Another person who’s unlikely to visit Australia anyway, so the poison animal issue is moot.
I’d love to visit Australia (and New Zealand), but these factors make it really unlikely:
- The extremely long flight
- The extremely expensive flight
- How little vacation I get
I have 2 weeks vacation a year; when I’m with my employer past 3 years, it gets bumped up to 3 weeks. If I’m flying halfway around the world, I’d need at least 2 weeks at a bare minimum, to do the trip justice. Just recovering from jet lag would take up a few days.
I also only get 5 sick days a year. I’m lucky that I have a good track record of not getting sick, but if I used those 5 days up, then days off are taken from my vacation bank.
I basically don’t have enough vacation time to go.
A very cursory search for tickets six months in advance still came up with about 1200.00 a person. That’s still far too rich for my blood. I don’t mind spending money on a trip, but blowing two grand for myself and Nashiitashii just on airfare alone is absurd. Oh and I’m the one guy who voted for “planning a trip just to tour the venomous and dangerous fauna”.
They’ve got dingoes for that.
Now I’ll never be able to go back, they won’t let me in after that…
Most my trips around the globe are sponsored by my best friend. She flies worldwide for conventions. Australia is one of the location I’m interested in traveling with her too but it is so god dam time consuming and expensive to just get there.
The critters are neither a detracting factor or reason for going. I’m much more interested in people, architecture and sights.
Afraid of what?..your cute fuzzy spiders? Floating globs of jelly with arms? Teeny-tiny octopuses, with—brace yourself—blue spots!?! Come on people, grow a pair!—these aren’t exactly the stuff of nightmares, like say, a Grizzly Bear, or a T-Rex…you know, something American with big teeth.
I laugh at your Funnel Web Spider, Blue Ring Octopus, Box Jellyfish, and all those other oft-mentioned “dangerous” :dubious: critters from down under and they most assuredly do not keep me from visiting Australia.
No, what makes me thank my lucky stars that there are ~15000km between me and your country is that creature we Northern Hemispherians don’t normally hear about. I suspect we don’t hear about it because even you rough and tumble Aussies are a bit afraid to think or talk about it, am I right? You know the one I’m referring to though, don’t you? You know, that hideous monstrosity with the curved dagger-like front claws; the grotesquely fused 2nd and 3rd toes on its back feet; the big pointed, hairless snout…Hell, the damned thing doesn’t even lie down, like any self-respecting animal does when it slumbers—instead, like some type of demon, it squats down on its haunches, tucks its repugnant muzzle between its front legs and pulls it gruesome ears over its dead-black eyes! Bloody hell, what’s that all about? Oh yes, and if that weren’t enough, it’s also an OMNIVORE…that means it won’t just eat you, it’ll eat your dog and houseplants, too.
No sir, you will not see me anywhere near your infernal island down under so long as it is home to the Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis). (Please refrain from clicking hyperlink if you have an arrhythmia or irritable bowel syndrome).
And no one has yet mentioned a dugite.
“Its venom is potentially one of the most lethal in the world, causing coagulopathic and procoagulant effects”
The only thing keeping me from visiting Australia is the combination of my lack of time, the near $10,000. CAD cost of a flight for me and my family and the seemingly minimum 22 hour flight. Other than that, I’d visit in a heartbeat. Well, the decision would take a heartbeat…
The poll didn’t have my answer which is, “I don’t plan on visiting Australia because it takes like 3 days to fly there.”
That’s my answer as well. We have poisonous wildlife and dangerous animals here, too. Most people aren’t bothered by them. Most people that are are fools.
I’m going to come visit Australia in the next six months. New Zealand first, then Australia. I’m hoping nothing poisonous bites me, but I can’t say I’m staying up nights worrying about it.
I’m not planning to visit but I’m not scared of insects, even spiders. I love spiders!
I just can’t afford to travel, but if I could, Australia’s in my top five.
Probably because the poll question is not: “why don’t you want to come to Australia?”. I don’t doubt there are dozens of good answers to that question, but it’s not the question I was curious about.
Huh, my cats gift me with the carcass of at least one a week, when I don’t see it crawling on the walls first.
They’re big, not dangerous. Geez.
I like to poke around places so I’d need a primer on what will kill me when I’m not in the city playing knifey spoony. That and the rail service from Europe is seriously lacking.
In reality it’s in the middle of nowhere and the economy ate into my retirement fund. It’s currently still cheaper than vacationing on the space station but not by much. I’ll have to stick to exotic Canada to get my UK freak on.
Dunno about the rest, but I suspect that 2/3 of the BeeGees don’t live anywhere anymore… 
I have 2 very good friends in Australia and they tell me and send me pics of some of the wildlife they see on an almost-daily basis, but I answered that I would visit with no trepidations.
Q
Elvis still lives there, at least the watered down version.
Next time I have a week to kill, I’ll come and apologize in person for my failed attempt at humor.
Zis iss Austria, ve haf no senz of humour here.