group meetings and training

[bearindawoods]

I'm surprised that after all this time that there not more well organised group exercises and or training for up and coming researchers, as what they have in the USA, the ABA have field training and learning programs that are hands on and given by expirenced reseachers, why does this not happen here I mean sitting on a computer and going it alone is not the same as face to face learning...

[Dion]

Hey bearindawoods

I see where you’re coming from and yes it would be nice to have such a program but I’ll try and answer this as honestly and truthfully as possible. What I have to say is only my opinion.

Most people on here live hectic lives and do not have the time and or resources to be “training” people, besides what is there to really “train” apart from learning from a few stories and yarns. This website/forum should have all you need to get started as a new researcher if it doesn’t then we are doing something wrong.

The best way to learn a thing or two is to get out there amongst it yourself or preferably invite somebody you know and trust to come along with you. That’s important, somebody you know and trust which is probably one reason why we don’t do “training” so to speak. Mostly people that have been loyal to the forum for a number of years and are known to be respected through their own hard work and or experiences and or just downright good people are given the opportunity to join in on an expedition.

I mean no disrespect to anybody here I know AYR has had problems in the past where those rules did not apply and people that should have been guests on an expedition tried to take control. This is not the type of environment for anybody.

Having said all this there is also a plethora of knowledgeable people using this forum and others where you can learn a thing or two from, some of us know a bit more than others, but really nothings kept that secret that we only tell in so called “training days or expeditions”, what you see on this website/forum is what you get out on an expedition. There are no secret “training rituals” or “handshakes” at least none that I’m aware off.

We try and be as open as we can on the forum, and give as many answers and opinions as possible, having said that we would never promote to have “all the answers”, anyone who says they do is fool hardy, we will always do our best to offer an opinion, but that’s where it stops it’s not truth or gospel it’s just an opinion. This is after all a discussion forum where we learn from each other, sometimes we do not all ways see eye to eye as each of us has different opinions on the subject and I hope that in most cases we learn to respect each other’s views.

Like I have said most of us don’t have the time or resources to so call “train” people, all the answers anybody needs should be right here on this website/forum.

The best research is done first hand no matter how much so called “training” is given.

[SAB 8]

I'm surprised that after all this time that there not more well organised group exercises and or training for up and coming researchers, as what they have in the USA, the ABA have field training and learning programs that are hands on and given by expirenced reseachers, why does this not happen here I mean sitting on a computer and going it alone is not the same as face to face learning...

I can relate to you there bearindawoods. For years previously I was keen to get out amongst it and get in contact with like-minded people. The whole concept of TEACHING probably wouldn`t sit comfortably with anyone in AYR even the guys who have had a lot of experience. That being said, any meeting would be more of an exchange of stories and ideas rather than a teacher-student relationship. Everyone has personal life experiences or yowie-related information that they can bring to the table. After years of trying to get things rolling it has only been the past 12-18 months things have really kicked off for me in terms of interacting with like-minded indivduals. Although I did quite a bit solo in the years previously and slowly but surely built up my knowledge base. I think the whole thing is a bit of a trust issue. As Chewy said people who stick around for a while and contribute regularly will gain that respect and show their commitment to the subject! There are a lot of people who come in with a lot of passion but in 12 months time they have seemingly disappeared of the face of the earth. Also, in light of recent events there are questionable individuals with questionable motives..... hence a cautious approach is warranted! It seems to me that these individuals are more concerned with trying to make a name for themselves through attacks on other researchers rather than truly trying to understand the Yowie Phenomenon. If one stays dedicated and patients the rewards will come!

I agree with what Chewy has said... one of the hardest things is trying to organise a weekend when everyone is free.... not to mention that most of us are seperated by substantial distances.... so anything that does go ahead usually needs to be well planned. But you never know, maybe we can get something going where we are more physically interactive as a group. I think that would be a good thing. All it takes is motivation and commitment!

