[LINK] Lost in the Blue Mountains: triple-0 operator 'uncaring'

[Marghanita da Cruz]

Richard Chirgwin wrote:
> Peter Bowditch wrote:
>> Danny said:
>>
>>> Jan Whitaker wrote:
>>>> Note: I didn't say mandatory to carry them. I said that they were 
>>>> *at* the parks. That would then make them available instead of at 
>>>> outdoor stores or police stations away from where the devices are 
>>>> needed. Why not have them issued at the time of entry when you pay 
>>>> your fee? 
>>> The vast majority of NSW National Parks have no fees to enter and
>>> indeed no formal entry points.
>> In this particular case the hikers would have started their walk at a 
>> point where hundreds of tourists a day set out to the Three Sisters. I 
>> live two promontories east and I can be at the bottom of the valley in 30-
>> 40 minutes from my back door. Mt Solitary doesn't look that far away.
> 
> It's not that far away ... a quick straight line on GA's online topos says it's
> about 4.5 km from Echo Point as the crow flies. About 8 to 10 km on the Ruined
> Castle track.
> 
>> Here's a nice  walk. (The Queen Victoria Hospital is about 3k past my 
>> front door.)
> 
> The route I'd recommend!
> 
> RC
>> http://ozultimate.com/bushwalking/walk.php?int_resource_id=237

Useful site. Though this kind of advice from locals brings, hordes of tourists and
what appears to be an easy walk, brings back memories of last May in Greece.
To avoid the heat and crowds, we decided to visit the Ruins at Delphi early in the
morning. A walk from Delphi to Kira on the Gulf of Corinth for Lunch and  a Swim
before catching the bus back was recommended by the hotelier and the guide book.

So, with a few bottles of water and some fruit, sturdy though not bushwalking shoes
we set out down the mountain towards the river which we would follow to Kira.
This all looked quite clear and simple out of our hotel window. Unfortunately, once
amongst the Olive groves, we found there were lots of paths and we ran out of water
before we reached the river and a long way from our destination. So, we decided
to head back, fortunately we came upon a village and taverna and ended up catching
a cab back up the mountain to Delphi. It would have been a fabulous walk and it is a
pity that we did not have more detailed information about the route or better
still a guide. The photo here shows how clear the paths appear to be from above.
<http://ramin.com.au/travel/delphi.shtml> ...and here are the walking
instructions according to Google (which is pretty much what we were intending to
do):
<http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Delphi&daddr=kira+greece&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&dirflg=w&sll=38.440144,22.444897&sspn=0.057278,0.098534&g=kira+greece&ie=UTF8&ll=38.455874,22.468243&spn=0.060895,0.098534&t=p&z=13>

On the other hand in NZ - we visited a Seal Colony on a remote beach and walked
on a Glazier with a guide. We didn't do the Lava walk in Hawaii,  which was
available
with a guide. I have done a guided walk in the Royal National Park
south of Sydney, with an Aboriginal guide and that was fascinating - from
learning about Banksia Cordial to another perspective of Cook's arrival.

There is more from the Penrith Coronors court here:
> The Australian Communications and Media Authority's Wayne Debemarkdi said of the mobile phone tracking technology: "We don't have it, and it's a problem. You can use your mobile anywhere, and people do tend to use a mobile when there is a serious emergency, but the operator doesn't know where they are.
> 
> "With the old system, the landlines, we could see straight away."
> 
> NSW ambulance spokesman John Wilson said: "Sometimes they can tell us roughly which area the mobile telephone tower is in, and that could be miles away from where the person is. The technology is there, but we don't have access to it.
> 
> "The federal Government would have to bring in legislation, to say, yes, we need this, because it would make it a lot easier for everyone if we had it."
> 
> ACMA said there were "various technologies" that would allow 000 to identify a location but there were "advantages and disadvantages to each of these". There were problems with "performance, reliability, costs, accuracy and complexity". 
<http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25349682-2702,00.html>

Marghanita
-- 
Marghanita da Cruz
http://www.ramin.com.au
Phone: (+61)0414 869202