tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025651162254792506.post8376888912078854911..comments2024-03-24T18:05:27.769+11:00Comments on Ian Fraser, talking naturally: Sturt National Park; dry, distant and dramaticIan Fraserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01023900823785041354noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025651162254792506.post-30612367169020568112013-02-07T18:28:13.264+11:002013-02-07T18:28:13.264+11:00OK, well we'll settle on the third definition....OK, well we'll settle on the third definition. Always good to define the landscape in human terms -- less technical, more accessible.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06472449597146519943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025651162254792506.post-9853745640634184142013-02-07T13:20:18.278+11:002013-02-07T13:20:18.278+11:00Then of course we need to agree on a definition of...Then of course we need to agree on a definition of 'desert'; we often use it in Australia for a habitat that wouldn't qualify elsewhere. However I do like your third definition. By going to Poeppel's Corner you probably have been to jump-ups in Queensland; the Grey Range, which ends in Sturt, extends well north into Qld. Sounds like you had a great childhood in terms of learning about Australia!Ian Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01023900823785041354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025651162254792506.post-75342822294715280552013-02-05T18:58:04.753+11:002013-02-05T18:58:04.753+11:00I'm always surprised by how many properties ha...I'm always surprised by how many properties have light planes, or these days, often helicopters. Of course, the other definition of 'outback' you can use is making it synonymous with 'desert'. If you are not in proper desert, you are still in the bush. A third definition might be if the kids attend the school of the air and you are within the flying doctor's territory, you are in the outback. <br /><br />My memory of south western Qld includes gibber plains around Jundah, salt pans around Poepls corner, and I've been through jump up country too -- can't remember where exactly -- may not be in Qld. My memory of journeys is always very patchy.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06472449597146519943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025651162254792506.post-9784499037727958702013-02-05T16:03:17.156+11:002013-02-05T16:03:17.156+11:00Thanks for those, Susan and Denis.
You're rig...Thanks for those, Susan and Denis.<br /><br />You're right of course Susan in saying that there's a LOT of arid land in Australia, but I'd be less certain of lumping it all. I feel that south-west Queensland, for instance, is different from adjacent NSW and South Australia, including in birds. Interesting definition of 'outback' vs 'the bush'; it's certainly evocative (and provocative), but I'm not sure that all outback dwellers are wealthy enough to own a plane. Or maybe today's property owners are...<br /><br />Denis, I agree re Sturt being unlucky re timing - a few million years either way and he'd have been fine. I'm a big fan of his, not least because of his SA connections, but I think he was guilty of distorting evidence to fit his preconceived ideas about the inland sea. I am tempted to draw modern analogies here, but I'll leave that to your imagination. Ian Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01023900823785041354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025651162254792506.post-51451285581650550352013-02-03T23:56:54.609+11:002013-02-03T23:56:54.609+11:00Hi Ian
I think you, history and the climate were a...Hi Ian<br />I think you, history and the climate were a bit hard on poor Sturt.<br />He just arrived a few million (probably many million) years too late.<br />Or, then again, the way Global warming is going, maybe a few thousand years too early.<br />Nice post, and I liked your Gibber Chat especially.<br />Regards<br />Denis WilsonDenis Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10031115992910569116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025651162254792506.post-83195886973777729312013-02-02T18:14:52.739+11:002013-02-02T18:14:52.739+11:00Ooooh nostalgia! We spent several long holidays wh...Ooooh nostalgia! We spent several long holidays when I was in my teens out in this sort of country, usually with the QOS or RAOU or similar. My first proper holiday with my husband was out here too. Not sure that I've ever been to Sturt NP, but there is plenty of this sort of country in Qld and SA. <br /><br />The term 'out west' is sort of a catch all, because no one can decide where 'the bush' ends and 'the outback' starts. Every town you pass through as you head west will bill itself as 'the gateway to the outback', but you never apparently arrive in the outback. It's not a very useful term for me when I have to talk about these things in Europe, as it is too east coast centric and people's grasp of geography isn't really that good. These days my rule of thumb for whether you are in the bush or the outback is whether you habitually use a helicopter or light plane to get into town. If you fly you are in the outback. If you drive, it's the bush. Very few places are genuinely outback these days.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06472449597146519943noreply@blogger.com