[bearindawoods]

Thank you... why may you ask am I thanking you, because these answers are more productive than mud slinging...
Yes I agree that through investigation we accomplish great things, but these things would be greater if the more seasoned researchers were more forth-coming, thats why I suggested or better asked why aren't we as organised as our fellow reseachers in the USA, the first response was every1 too busy to bother, Dean's team doesn't seem to be to busy, so why can't we gather as groups for face to face workshops on how to be a better researcher, I had to watch ABA to get clear understanding on to correctly mix plaster for casting prints and I think that is quite dumb that I have to out source to get the correct info when that info should be available here via hands on workshops.. In the vid it was ordinary working families at these workshops who have the time, saying you don't the time is an excuse chewy and a lame 1 at that....... (my apoligizes for if I have offended you)
Would it wrong for me to suggest that certain seasoned researchers would prefer to keep some info and locations to themselves for fear some1 else discovering something they missed, it would seem too busy really means cant be bothered, I feel that I shouldn't FU a good cast, because no1 could bothered to show me how to correctly do it, that is why workshops are great you expand your reseach base and gain more precise info from well prepared and knowledgable researchers, who show better confidence in the field......
If AYR wants to be serious about reseach from ppl that are willing to go there and seek answers, why not hold workshops, I'd be the first to sign the line and pay my say $30.00 annual membership, to become better prepared in the field.....

[bearindawoods]

I here what your saying and a sort of agree on some parts but disagree on others, if 1 was to pay an annual fee for workshops persay would that not root out the "questionable types" as you put it + why should I have "prove" myself to seasoned researchers, if I'm willing and show the will to do this I shouldn't have wait eons for assistance, I can guarantee thats why so many have given up because this "secret society" BS.......

[Mike Williams]

Hi Bearindawoods

Dean's team doesn't seem to be to busy

Are you here to try and work with others..or just here to try and insult some of us..?
1/"we" are not "deans team"..we are a group of friends with different views.
2/How do you know what "we" are doing...and if we are busy.?

so why can't we gather as groups for face to face workshops on how to be a better researcher

Simple...Because of the near zero interest that would generate.
Example..the Sydney Crypto conference..2001.We received some good publicity.
City of 4 ? million people.
Turn out..about 60 people..and about half of them were speakers and friends of speakers and people helping us stage it.

I had to watch ABA to get clear understanding on to correctly mix plaster for casting prints and I think that is quite dumb that I have to out source to get the correct info
when that info should be available here via hands on workshops..

My apologises but I must have missed your post here asking how to mix plaster... which doesnt require a "workshop"...which post was it.?

saying you don't the time is an excuse chewy and a lame 1 at that.

Mate..Chewy was very polite and gave you his opinion....where do you think we get resources or time to "train" people anyway.?

im surprised that after all this time that there not more well organised group exercises and or training for up and coming researchers, as what they have in the USA, the ABA have field training and learning programs that are hands on and given by expirenced reseachers, why does this not happen here I mean sitting on a computer and going it alone is not the same as face to face learning...

I am surprised that you are surprised..
Regarding group exercises/training...no one(except yourself) is interested..see conference for example above.
And if the US "training" model is so brilliant...show us all the amazing evidence they have..because other than some bits of plaster and the patterson/gimlin film they have diddly squat..just like us.
And if you are that keen..pm me sometime..and I can show you round Blue Mts area..in "hot spots"..
And what is someone supposed to "train" you in exactly..?
Here is a rough guide...
Find a "hot" location..or a fresh area with promise..go there and try and find something..tracks/scats/tree breaks etc...like others do here.
Try and get a friend to help...or go it alone...99% of my own "work" I do by myself..
Start some form of communication with researchers on this forum and everywhere else..because information and trust come with communication and work..
When you researched on the computer..you found books on yowies or even bigfoot right..?
Which ones did you get.?
Take it easy mate..dont get frustrated so early in this mad adventure....do some hard yards first....then get frustrated...

cheers..
Mike

[Dion]

Hey bearindawoods

I can assure you there is no secret society within AYR, as much as you may think so, and we certainly are not going to start profiteering or asking for an annual fee to start sharing information that is already readily available on this site.

I will say that there is a small group of us that do share some small amounts of information that is not warranted for public viewing for various reasons, example, a witness does not want that information to go public, etc. if a witness does not want that information to go public then we have a duty to hold onto that information.

