Lone Wolf replied:

Mike, I remember this post.

My thinking now, as was then, ( but not posted ), was this...... night-time military manoeuvres.

I have once camped, and been on the periphery of this, whilst living up at Woomera.

Cheers

Wolfie

Member - Blue (VIC) replied:

Mike I also have had what I call my "squeel like a girl" episode...

We have 20 acres in a small town called Barkly, not far from Redbank in central Vic. I was there with the dog doing some routine maintenance work and staying in the caravan which we deposited there about 6 years ago. Just for the record I have spent many nights alone there with the dog, without incident.

Day started OK, got alot of work done before a freak storm arrived, dumped about an inch of rain and left again. I decided working in the wet was not for me so I left to visit family in Raglan. Came back via Moonambel and decided the pub looked good for a countery(have had many a meal there and always treated well). Well you'd have thought I was lepper, the rugby world cup was on and I was sitting between the tv and a couple of blokes who were talking about it. They didn't acknowledge my "g'day" when they walked in and both turned their backs on me(and the game) to continue talking rugby. I left feeling more than a little odd, grabbed the dog and headed back to the caravan.

After sitting by the fire for a while I decided to turn in and the dog and I both got comfy in the van. I was awoken suddenly and in fear as you have described, instantly alert to the fact that the noise I could hear didn't belong. The dog crawled back into the corner of his bed with his tail between his legs as I headed for the door with the axe in hand. What sounded like bipedal footsteps, very heavy and deliberate continued past the van at what seemed to be about 10-15m away. I turned on the torch and burst through the door with all the fury I could muster... Nothing... I looked under the van, under the car & trailer, behind every decent size tree nearby... Nothing. At this point I decided I was a little too wound up for sleep so I stoked the fire and sat up for a while. About an hour later the dog curled up under my chair in the same fashion he had done earlier, I started to $hit myself, sitting still, listening even holding my breath to hear a little clearer. All of a sudden the footsteps were back, a little further away this time it appeared. I could hear them getting closer and tried to jump out of my chair, turn on the torch and swing the axe all in one motion. This resulted in me falling over backward out of the chair, squeeling like a girl and nearly cut my own head off with the axe. Looked everywhere again and nothing... Packed my gear and the dog up and left for home.

Have been back alone since but also don't sleep so easy there anymore. Haven't to this day heard the sound again, and hope I never do...

I was telling and old guy at the Moonambel pub about my little episode and all he had to say was "If the dog $hits itself like that, you know all hell is about to break loose" made me feel sooo much better...

Truckster (Vic) replied:

yea I remember this too.. but back then we didnt know that Diamond was a bush terrorist.. I say it was him havin a spew

geocacher (djcache) replied:

Ghostbusters... Their number may still be in the New York white pages...

Sounds weird.

My old boss had a son in the Australian SAS. They camped among a group attending to their dope crop when they found it on manouvers once in WA. After monitoring the guys for a few hours or days (can't remember now but it was a long time) with these guys practically walking over them, they stood up rifles at the ready. The guys sh@t themselves and the cops took them away.

That was quiet getting noisy rather than the other way around.

Dave

Member - Mungo Explorer (NSW) replied:

Spooky. I suppose it's a reminder of the flipside of remote camping: great to be away from the crowd, but also means you're on your own....

Michael O'Reilly replied:

Was camped alone at Cocoparra NP near Griffith NSW back in 87.
Cooked tea, had a whisky, and hit the hay.
Was later woken (who knows how much later?) to the obvious sounds of footsteps in the brush. I waited, in slowly increasing terror as the footsteps would continue for a while, stop, then start again. I heard no animal sounds and was by this stage shotting myself.
With pictures of some axe wielding maniac in my mind, I eventually summoned the courage to shout/whimper "hey, this isn't funny..."
Silence...

Feeling that I had little to lose by hiding in the tent, I felt for the trusty Dolphin torch and slowly unzipped the fly (the tent's, not mine...) shining the torch beam straight into the eyes of a now equally terrified emu!
It took off startled through the bush and I used a whole years worth of adrenaline in one second...
I did spend the rest of the night in the car listening to ABC radio though.

Member - Brian (Gold Coast) replied:

I have thankfully never had an encounter such as this, the closest we get to remote bush camping is Fraser Island, and there we just worry about the dingoes ;-)

But I also hope I never have to experiance it either! It took me years to convince SWMBO to bush camp and definitely don't need it spolied now!

I usually convince myself that we are the only ones in cooee and are much safer than if we were at a caravan park somewhere NOT knowing our neighbours!

Capt. Wrongway replied:

About 30 odd years ago, my mates and I were driving V8 bush buggies throughout the Clyde/Pigenhouse Mountains. One night we were camped in a clearing about 15klms from Shallow Crossing, about 3 in the morning I got up for a leak ( as you do ). It was a half moon that night, not pitch black. I was just standing there, contemplating nature, taking care of business, when I happened to notice what I thought was a long black log/fallen tree about 50' a head of me. Nothing too exciting .... until it got up on four legs and walked away!!!! I neally shiate myself!!!
This was a very big black cat. Picture great dane size.
The locals have told stories of big cats for years ... some people think their just tales ... I do'nt!
Bazza.

herkman replied:

I see on ABCV news, found off a Google search, that they have found a skeliton of a Biped date between 3,8 and 4 million years old.

Do a google search on Biped in Google, it will come up as no 2 .

Hell I do not feel so old now.

