Mick Angelhere's World

'The question was 'Are you wearing underpants?' Are you kidding me I have been kicked by a horse and the nurse asks me if I'm wearing underpants? To be fair she needed to take down my jeans to asess my injury and gentlemen your mothers advice to always wear clean underwear comes in handy hear.  After having a look the nurse was satisfied that I was in no real danger of dying she did up my jeans and a few hours later we arrived at Coolowee and I was bundled onto a bed in the clinic and the nurse produced a very large needle hmmmm.  The nurse did not want me to watch as she stuck it in ,needles don't bother me but she insisted so I turned around and started reading a poster about malaria and how to avoid the mosquitoes that carry it. I felt a very sharp jab and heard the nurse swear turning my head to have a look only to see bright red spurting out of my artery like a fountain, talk about avoiding malaria carrying mosquitoes here she was giving them a free feed how ni

A few species of bush flowers found in the Kuringai National Park in Sydney. Banksia Common Red Bottlebrush  Sandstone wattle Dwarf Purple Flag Iris  Christmas Bush

So far I've managed to avoid being trampled by a mob of cattle being eaten by hawks and now a storm was about to hit as I lay injured in a paddock after being kicked by a horse. By now I had figured that my hip was a bit broken so was not going to be able to move far on my own steam as for help coming? After 40 minutes help arrived as the storm rolled off into the distance not a drop touching the ground but lightning strikes are a major cause of bush and grass fires so it was good timing . It arrived in the form of the bosses wife who rolled up in the Land Rover after assisting me into the vehicle where I lay on the floor we headed back to the homestead which was an hours drive from the paddock . So as we bumped along I was attended to by two sympathetic Blue cattle dogs keeping a watchful eye as I winced in pain at every Jolt and bump of that ride. Reaching the homestead I was bundled into another four wheel which Bluey one of the station hands then drove me to meet up with the am

The Call of the WhipBird When out in the bush you would have a chance to hear the call of the WhipBird, so called because it sounds like a whip crack. The whipBird is very common in Eastern Australia and it is the male that makes the whip crack sound and the female that responds with a couple of notes afterwards. So next time you are the bush take time out to listen the birds you'd be surprised at the different calls they make.

Well the story so far is that there I am lying in a paddock injured the boss having ridden off cursing the air blue and a mob of cattle heading towards me. I could hear the chopper not far off looking around I saw that I was lying right in the path of the mob coming steadily towards me ,so I just sat up and the cattle parted and thus I was surrounded by a sea of cattle. Some gave me some curious looks but most ignored my prescence as they plodded on by , once the mob had passed I lay back down again . The chopper pilot had spotted me came hovering over gave me the thumbs up checking to see if I was ok.  I gave him the thumbs up saying I'm fine and off he goes and it was silent again just me and the big empty paddock that was till a hawk showed up and hovers over me for a bit before fying away. The next thing I know he's back and he was not alone he brought a mate of his with him. There I am lying injured in the outback with two hungry hawks hovering above me thinking it's d

Miles and Miles of Nothing! Queensland when people think of Queensland they think of Sun,Sea and Sand of tropical weather which is true in some parts. In this video I am in the bush a few miles outside of Gympie and it is the middle of winter as you will see it is anything but tropical  Australia is a huge country with different climates even in the same state.

BLUE TONGUE LIZARDS Yep as their name says they do have blue tongues and they love their snails gobble them up they do. Because of their size small, short and stubby and not real fast movers they are easy prey for dogs ,cats and other predators yet they don't give up with out a fight they will face the threat and go down fighting. The blue tongue is not poisonous but they can give you a nasty bite so don't stick your fingers anywhere near their mouths . The blue tongue lizard can be found in the bush and in urban environments very adaptable that way so if you see one in your garden do not panic as they are harmless its the snails and other creepy crawlies who have to be worried