If you wish to say that’s a secret society then so be it I won’t sway you to think otherwise.

I am sure that would raise more question as to what AYR stands for than anything else if that information was leaked and money isn’t one of them.

If you really want assistance you just have to ask for it, it’s simple, the information is there for everyone. There are a number of people that are willing to answer any questions anyone may have.

People don’t give up because of any secret society stuff they give up because they lose an interest, believe me I have seen it, if they were really interested in the subject they would hang around and contribute.

Besides people come and go for many reasons.

Again if you want assistance you just need ask.

[cryptobotanica]

Few reasons.

Firstly - the tax man Nuff said. If someone seems to know their way around, offer em a decent carton (I like Boags, if you're offering ). Trade some skills.

Secondly - Australia simply does not have the "weekend workshop" mentality of much of the more liberal US regions. We are moving towards that, largely thanks to the influence of travellers in the know. (drumming/ayahusca/tantra circle, anyone?). It's a recurring trait. I have a passionate interest in primitive skills and whatnot (though to be honest I didn't realise most of em were "cool and primitive" until I was 20 or so) and find Aussies are pretty slack when it comes to Atlatl/Wommera clubs, leagues etc. Noone cares about making fire the "old"way unless they are pot bellied office workers trying to bolster their masculunity. Screw that. But ... we're a nation of joiners. Not starters.

In some ways it works out to our advantage (much lower levels of stupid cults, whacko health options and silly made up religions) but in other ways it holds us back. It doesnt help that we are notoriously anti-bush... we might grease our palms over the notion of "bushman" but in practice, most of us are of urban/city backgrounds and we've never had what you can call a large population of rural types. we're a nation of office/factory/trade workers.

Which is great - we don't shoot anything in sight, we don't tend to think Jeebus can cure diabetes and we don't think we have a god given right to own machine guns. But it's a lil sad, as many of us cannot even ID the trees in our own yards, the animal calls we hear of a nighttime or the critter that we just ran over. genuine bushies are seen as a bit suspicious... what with the liking blackfellas, having beards, and whatnot. Have to remember "We" have basically spent 200 years HATING the fact that we cannot understand or appreciate our own ecology... and hating anyone that tries to. Our locals only got the vote, and were classed as human being less than 50 years ago

We feel bad charging for what we aren't certain of ourselves, and we typically hate on people who put emselves out there as representing "expert" level knowledge within a distinctly amateurish field.

Third - Like most Aussie forums, this place is a conglomeration of mates, mates of mates, mates of mates of mates, and randoms. Now... assuming most of us cohabitate with SOMEONE (and given the preponderance of male membership, it's likely to be a female someone) means that we are kind of touchy about who we let in on our home turf (kinda yowie like, really). I have a lovely other half and a remarkable daughter... granted, the former would probably break your arms off if it came to it, and the other would run like a flash but that's not the point. I don't know who you are, and I'm screwed if I want you hanging around my block.

Fourth - Distance. I live all of half an hours drive from THE yowie statue, and I don't know anyone locally that is much into gentle exploration. Lots of gun nuts, yes. machismo driven short men, yes. Rednecks with something to prove, yes. But stable, sensible people with an interest in the strange, no.

Fifth - there is no secret society. Mates keep secrets, and sometimes share secrets passed on by others. But there are no secret handshakes. It'd be hard, as it's patently obvious many of the "experts" are prone to overly-definitive flights of fancy,(obvious dog tracks passed off as big cat tracks, obvious natural damage passed off as yowie damage, obvious natural mishaps passed off as interactions... bla , bla ,bla) and a tendency to confuse unexpected but natural phenomena with the genuinely supernatural.

In the same way that locals in most bush regions are far more in tune with the natural notion of things than the weekend trippers with a a bag of gear from BCF and a head full of paperbacks, for every person that has an actual connection with their landscape there are a hundred (or a thousand) simply looking to sate their ego, their machismo or their greed. Or just their basic human need to seem "interesting". Me, I'm all for boring

Sixth - some of us are actually fairly private, normal people. I do not own a single "crypto" book, believe it or not. Or a single supernatural book. I have had over the years a fairly impressive library but after a single read I pass it on to more interested parties. Almost all of that stuff is written by ego-driven whitebread. I think I have a couple of editions of Eliphas Levi's work but that'd be it. Mostly we are aware of strange things but would feel bad/tacky discussing it in front of our kids or whatever. It seems there are people that NEED to believe, and take anything as a sign, and those that DO believe, but still have fairly accurate bullshit-o-meters. Cultural, racial and spiritual differences in background come into play here too.

