Australia Land of Opportunity

[Wayne Morellini]

Brice, good to have had you here. Not all parts of Australia are the same, but from Sydney to Harvey Bay is the prime zone (I understand around Perth is also), often not to dry or wet, and often not too hot. The most beautiful part of Australia that stretches South from Cairns north Queensland for nearly 200 or so kilometres but often very hot and humid, but at this time of year excellent, as is Brisbane where I am on a well deserved visit. Lots of variety of country and people, see what suites you, but I think you already have :-) .

Wayne.

[Brice Ansel]

Thanks guys, you make me think that Australia is also the land of ospitality.
So much to see out there, can't wait to come back, specially to that place to see some wales, always been a kid dream.



Cheers
Brice

[Pawel Achtel]

Wherever you go never, ever go to see Tasmania. Ok, if you do, just don't tell anyone

[Brice Ansel]

Hé hé Pavel, actually Tasmania it's primary forest and the north riff barier are two places I'm planing to visit too.
Promise I will tell nobody.
Edit: really nice pic by the way
Cheers
Brice

[Pawel Achtel]

Actually, Tasmania has much better and more colourful coral reefs than the Great Barrier Reef. Just, don't tell anyone...



BTW, shot with Epic, at 5k :)

[Wayne Morellini]

The great barrier reef has been decimated by coral beaching (global warming), crown of thorns, and before that die off. There are pictures of reef right inshore in the 50's, gone now. Further south might be better (cool water temperatures) research current pictures of the area to visit if you are worried. When I was a kid, the cirals around green island (most visitors o'er sq meter in the Pacific at that time) had the most Beautiful reefs, when I went there last with friends, I was embarrassed, we went on the glass bittim boat and it was a white waste land with people getting excited when they saw the occasional bit of color. :( . The reef was one of my favorite places, and have seen some of the most beautiful scenes out there. Cape Tribulation (the famouse place where explorer Captain James Cook hit a reef, I think) was one place the reef came close to land up north, but I do not know what it is like now, but the water is on a shallow slope. On trips out there, there is a bouncing rock beach from memory, they really bounce too, when I was a kid a guy in my group through one out and it bounce back and hit him in the leg :-) There was also a multi-colored pebble beach on the way up there, before Port Douglas, but it maybe gone now (erosion from cyclones, maybe). Mission Beach is more like Cairns used to be, from footage I saw several years ago, but Sharks, and crocodiles I think, are bad out ther, follow local directions. Alm Five north of Cairns is I ten the first geadk with blue water, but nit last time I saw it, but a great place.

Now back ti Tasmania, yes it has great reefs, some thousands of feet down off land. But there is one in a shallow batpy on the west coast I think, 25 or 12 feet down, a world best fr it's type, secret to pritect it, but go diving there and you might appreciate the barrier reef more, cold :-) , but you might be used to that from France. Great stuff to see, but so many pictures, in certain places, looks so bleak, like a picture from northern Scotland :-) Just look at Pawel's first picture :-) But still Brice, if I was a cold weather person, Tassie would be a pkce I would like to live, and film (not too cold).

[Pawel Achtel]

True, the Great Barrier Reef is dead. It has been for almost 10 years now. Very sad.

[Brice Ansel]

Reef barrier are desapearing all around the world, it is a global and really sad thing indeed. :(
That's why I'm using those types of zinc cream, they are the only one people should be allowed to use.

I've heard of some places, where the autority check the tourist suite cases to make sure they don't carry any cream with parabens in it.

At Wayne, I'm born in Britany (West coast France) so I'm not scared by cold water. ;)
Cheers
Brice

[Wayne Morellini]

Brice, what is this about the parabens? We have reef problems all other, not just where tourists are, but I am curious about this (have proposal for artificial reef ecosystem in small bay, for tourists and locals).

[Brice Ansel]

You find paraben and other dangerous chemical products like benzophene and cinnamate in sunscreen so as in hair products.
Methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben and isobutylparaben are other way to name the nusty Paraben.
As I anderstood it, after having a bath the paraben remain on the surface of the water and act like a filter.
As a result the coral didn't get enough sun (specially the UV) to develop, and finally die suffocating.
5,000 tons of sunscreen are washed off from people and into the oceans each year.
Common Chemicals contained in many sunscreens contribute to coral bleaching – even at fairly low concentrations.
Scientific estimates put 10 per cent of the world’s coral reefs at risk with the current rate of sunscreen wash-off into the oceans.
Then you can put on top of that, polution, intensive fishing, ocean acidity increasing, global warming, human activity, intensive tourism, I'm sure I'm missing some other factors.
The solution is to use zinc sunscreen with 100 per cent natural ingredients.
People don't like them because it make your skin all white.
At the oposite chemical additive help the sun screen to get into your skin and be invisible.
Ironically zinc is actually the only way to really protect your skin from the sun.
Especially in Australia where you can get a sun burn in less than 30mn, never see so many skin cancer clinic than in Sydney.
Cheers
Brice