When You've Got The Blues...
"Tourism operators have told me of interstate and overseas tourists commenting that despite all the positives Western Australia has to offer, they won't be returning as they consider our fly problem unbearable."
West Australian Member of Parliament Terry Redman
"I walked around the massive rock, not so much bothered by the heat as I was by the bush flies!!!!!! Grrrrrrr!!!!! They don't bite, they just buzz around, fly into your ears and up your nose, and stick to your lips. Imagine that for about 3 hours."
Kara's Travel Blog about Uluru, January 2008
"I cannot imagine wanting to pay the kind of prices that are demanded by tourism operators in the south west (of Western Australia) if, when I went out to play a game of golf or just a walk down the street, I was continually chasing off bush flies."
The Hon Kim Chance MLA to the WA Parliament on 20 March 2008
"I realized that the flies are such a nuisance that no one sticks around the lookout points for very long. In a sense, they've become a bit of a crowd control tool. People run in, snap their photos, and run back to the tour buses."
Imisstony.com about the 12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Victoria
"The real brutes and complete pests to look out for are the bush flies which possibly may be in more abundance this year as the dung beetles are a little late in arriving. They seem to have missed their cue to wake up and start eating the dung and therefore the flies. Nice!"
This Perth Life: Current Affairs
"Another thing that hits you after you land (in Alice Springs) is the very friendly Australian bush flies that are obsessed with landing on your mouth, nose, ears and trying to crawl all over your sunglasses."
www.thetravelmap.net www.thetravelmap.net March 2008
"Our eco tour guide even has a plausible explanation for the abundance of flies that have materialised with the sun -"just a lot of them; you have to get used to it."
Gail, Anangu Tours participant
"I have never seen so many flies in the bush in winter. Are they confused, or just getting smarter ?
You could cut em with a knife at Big Red."
ExploreOz Forum
"Before reaching the dunes we stopped for lunch and before we had time to say grace, we were bombarded by what seemed like every single bush fly south of Perth. Needless to say, lunch was a short stop before we were on the move again."
Rick, Mitsubishi 4WD Owners Club of WA
"At our overnight stop at Daly Waters the hordes of bush flies that tried to crawl into eyes, noses and mouths necessitated an indoor "Happy Hour" - nine people in our motorhome. After dinner, when the heat and the flies had gone, we sat outside and watched a gorgeous full moon rise."
Evan Anderson, Campervan & Motorhome Club of Australia