Seventh - who wants to spend all weekend hanging out with a bunch of weekend satnav nomads pretending to be scared by entirely natural sounds in the bush? Or entirely natural damage? I hate that c**p. Grown ups acting like kids. nature is nature, the supernatural is the supernatural... no need to go making things up. Correction - making more of things than they really warrant. It's a bit sad.

Eighth - as Chewy said "people that should have been guests on an expedition tried to take control"

This works both ways. One, in someone else's backyard, or having been informed that there is a designated expedition leader... some people cannot help but buck with that. Oppositional personalities abound. On the other hand, having been "invited" along for many different outings in my time, nothing shits me more than some pack of pasty beer gutted townboys with their "my knife is bigger than yours" or their "I have pricier gear and ar eally big torch, so I laugh at your notions of natural understanding, bushfoods and actually understanding the ecosystem". But ya get that. A leader is a leader, a title should not matter and if your suggestions are at the endo f the day of more interest of value than theirs, they shouldn't get too upset. Researching a genus renowned for alpha-male behaviour should prep people for dealing with it but in practice, most of us are happier on our own terms, on our own grounds.

Now... practical stuff..... I suspect your post, Bear, could be more appropriately answered by starting a subforum/thread on "practical tips". plaster. recordings of bird and animal calls. examples of natural tree damage versus the inexplicable. Subtle differences between simply old human smells, versus fresh ape smells.

Sounds like you should just start a thread of things you find useful, or helpful, or interesting? It's really all anyone else does.

For example, I learned to mix plaster at school but it never occured to me someone else might not know how to. It was made aware to me a few days ago that a lot of people do not actually know what a fox sounds like. Or what a fox set smells like. Or what a bull with his balls caught in a fence sounds like... it's all a matter of exposure and what is obvious to one of us, might not be so obvious to another.

Lets face it, anyone offering "Weekend Yowie Training Packages" would be an object of ridicule, their evidence would be ruthlessly (and unprofessionally) decimated and their graduates would be quickly known as "yowie tryhards".

If you really need it, you can pay ME 30 bucks and I'll drag your bum around the scrub all day, shove you under precarious rock shelters, teach you to tell a blue kingfisher mining its nest for new eggs from other inexplicable things... but then I suspect, Bear, you'd be back here complaining anyway

Now... yowies aside... contact your nearest Ranger station. Many offer weekend and holiday school kid packages, I assume they have notes on offer or maybe you can have yourself tacked on to the list. Casts, sounds, scents and seasons really don't matter from genus to genus, it's the approach people need to learn.

[SAB 8]

I here what your saying and a sort of agree on some parts but disagree on others, if 1 was to pay an annual fee for workshops persay would that not root out the "questionable types" as you put it + why should I have "prove" myself to seasoned researchers, if I'm willing and show the will to do this I shouldn't have wait eons for assistance, I can guarantee thats why so many have given up because this "secret society" BS.......

In regards to location secrets.... many encounters occur on properties or residences of individuals who wish to remain anonymous. There is no secret society or team! I actually find that amusing.... no disrespect..... but if you knew the reality you would be laughing with me!!! As Mike said... friends, like-minded individuals occasionally getting together! There is no AYR squat team at a secret location eagerly awaiting the next call out!

Try being proactive about it...... The majority (if not all) of us do most of our work independently anyway..... Look for people who are interested in the subject in your local area. Get an email exchange going. BE PROACTIVCE! Try chasing up some reports in your neck of the woods.... Yowie sightings have been reported in almost every part of Australia!!! Get in contact with other enthusiasts.... Email addresses are on everyones profile whats stopping you. If your are genuine and keen than people will give you assistance - if you need it? There is no art to this or secret yowie course. Its just following sightings, following the research and having a look around for yourself. This isn`t rocket science!