That day was one that I will never forget and never will for I still carry the injury a constant reminder of the dangers of working on a cattle station. It was a few years ago now on a cattle station in the Northern Territory and it was the mustering season. A time to round up the cattle that had been living out in the paddocks , mind you when I say paddock. I'm saying a paddock that is almost the size of Belgium so helicopters are used to bring in the cattle as well as horses and trail bikes it is hot ,dusty and at times dangerous work especially for the helicopter pilots.  The pilots fly the choppers so low cutting out the cattle from the scrub they almost hitting the trees and  a few have crashed over the years not much room for error some of the best pilots I have seen have been women they just have that fine touch. The day had begun just like any other of the muster a big breakfast and a mug of tea as the Flying Doctor Sevice announced over the radio that they were on for the

A  BIG COUNTRY ( PART 2 ) A couple of years back I was hanging out with some mates at a cafe in Sydney where we got talking to some Swedish tourists . They were about to drive up to Cairns in Far North Queensland which is a fair hike from Sydney, only having arrived  a week earlier  their first trip to Australia and they were keen to see more of the country the plan was to drive up and then drive back to Sydney and fly home. When we asked them how long have they got left in Australia the reply was a week ,OK a week and they wanted to drive to Cairns from Sydney. It can be done but the thing is it takes  at least three days to drive there with the three of them taking turns at the wheel Brisbane in 10hrs , then keep driving thru the night and the next day they would get there. The looks of disbelief on their faces was interesting  it was a 'But on the map it does not look that far" looks. We assured them that driving up there in a VW Combi van that is all they would

Australia is the largest island continent in the world surrounded by water , with a landmass almost as big as the United States. The climate  can go from one extreme to another with snow in Tasmania which is an island state to the hot humidity of Northern Australin where crocodiles swim lazily in the sea and rivers looking for a meal. The country is so big that it can take up to 11hrs to drive from Sydney to Brisbane in one go mainly because of the Pacific highway roadworks if you go by the coast , inland along the New England Highway is a better run and far more pleasant drive. Once in Brisbane you might decide to drive to Roma west of Brisbane that would take about seven hours to do , if you want to continue onto Longreach that is another seven hours away. However once past Roma which is considered to be the edge of the outback it is advisable to pull up for the night on account of the Roos as they are very active at night considering how hot it gets during the day. A couple

Just thought I'd share a beautiful day with you all

AUSTRLIAN PELICANS HIGH FLIERS Pelicans are quite distinctive birds  you cannot miss them with their large bills  which are very useful instruments for the birds . Sometimes I think a whole human being would be  able to fit into them , maybe its a good thing that we cannot otherwise a lot people would be carried away by them. The birds are found near or on water even in far inland Australia when the inland sea  fills up every now and then where they will come and have a bit of a holiday .Pelicans can be solitary  or they will hang out together in flocks of up to 1000 birds can get a bit crowded especially in the breeding season when there will be up to 40,000 birds in a colony imagine the noise . The female will strut around teasing a few males stirring them up a bit as they follow her around  then the males will start to get a bit macho and start fighting each other for her favours. Sound familiar well the the winner gets the prize . When the chicks hatch

Mick has a ladybird land on his finger was it friendly?

SPIDER ON THE MOVE and so is the centipede Who will win? Spiders and centipedes are but two of the many insects the can be found in the bush and urban environments. Each play a part in the natural world creepy they may be but life would be very boring without them. Think of how many people you can scare with theses two? Come to think of it how times have they scared you ?

The rabbit is a real pest in Australia devastating the natural landscape from the twelve rabbits released into the wild in 1859 they multiplied into 8 billion by the mid 1950's So imagine looking out the window and all you could see was rabbits point a rifle no need to aim you would get one for breakfast lunch and dinner. Plants disappeared because the rabbits ate them in turn the native wildlife dependent on those plants to survive disappeared the rabbits burrowed into the ground causing erosion all that combined it caused a lot of problems to farmers. Australia was an ideal place for rabbits perfect weather no real predators and so they did what  rabbits do, they bred millions of them

THE DOGS Man and dogs have been together for at least 50,000 years as companions and working partners and within that time the wolf became many different breeds from lapdogs to Great Danes. Australia has only one native dog and that is the Dingo even the pure bred dingo is becoming rare that to interbreeding with the domesticated dogs that first came to Australia with the first fleet. These dogs roam in packs as dogs do as they are pack animals your own dog considers you and your family as part of his pack so you better let them know whose boss otherwise you will be keeping on the floor and the dog on the bed. The dogs that roam in the bush are very cunning animals and it is very difficult to find them and one hardly sees them mind you I am pretty sure they see us and it is an interesting feeling knowing they are there but you cannot see them. The wild dogs cause a lot of problems with farmers by killing livestock and attempts at eradicating the animals by trapping , shooti

