of the smoke issue (that does not exist for straitman)