abitfishy

Of course, it is a real shame. I was pointing out that maybe educating people of other 'countries of origin' may make a difference to these tragedys. I was not attempting to start a race debate or think the loss was any less of a loss due to the background of the people involved as it isn't (I am in fact married to someone from a similar background as these brothers) - the 69.1% fact speaks for itself that we could do more to assist these people. Just as my wife isn't a strong swimmer, nor are her family or friends with the same background, and I insist on a life jacket whenever we in a position where she could get into the water. Not sure where Pete is coming from though, since his link actually confirms my point......maybe our wires are crossed. No harm done.

Well done Pete, I'm not talking 'residents', I'm talking 'country of origin', ie, 'non english speaking background' (and a few english/newzealanders thrown in, pardon the pun). So in fact, I HAVE done my research. Look at the 'country of origin' table on that same page. 69.1% were from a country of origin other than Australia. I rest my case for educating people new to our country. Thanks for the interesting link though.

This sort of tragedy is happening far too often because of non-swimmers taking part in water based activities - when are they going to learn??? Maybe we need to educate people from non-english speaking backgrounds more on the dangers of our waterways. Don't go off on me - I only say that as many of the latest fatalities have been people from non-english backgrounds who could not swim. Fact. It happens often. Maybe instead of our stupid government making new Australians know the words to waltzing matilda or whatever the hell they are wanting to do, that they make it compulsory for some 'water safety' course. Afterall we are an island with many major river systems, its pretty likely people new to our country will be living near water and I think we have a responsibility to these people to ensure they know enough to stay safe.

Very scary for him. There was a story on one of those true life shows some time ago of some guy who underwatered himself in the stomach I think it was, climbed over rocks, got into the car and started driving to get help - but had to keep the drivers door open so the underwater could stick out! Freaky. Survived too.

Ha Ha. Good one. As a PC tech, I get the occasional call to fix this, usually, as was in the case with you, when they had no idea how it happened. Of course, its usually 'I think I have a strange virus, the screen is upside down' type of call.

Just keep in mind, that the one at Miranda in Port Hacking Rd, is majority live-in residents, and as a result, well, lets say, um, attracts a certain kind. Its commonly checked for local crooks that are on the run, and for crooks from outside the area thats been spotted in the shire (and a few have actually been found there). Personally I'd be looking elsewhere, even if you need to travel a bit further......it definitely does not have a good reputation. But thats just my opinion.

Ha Ha. I wouldn't eat rabbit food just to take 7 years off.

Why on earth would you want to become a hippy vegetarian?

Not sure what roof racks you have, but if they are Rola/Rhino/Thule, you can get brackets designed to clamp PVC pipe onto the racks. Tradesman use them mainly. And surprisingly, they are pretty reasonably priced. Contact your nearest roof rack/towbar/4WD equipment store. If they are generic bars that you can't get the specific brands clamps, I did see a bracket designed for PVC pipe in the hardware thats used to hold the pipe against a wall or similar, so you could U-bolt the brackets onto your racks and would work well. Good luck.

Thanks mate. They don't have those ones. Will keep looking.

Thanks guys for your help. Now what I am looking for is those clear tackle containers WITHOUT dividers - I wish to keep SP's and hardbodys in their packs, and unless I go for huge containers and remove the removable dividers (which leaves some space in between the fixed dividers), its a bit tight. Does anyone know where I can get the medium size ones without dividers? I've tried the department stores, $2 shops, a few web sites....

I even had a post edited removing a link to a non-commercial kayak fishing web site, who has no sponsors and no conflict of interest.......that seemed a bit over the top I must admit.

Hey guys, Yes, I know about the boulders just under the surface. I never thought of google earth - I have noticed the wonnie seems to have the pics done at low tide so it might give some indication of which side of the river to stick to. Not sure if there are too many sharks up there these days davemmm, but I'd never swim in it, although plenty do.

Thanks for the link, I have that map in hardcopy..... Thats exactly what I mean though - that map goes about 1km past the footbridge - but theres about another 4km to The needles.......need local knowledge it seems.

Hey guys, I'd love to take the runabout upstream on the Woronora River past the footbridge, all the way to 'The Needles', but I know its pretty shallow in parts, in particular at low tide. Does anyone by any chance have tips (gee a map would be fantastic!), showing the deeper sections of the river to get there safely? I assume there are no 'topographic' maps, if thats what they are called (the ones that show contours for depth) for that section - since most normal fishing/boating maps stop at the footbridge! Thanks Martin