Comments by "Brad Griffin" (@BradGryphonn) on "IWrocker" channel.

  1. Hey mate. You should check out some videos of the Laura Dance Festival, held every two years in Far North Queensland. Clans from all over meet and 'compete' over a few days, dancing traditional dances. It's a pretty special experience.
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  2. The Fan palms are Licuala ramsayii. The little hook vines that hang down in tendrils come from Lawyer Cane. They are often called 'wait-a-while' because when you get hooked up on one, you'll have to wait a while to pick the hooks off. Yeah, you don't run on rainforest paths up there. The walk on Palm Drive is quite close to the Daintree Tea Company. You may be able to buy Daintree Tea over there somewhere.
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  3. Gotta say, I'm very happy that the US ones are true to the Aussie recipe.
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  4. Ah, Simon Whistler. His team has a lot of channels but ALL of them are very interesting. And Simon has one of those voices that keep you interested.
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  5. I grew up in small, sometimes tiny communities. It was standard to say "g'day" to the people you walk by. Sometimes it was just normal to stop and talk with a person you haven't seen before. The first time I went to a 'big' town (pop 20000), I was walking down the street with my friend who was a local and I was saying g'day to everyone who walked past. He was laughing at me the whole time.
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  6. Crocs. Sneaky buggers. I've lived in croc country and camped near croc-infested rivers. They are cunning things and have endless patience. Locals and just about any tourist guidebook worth its salt will advise you to camp at least 30 metres from any creek or river, especially tidal ones. They'll also tell you, that if you're camping for a few days, don't access the creek or river via the same spot every day, and always go in pairs so someone can be a spotter if you're collecting water or even fishing. Crocs will notice unusual activity on the bank from a distance, and if the activity is repeated, the croc/s will come closer each day. You can pretty much count on a croc being very close to your river access spot by day three. And in cloudy water, you won't see it even if it's only six inches under.
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  7. Drop Bears. Scary buggers... However, Koalas themselves can be seriously dangerous in their own right. They can cause serious damage with those tree-climbing claws if they feel threatened.
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  8. Guava trees grow like weeds where I'm currently living. I'm currently making walking/hiking sticks from the branches. The timber is extremely dense and strong. I love guava fruit.
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  9. 4:00 That was quite poignant for me. In the late 70s, I was exploring an abandoned homestead in far western Queensland. One of the quirks of these old buildings was they'd lay newspaper down before laying linoleum or other coverings on the floor. I was peeling up the flooring to check if there was newspaper underneath and found a page from 1947. There was a small article of only a few paragraphs that said the Holden company was discussing designing and buildng an all-Australian car. I took that page from under the floorboards and kept it for about 2 years before I lost it in a duffel bag fire.
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  10. 1:13 Just yesterday, as I was walking down the street, I watched a bloke in an Audi turn left off a main street, then left into a shopping centre car park that was on a bend, and at no time did the indicators flash. I so much wanted to ask him if Audi provided working indicators on a subscription plan...
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  11. Yeah, don't go to Devil's Pools. That's just a scary vibe there, even without knowing the traditional story. Oh, there is a waterfall up where I lived called Roaring Meg Falls (Kija) where men are not supposed to swim. For good reason. Traditional Lore says the falls are only a woman's place and men can die if they venture too close. And yes, many men have died ignoring this rule, yet no women from memory have ever come to harm there. I just didn't go near the place.
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  12. 13:00 The Dutch extensively mapped the Western coast of Australia and even attempted to settle there, according to archeological discoveries. The evidence of Dutch discovery and settlement was suppressed by the British for many years. It was funny for me when I was a kid because my early schooling on the east coast taught us how Capt Cook discovered Australia. When I went to Perth as a ten-year-old, we were taught that the Dutch discovered Australia on the West coast and were taken on excursions to the Freemantle museum to show us the Dutch relics there. They didn't know much of the East coast, but they knew the West very well.
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  13. Aotearoa, New Zealand is the one place I'd migrate to if I had a mind to leave Australia. The history and culture and landscape just draws me in. Aotearoa never ceded to British rule. A treaty was signed, unlike Australia where the British basically tried to commit genocide on the Traditional Owners of this country.
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  14. The Stinging Tree, or 'Gympie Gympie' (pronounced gimpee with a hard G as in golf) is fairly common in rainforests, especially in the Southeast around the area of Gympie. We get them up north but they don't seem to be as common. I've been lucky so far in that I've only ever had a very light contact with one. And yeah, kinda like a burn. I'd hate to trip into a sapling and cop a big hit though.