In regards to ideas why don`t you have a good look on the web. Take Bigfootgadgets channel for instance..... Tone (Rickrocket and co) who often contributes to the forum has been putting some good ideas out there and he is keen as to hear some positive feedback. I`m sure if you sent the guys a message they would probably put up a clip on how to plastercast footprints.... or they might point you in the right direction.... as I said you gotta be PROACTIVE and chase stuff up. Contrary to your opinion, people on this forum haven`t always got the time or resources to do certain things.... this isn`t a full time job... people have got to pay the bills and put food on the table..... chuck in family commitments etc etc etc. Chewy wasn`t playing you off..... time is a real issue! You need to be more patient! Chillax a little

http://www.youtube.com/user/BigfootGadgets#p/u

Ed: Crypto just read your post..... Expansive elaborations! Not sure if I agree but you do have a very unique point of view in regards to what makes the Oz go round!

[cryptobotanica]

Lastly, and sadly enough.... liability. For all the jokes we make about americans and their lawyers, we're actually much more prone to vexatious litigation than they are.

too many potbellied townies end up taking some hard working type to court because they lied about their fitness/medical assessment/experience. Many experienced bushwalking clubs of yesteryear ended up fading away in the face of that kind of nonsense especially those attached to capital cities. Too many idiots trying to walk the Snowies after a hard week playing Solitaire.

just report what you find, and what you think of it. The lik e minded will gravitate towards you, those that think you're a fool will move away. Simple stuff really. What matters is your own record keeping, your own approach to the scientific method and your own ability to say "I don't actually care what you think - I found it a bit odd".

Crapping on about guns and being armed is not a great way to get invited into someone's home/social circle/turf, though. Just in case you hadn't thought of that yet Noone cares if Captain Sensible has a pocket knife. Corporal Psycho with an SKK in their car and a machete at their side (in the shops!) probably will not win a lot of favour.

Make of it, what you will

[cryptobotanica]

In regards to location secrets.... many encounters occur on properties or residences of individuals who wish to remain anonymous

Amen!

If you are not from a "small corner of the country" you have no idea just how stringent local standards and the rumour mill can be. It bothers me none, as it's just somewhere I live, can always change venues me... but a lot of people rely on their reputation as "an entirely normal Aussie battler" to derive their income, social standing, family entitlements etc. A lot of people in the know about the wild places near them are often the most quiet of reporters.That which they do report, they expect you to not repeat or at the very least, to blur the details.

A lot of especially older, rural types still live with the stigma of "the mentally ill" and that includes anyone that "sees things that aren't real". It's not like in cities where everyone has their weird tales. Out this way, it's "here's my story - now, about that welding...."... the practical, the physical, the proven is much more highly valued as it is what has kept a lot of the regional population ALIVE for the last 200 years. Screw the yowies... it's pumps, tanks, reserves, fuel loading, feed reserves, field fertility... farming is a dicey enough industry (already so far subsidised that many farmers may as well NOT farm anything) without giving yourself a rep of being a bit of a nutter. Everyone knows the name "Rex Gilroy". Who knows yours?

Exactly.

[SAB 8]

but a lot of people rely on their reputation as "an entirely normal Aussie battler" to derive their income, social standing, family entitlements etc. A lot of people in the know about the wild places near them are often the most quiet of reporters.That which they do report, they expect you to not repeat or at the very least, to blur the details.

Yer, I know what your saying there. I grew up in the country and a very, very close relative of mine had a possible yowie encounter.... It took an incredible amount of coaxing for him to relate it to me. He waited until the home was empty and related it in a whispered tone even though there was no one in the house. He even walked around looking out windows to see if anyone was coming such was his discomfort and fear of possible ridicule for describing the encounter to me. If it hadn`t been for my persistence it would have been just another untold enounter. I`m sure there are many.

[cryptobotanica]

Absolutely! Sounds fairly typical.I am sure most legit researchers (ie... askers of uncomfortable questions!) round here have encountered the same. And that between family. Much less approaching strangers over a hasty cuppa and asking for details.