Australia is a big country so weather conditions can vary from snowy mountains to hot deserts and humid jungle. Thus many different creatures can be found in the different environments . Crocodiles are found in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and North Queensland you will find them in Sydney ! Melbourne,Adelaide and in Brisbane and definatly not in Hobart too cold. Darwin on the hand a lot around there some will even join you for a spot of fishing by climbing into your boat which can make things interesting. Snakes! Ah yes snakes lets just say they can be found all over the place some people in Queensland like to have a python or two in the house usually in the roof. They keep out the rats and the possums also snakes are a lot quieter possums make a hell of a racket ,rats chew everything. As long as you leave snakes alone they will leave you alone. Spiders did I mention Spiders? They are everywhere from Daddy long legs to bird eating spiders and yes a few of them are venomous

Mick goes in search of the Bunyip a creature of the Australian bush that has never been caught on camera which Mick hopes to be the first. The Bunyips are said to be found in rivers, lakes and waterholes descriptions of what they look like vary but the one description that is the same is it lives in water. Will Mick find the Bunyip or will the Bunyip find him?

This place Australia ! Imagine if you will that the government sends you on an all expenses paid cruise to the other side of the world how would you feel about that? Some of us would be saying "You Beauty" Others would be saying "What's the catch" For a group of people that sailed through the heads of what's to become Sydney Harbour the choice was made for them and they were not happy. The date January 26 1788 and the group were a mixture of convicts, soldiers,sailors and free settlers plus the assortment of animals which sailed into an unknown land far away from the one they had called home. The First Fleet as it known sailed into the harbour and sailed into history for when they landed in Sydney Cove little did they know that from shaky beginnings of what their camp would become. The first few weeks and months were tough strange creatures , strange plants hot summers with bushfires and natives with spears . Food shortages a place th

The bush is full of a rich diversity of animals and plants which grow , live and die in an endless cycle of time with each generation as the years go by.  As each organism dies it falls to the bush floor and without the creatures that feed on the carcasses and waste products of animals the bush will fill up pretty quickly with dead trees ,animals and insects making it hard to get around not to mention a very unpleasant place to be in. As much as many of us hate flies and creepy crawllies they have a part to play in the enviroment as the cleaners they help keep the bush clean. The one thing that is hard for the cleaners of the bush to clean up? That is human rubbish , plastic , cans ,bottles cigarette butts which are totally toxic and all manner of stuff humans dump in the bush. There is only one planet that is liveable in our solar system and this is it? If nature can keep itself tidy then so should we.

    How precious is water to you ? Do we take it for granted ? What will happen if all the water on earth disappeared?

When you go into the bush always be prepared. Tell someone where you are going and when you will expect to be back take WATER AND FOOD! Take a map and compass and if you do get lost NEVER PANIC it only makes things worse if possible  stay put and you will be found and stay near WATER.

  Mick shows the view

 A sneaky Grey tries to blend in at the cattle sale yard . How often do we try to go unnoticed in life

Mick is a bit lost can he find his way out of the bush?

Why are we here? Is a question a lot a people ask themselves each day and the other is Why so much evil in the world?  Can we not all live together in harmony and share the world together? If we all took time to think about those questions and ask how we can change things ? Deep down we all know the answers but the reality is a lot of us do not want to change ourselves in order to change the world

Home is where the heart is so the saying goes . No matter where you are in the world each and everyone of us has a special place in our hearts we call home.  The place we call home is our sanctuary a refuge from the outside world , a place that is safe . It can be anywhere inside ourselves or in the physical world a place of magic ,a place of peace a place that meets our needs and the needs of others be it family or friends even strangers. Many over the years have shared their homes through stories that have become a timeless addition to our lives we can think of a Peter Pan and the Lost Boys in NeverLand. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz , Alice in Wonderland the list is endless.  They all have same timeless appeal and that is a place we call home remember we all a place we call home and sharing that place with others is priceless beyond words. Most of all for children for we were all children once with our places of home remember yours .