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  15. I have my own grinder and espresso machine and have had for many years. However, on the rare occasion that I buy a coffee, I've found that even the 7/11 coffee over here isn't too bad. I've only ever bought coffee in a specialist cafe a couple of times and decided not to again because I realised exactly how crappy my homebrew was in comparison. Mine is great if I don't have good coffee to compare it to.
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  16. 6:06 An anti-hammer device. It prevents that bang bang bang when you turn on a tap.
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  17. 4:20 QANTAS' reputation as the most reliable and safe airline in the world was irreparably damaged during the tenure of their last CEO, Ziggy Stardust, or whatever his name was. He gutted the airline for shareholder profits and personal bonuses. It's a damned shame. We also had another major airline in Australia called Ansett. Unfortunately, they entered into a business contract with Air New Zealand, which led to the complete collapse of Ansett, the only real competitor to QANTAS in Australia.
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  18. That downshift in the chase, man. So sweet.
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  19. 10:55 In the 90s, friends and us would host university students or foreigners studying in Australia. One of the guys, when the semester finished, decided to ride from Rockhampton to Uluru. Have a look on Google maps how far it is. Thankfully, he was somewhat aware of the distances he'd have to travel. However, on the first day, he only made it to Duaringa, 100 km from Rockhampton. Still a good feat in my eyes if look at the terrain he covered. If memory serves me correctly, he actually made it in a few weeks.
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  20. Hey mate, have a look for the Doug Anthony Allstars. A comedy/satire trio from the 70s/80s who really made an impact over here. In particular, see if you can find their cover of 'Heard it Through The Grapevine', or ' Throw Your Arms Around Me'. Two songs that completely divert from their sometimes very crass comedy.
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  21. It is truly stunning. But remember, we have our fair share of idiots here in Oz as well. I have met many Aussies who don't know much about Australia beyond a 60km radius from their home.
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  22. At 7:25 you just missed where one of the pythons had a bite at the other one. That's why they did that big slap. They only bit at each other twice in the 40 minutes. Otherwise, they were trying to out climb or squeeze each other. It was pretty trippy.
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  23. I remember being tripped out years ago when I first saw those walking tree loppers. They were on six independent legs and had a tree-stripping attachment. It could walk sideways up steep terrain and selectively pick a tree, cut it at the base, and then strip the branches off. I immediately wanted one...and still do.
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  24. There are ignorant and unconsciously racist people everywhere. For example, possibly the most out of touch and overtly racist statement I ever heard came from a couple of tourists in Far North Queensland about 10 years ago. They were from Melbourne. For those who don't know, Melbourne is down South on the coast near Tasmania. I was in Helenvale, home of the Lion's Den Hotel near Cooktown, up on Cape York. The two places are not only worlds apart in distance (3000km/2000miles) but also in attitudes and population. Anyway, as you do up there in a country pub, you say hello to the tourists. So I sat down and started to have a yarn with this couple. It was all going fine until the woman said to me, "The boongs are really friendly up here..." 'Boong' is a term that was once common among white city folk to describe aboriginals... I was lost for words. All I could do was walk away and sit with my friends again. Just. Blown. Away.
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  25. 9:11 The way both wheels got ripped off at the same time, and how the two concrete barriers created the perfect ramp to launch the car into the canal. Like a failed James Bond movie stunt.
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  26. Aldi's 'Prince' brand 'Calibre 6' razors and blades are the best razor I've ever used. Sharp, long-lasting, and a quarter the price of Gillette. Ironically, two years ago I stocked up on them and then grew a beard...
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  27. I live in a converted 60/70s era Bedford passenger bus that originally had a big old six cylinder engine. Back in 1989, the original owners swapped it out for a 308 Holden engine. I'm pretty sure the engine is worth more than the bus.
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  28. I call gugu Yalanji my home country. It's up on Cape York between Mossman and just South East of Cooktown. It is one of the 20 languages where it is spoken as a first language still. I know a little language and will learn more when I return next year. Wujal Wujal, the main community North of Cape Tribultionis very cool. It's one of those places where you'll see the lads driving down the road with their mullet spears hanging out the window. The Culture is still rich up there.
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  29. Yep, houses, wineries, farms. A regular rural neighbourhood :o)
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  30. That's awesome, Raye! It is an incredibly technical sport to excel in. Congrats to all your family champions.
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  31. Record profits during a downturn, and these areshats keep pumping up prices.
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  32. I don't watch TV. I haven't seen this before now, and I came into it expecting some sort of cringefest. I am pleasantly surprised. This is pretty good. Quite enjoyable, and just sayin' when I see people speak language, it moves me emotionally.
