adventure begins. Keep up the
great stories. Haven’t missed an
issue yet, and don’t intend to.
JIM EINAM, ALICE SPRINGS, NTED: Hi, Jim. You’re spot-on regarding
the lack of side-track mention and
the potential for misadventure.
The Tanami Road suggestion is a
great one; it is far more direct, albeit
not as scenic as the corrected route.ANOTHER RED HERRING
Dearie dear, oh my! Here we are
in the land of the long red sunset,
and along comes Evan Holt
(Your Say, AG 154) to claim
sovereignty over our cosmos and
intellectual property rights over
our weather. Farmers (me
included) all over our land have
used the “red sunrise/sunset”
jingle in their day-to-day living
for generations. If it works (and it
does), use it. Did this gem arrive
here with the First Fleet in a
convict ship? NO!
It is written – wait for it – in
the Bible. Yes, the Bible! Pretty
much all translations! Try reading
the Gospel of Matthew 16: 2–4.
Because this was written almost
2000 years ago, it presents a bit of
a problem for the English gentle-
man and his shepherds.
I love Dr Karl and always read
his column. I agree a red sunrise
does not always result in precipi-
tation, but it often signals a
change in the prevailing weather
pattern, even if it is only a dry
change, and we’ve had plenty of
those lately.
JOHN RYAN, GATTON, QLDHIDDEN DRAGON
I really liked the article and
pictures of the West Australian
pebble dragon (Geobuzz, AG 154).In June 2016, I found a pebble
dragon in western Queensland,
at the old transcontinental railway
site north-west of Winton. Out of
the corner of my eye I saw a small
rock move about 100mm. But
rocks don’t move!
It took a couple of minutes for
me to actually see a lizard among
the rocks. One of the best
examples of nature’s art of
camouflage I have ever seen.
If the lizard hadn’t moved,
I wouldn’t have seen it. I have
attached a couple of pictures
(above) that show how well they
blend in with their environment,
and how small they actually are.
MAL EARNSHAW, BEGA, NSWWORTHY WINNER
I have enjoyed an AG member-
ship for some years and always
look forward to receiving my
copy of the journal.
The article on the Leyland
Brothers, Life on the road (AG153),
brought back wonderful memo-
ries of their great TV shows and I
am fairly sure that it was on their
1966 “west to east” trip that
included photos of them on
motorcycles going through the
water at the base of Uluru with
waterfalls in the background.
I have often wondered what
happened to Mike and Mal and
now I know and am glad that Mal
still has his adventurous spirit but
sad that Mike is not now with
him or us.
Both these men deserved an
Australian award if they haven’t
already got one.
TREVOR RICHARDS, SANDRINGHAM, VICED: Hi, Trevor. We gave Mal the
AGS Lifetime of Adventure award in
2019 – the Society’s highest honour.In January, we highlighted the impact the
recent extreme bushfi res have had on
Australia’s insect populations.
Here’s what you had to say.PIP MORRISSEY
So many of our native birds depend on
insects as their main food source and breed
when insects are plentiful...the fl ow-on
eff ect of these fi res is far-reaching.MICHAEL RHODES
They may not be furry, cuddly or cute but
are every bit as important in the great
scheme of things.JAMES PACKMAN
We regularly drive to Batemans Bay from
Sydney... In summertime I need to put a bug
screen on the front of the car. This summer?
Not one noticeable bug splat. Nothing.ANGELA BENNETT
Bugs are essential to our ecosystem – they
play very important roles, pollinators,
cultivators, composters – so we do need to
worry about mass loss or extinction.JULIE SKINNER
Insects we used to see as children seem to
be few and far between in the last 20 years!
My take is too much spraying of insecticides.Ta l k b @ck
Sign up to the Australian
Geographic email newsletter on our
homepage and we’ll deliver fresh
content to your inbox every week!FREEMarch. April 15PHOTO CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCKSCIENTIFIC NAME:
Anoplognathussp.