On the other hand... if someone was all answers, no questions, and from some inner city area of a major capital... we could well assume that the crypto community at large would find them lacking in a certain amount of credibility.

It's a dicey situation. Me, I have no shame, if it needs to be asked I will. But I have (thanks to my Mums side) a blackfellas understanding of the strange, and the discretion that accompanies it. More to the point, an understanding that one persons fascination is another person's "I'd rather not talk about it".

I am halfway though creating some standardised forms, in .pdf format, for recording details of "less than ordinary" occurences. I know some researchers have their own equivalent... but I don't. Just a lot of time spent making clear to people around me that "you can say what you want - I won't think you're a nutter".

Lets face it... not so long ago if you wanted to mess with people in this nation you covered you feet with feathers and blood, to disguise your tracks, and you carried on about magic quarts and powders.... far from being a source of cynicism, I believe that exemplarizes the approach I find most useful - walk quietly, and carry a big (conversational) stick!

[The yowie Mrx]

If you are not from a "small corner of the country" you have no idea just how stringent local standards and the rumour mill can be.

That is so true! and because of that I have asked the AYR to keep my name and area off this site.

[Scott]

Hey Bear,read your post and all the responses. I completely understand where everyone is coming from.Been involved in "worshops" for educating the public in the past and must say that some of the more extreme people I was exposed to as a result put me right off the idea entirely. As for people keeping locations secret, the reasons are as varied as the individuals giving them.Can also understand the level of caution in relating to people that you only comunicate with through a glorified type writer.When I first started posting I spewed out stuff without thinking too much and then when the smarter half read it she pointed a few things out that I hadn't considered. As for asking for help,yeah that can be an intimadating thing for some people.I've tried a couple of times to down load photos to back my claims,had no success yet. I notice you don't have a location on your profile. I live in Sydney (not a potbellied office worker LOL) and at the moment am relient on public transport.Just putting it out there but if your nearby maybe we could meet up and venture into the woods.I don't have any fancy gear,just a plain digital camera,an open mind and what I like to think is an easy going attitude. Give it some thought mate, desprate to get out there,no one I know is interested.

Just read my own post. please understand I'm not a nut job. LOL

[topender]

Hey beraindawoods.....chill man

Ive been at this for a couple years, ive met some of AYR folk along the way......BUT we all work...have families and other commitments, i only meet others through pure good luck, theres about 4 AYR Forums members up here in Darwin and even we have trouble catching up or organising a trip...........So Chill

[bearindawoods]

thanks for "chill" advice...

[bearindawoods]

Where do I start.... It amazes me that the only time you can get answers albeit anything in general on this website is to be critical about certain factors which leads to respond to Mike's somewhat blunt appraoch and this for Mike and no other, not once in my quote did I suggest that you were apart of "Deans team", ever watched Youtube, as would notice Dean has a "team" on his expeditions, funny that hey..... and namely when you watch this vids he seems to be the leader so 1 might see this as "Dean's team", I see no insult there, I'm sorry if you misunderstood, but not sorry for suggesting on better methods for becoming better researchers... Thankyou for the offer Mike but I live QLD not NSW otherwise I would accept your offer and on saying this, this is what I am talking about... Offering to take new researchers into the field and giving them a "crash course" in Yowie hunting, there's absolutely no point in saying to some1 get camera go into the bush and you might get lucky or not.... If you don't know what or where to find a "hot spot"what then? By helping others through face to face instruction is a far more benefical method, for both parties and also the what to do's and more importantly the what not to do's, because I hope this never happens but 1 day some1 maybe injured or worse with an encounter with a Yowie and this is an exstreme possibility. This can clearly be evident in the altercation with an SASR sniper team at ormeau with hyper aggressive Yowie, although this was a 1 off incident its still 1 too many, these 2 men were very lucky because of their training and their specialised equipment, namely flashbang grenades, now on that point who on this site has access to flashbangs.........any1..... no1...... well what can I say, if your new what the hell are you going to do if and I mean if you find yourself in a similar situation like this...what kiss your arse goodbye......
This where people like you Mike come and an offer to those that willing to learn, I love it if I had a resource like yourself that I could meet and go bush for a learning curve on Yowie"s.....
Once again I'm sorry if I trod on any1's toes.....(ice will fix that) that was a joke.....