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  33. 2:55 That may be a Kellit Autogiro craft that the US Mail used for a while in the 30s. Mail was delivered and picked up from skyscraper rooftops. Yes, of course, I Googled, and was truly surprised by what I found!
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  34. Australia has evolved along US lines with respect to servos. Back in the day, every servo in Australia also had a mechanic workshop attached and didn't sell food or even snacks besides drinks like coke and fanta. They didn't have restaurants etc. As time passed, the model changed and we got carwashes instead of workshops. Then came video shops, then came basic snacks and stuff. Then...a sudden change happened and servos became affiliated with supermarkets and sold groceries as well as fuel. They also became part of the 'Service Centre' complexes that have become common in Australia. It is a huge fuel centre that also offers food and drinks, with other shops like Maccas or Hungry Jacks or McDonald's. As well as coffee shops and other stores (Dunkin Donuts anyone?). The whole idea of entering a petrol station has changed. You rarely see a mechanic's workshop attached to a servo today.
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  35. @kevkoala You made some really thoughtful choices man, well done.
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  36. Yeah, I'm pretty proud of how cool our cash looks. It's also very tactile. It can be folded with a crease and then, with a little work, flattened to where you can't see where it had been folded.
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  37. I will always love the huge rear tyres of this era of F1 cars. You just know there is some serious torque and power driving them.
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  38. 6:00 Yep. The 'Biro' advanced our world in ways we just don't appreciate.
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  39. @not today Oh, and my comment was completely in context, so yeah, I'll comment about the 'bad problems' and most Americans will agree with me.
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  40. 7:30 Yeah, nah. That blew me away. I started my computing days when 5-inch floppies were a thing. I had no idea the floppy was a Hungarian invention.
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  41. Some trivia about Queensland. When you're not looking at a map, it's easy to think that Queensland's coastal towns and cities are in a line running North/South. However, even though both Cooktown and Brisbane are on the coast, Cooktown is as far West as Cunnamulla, in Far West outback Queensland. I got my first realisation of the difference when I was in Bloomfield/Cooktown, talking to a friend on the phone who was in Brisbane. The sun had already set, and it was dark in Brisbane, but the sun was only just setting up where I was. It was still daylight.
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  42. Gotta love Carl. A legend of Aussie comedy.
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  43. I was at Lakeside in around 1978 and watched a mini brick roll at Hungry's. It rolled for about 100 metres (100yards or thereabouts) and as it rolled the bonnet, boot, and both doors got ripped off. It ended up on its wheels and the driver climbed out with no dramas. But damn, it was an exceptional crash LOL.
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  44. Not sure if anyone has commented, but the disk she is holding holds 1.44mb.
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  45.  @7six3  Not quite. In Far North Queensland, if there is only one way in and one way out of a community, and that community is 'dry', then no, usually you can't bring alcohol in your vehicle, even if you don't intend to drink it or take it out of the said vehicle. However, if you travel through a community that can be driven through to a destination that is not under the dry rules, you can take your alcohol through. You must be a bona fide person passing through, you can't stop, and the alcohol must be hidden from outside view.
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  46. 9:55 You'll see a lot of the bays etc in Far North Queensland retain their names from 1770 when Cook was up that way. Cape Tribulation was named because that's around where Cook hit the reef for the first time. He ended up in the Endeavour River further North and the locals looked after him.
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  47. You can tell you're in Bogan country when every second singlet or t-shirt is Black with some variation of the Jack Daniels logo. See 1:55 to 2:05
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  48.  @stormygayle9388  Now you're just trying to pull someone's leg. There aren't too many habitated places here where it's 40+ for weeks. High 30s, yeah, but 40s aren't as common as you're spruiking.
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  49. Man, that's cool. I have a collection of the old 1:50000 maps that cover most of Cape York. They were made using data from the 40s thru to the 60s if I recall correctly. I've been a bit of a map geek since my childhood. We moved from Brisbane to Perth in the early 70s and when I got there, our first geography class was mapping, and the textbook we had was using Mt Tibrogargan to show contours. I was 9or 10 years old and was so excited that a mountain near where I used to live was in a textbook. After that I was hooked.
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  50. I should hunt down some video showing how eroded and topsoil-depleted land is being restored. Yes, we have a deplorable record with respect to logging native forests. Further, people were paid to clear land many years ago for grazing and agriculture. Contrary to some in the comments, we have clear-felled 90% of our arable land. Land was cleared using two bulldozers with a huge chain attached between them. They just drive through the scrub, ripping every tree from the ground. There are a now vast tracts of land being repaired by farmers nowadays. I won't go on. It'll be another long rant.
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