[deadpool]

I do my own field researches, based on what I've learn't from this site; in regards to how much/intense the encounter will be vs. what I know I can handle. You know how some schools, universities have online training courses? I think this forum is an equal to that in some way. You get to read what people have seen/done/how they reacted; you can take that, modify it as much as you need to, to fit your way of approaching things, and bam, go out there and have fun.

I've been on this site for god knows how long now, never been on one expedition, etc. Two reasons:
One: never been invited.
Two: because they know of my situation.

I know enough, spoken to a few of the members enough to get my own way of doing things right, go out, and see what happens. Sometimes something happens, other-times, nothing - but I always do it the way I've read other people have handled similar situations, and put that into my own initial reactions, filter both through and, i'm set.

[bearindawoods]

Thankyou for your positive input, Mike and I are talking outside of the forum via the personal messaging setting and I apoligized to him in regards to some of my comments, I wish to alpogize to every1, I'm a full on or nothing person and sometimes I forget about others feeling or may misinterpret what they say.......

[deadpool]

Its a free world mate, i don't think anyone has taken serious offence at anything you've said. That, and you've had the cajones to say it without holding back.

[hairy lad]

Being in this field is not about seeking acceptance for what you are doing, it is having a belief and a passion and going out there and doing your own work and along the way meeting and discussing the subject with like minded individuals.
I agree that training in this matter is best done through experience and that actual classes would in all likelihood attract an unwanted element. ie press etc.
I have always found the people on this site to be friendly and helpful

[rickrocket2010]

Hi Bear...Mate i cant offer Fancy wording i tell it like it is Bro....I wish to GOD we could all get together mate i have been wanting that for a long Bloody time..but i know it may never happen due to Distance and Family Commitments...i myself would jump at the chance to do a weekend with all of you guy's.....Fingers crossed it may happen one day.

We all have a lot to SHARE & LEARN on this subject. You will be learning for the rest of your life, i am.

To Cut all the Bullshit out we are individuals we are not Americans.....and yes i have a lot of USA Freinds...lol. Nine times out of ten we are out by ourselfs doing what we love...i have nobody close by me..except for SAB8 which you could not find a better person to bring into the feild...

Bear you live in QLD you are closer to dean then most of us...get to know him gain each other's trust and the sky's the limit mate.

I truly hope one day we may all get together it would be one hell of a weekend....Take care Bear

[Dion]

We all have a lot to SHARE & LEARN on this subject. You will be learning for the rest of your life, i am.

Precisely Tone, we are all learning here.

[Buck]

I think the forum is the next best thing to getting together and doing workshops.

I couldn't hope to find the wealth of reports and knowledge that are actually here at ones fingertips.

I started out reading, here on this forum... and then doing. Small things at first like just driving down certian roads that are featured in reports. I wouldn't have known where to look except for this resource.

I have been lucky enough to go along on several trips in QLD and NSW, that's a privilege not a right. It took a long time to find like minded people in my own circle of friends that would even entertain going for a bushwalk, let alone at night to "look for what!?" All my family, friends and workmates know I'm into Yowie hunting, they all roll thier eyes when I tell them I'm going out again.

But you keep going, if you are reading this and starting out... just keep going. Don't break your neck by trying to run.

Trawl through the reports, find a place close to where you live and start with a day trip, grab a friend tell someone where you're going and get out there. Take plenty of water, GPS, phone, walkie talkie a camera and some common sense.

Best tip for plaster casts. Unless you are going way way into the bush. If you find a track, take a picture, log it on your GPS, cover it with some leaf litter and come back later. The amount of time I've lugged plaster of paris around and not used it, tells you that it's hard to find prints.

My most interseting prints were underwater anyway

[AL Pitman]

Hey there bearindawoods just add water and stir the plaster that is .

Keep on researching it does get lonely out in the sticks but the solitude can be very uplifting .


BELIEVING IS NOT ONLY SEEING !!!!!!!!!!!!