Regards

COL Tigwell

Member - Craig M (NSW) replied:

Hi Mike,
Thought I might add my encounter to the list.
We use to go shooting rabbits etc back in the 70s (long time ago) up around the Windeyer, Capertree areas and this one time we had gone for a bit of a wander and had a few shots at some rabbits and then all of a sudden there was a crasshing sound of trees breaking and branches etc on the hill oposite to where we were it continued to come down the side of the hill with lots of other noises thrown in for good measure. Ill tell you what it wasnt a normal animal as you would think that after firing off a few rounds from a rifle anything within cooee would of been running the other way.
I guess it just comes down to the Yowie stories, I am pretty certain they excist, christ we have so much country that people never get into anything could live there.

Cheers

dirtdodger replied:

Explaination for "some" of the noises in the night

I too have heard the biped moving through the bush noises at night when camped in the mountains on the Qld/NSW border area.
But........nothing freaky. It was deer descending to the river flats to graze at night.
Yep, they have four feet, but they sound like two feet when moving carefully.
I have observed them at night until they become aware of humans nearby, and then the noises just stop.........as they do a u turn and silently disappear into the night.

Sorry. No circular indentations in the grass, bright lights, saucer shaped objects, or the dog having a coronary..............Just feral deer.

Vince NSW replied:

I agree with the Emu idea. Have had the same thing in the mid seventies when the army did their exercises west of Bourke.
We were on 50 5 stand too this night( 1 on, 1 asleep) when had the same footsteps comming my way. Woke the whole troop and waited for what we thought were the bad guys to wander in, only to blow 10 years worth of feathers of a mob of emus who wandered through our position. the bad part for us was that we had to bug out and find another position for the night after making so much noise

Member - Karl replied:

My turn. Back in the mid 80s when I was in the Infantry we were on operations in Malaysia down near Jahor Baru (near Singapore). We had been moving through the 'J' (jungle) all day and late in the evening we set up our night harbour and went into 50% stand too.

Sometime after midnight our whole Section was woken by a loud noise that was very close by. We knew that it was big as we could hear it move through the 'J'. For about 20 mins we listened out for it as it moved around our position. Being the 'J' at night it's pitch black and you can't see more than a meter to your front.

By this time we were all on edge and the addrelaline was pumping through us. Eventually there was a bit of moonlight and the creature moved slowly through it enough for us to make out what is was.

It turned out to the the biggest f******g tiger that I had ever seen in my life and it was no more than 2 m from where I was laying. I damn near s**t myself - it's one thing to see them at the zoo but this was rediculous. I couldn't fire my weapon because I was not totaly sure of where my mates were as the tiger was inside our perimeter and walking around.

I looked over to my mate and his eyes were as big as diner plates - he couldn't say anything - but the look on his face said it all. For another 20 min or so this tiger moved around our position - he obivously knew we were there. Eventually he let out almighty roar - this time I p****d myself and it ran off into the night.

We all stood too for the rest of the night until first light when we got up and moved around. When we got together and spoke about it - it turned out that the tiger actually stood next too one of my other mates - it was that close he could feel it breathing. We moved out of that loc ASAP. It still brings a shiver to my spine when I see them at the zoo.

There was also the time when we were on exercise near Tully, FNQ, when my platoon was chased by a Cassowary - but that's another story.

Member - Davoe (WA) replied:

after spending 70 nights in ultra remote bushland and another 20 in semi remote in the last year. I believe I am qualified to say the most unusual thing about night noises is the lack of them. Sometimes a boobook owl occasionally frogs (area dependant) the odd insect or yowling fox dingo. Maybe even a confused bird at full moon but generally very quite any animal crashing about I would put down to feral goats,emus or camels perhhaps even the odd wild dog sneaking about (we have had them prowl about the campfire or sneak about just out of site) "the most fearsome thing is fear itself"

gone bush replied:

Hi, we have just come back from camping around lake bonney at barmera and 1 night at about 2am my hubby and i were awaken with a big startle, we could hear what sounded like a person wading quickly in the lake, so hubby got up and looked around he couldn't see anything, the noise had stopped so after a while we went back to sleep but not for long the noise was back, off he went again to check it out and finally we found out that it was only a group of pellicans herding up fish, it really did sound like some one wading in the water. i can tell you it was a big relief to go back to sleep feeling safe.

WDR replied:

I came to this one late.
Camping alongside the goulbourn river one night, face to the tent opening becuase i was a smoker. The flap was back but the zip was closed.
Woke up for some reason in the middle of the night and there were two big bright eyse not more than about 5-10 centimetres away from me.
I screamed (very manly), so did the possum - I don't know if he shat himself or not but I sure as hell had trouble getting back to sleep.

Footloose replied:

Mike :))
A Min Min Poem

Have you ever seen the Min Min
have you ever seen the light
Never in the daytime
But always seen at night

Now there's a native story
The modern yarns are white
It can be a bit confusin
Unless you see the light

Get yourself to Boulia
Its a lonely little town
But when it comes to Min Min
Thats where its goin down

The packers come from everywhere
they travel over seas
And end up at the Visitors centre
Which never fails to please

Bugs or little aliens
Gases if you please
If you believe in darker things
You'll never be at ease

The real start of the story
is many miles away
But if we get them rollin
We'll be there in a day

For out along a lonely creek
there stands a little grave
the old shanty broke into a fire
and a kid they couldnt save

The birthplace of the Min Min
stands upon this place
Thousands of broken bottles
And the wind upon your face

If this were not in Oz
A shrine would surely stand
Not broken bloody bottles
On a sea made out of sand

It's a great Australian story
Thats told along the track
there's always Min Min searchers
And some of em go back

Day trips come from Winton
Money comes to town
Amazin how a ghostly light
Can make it go around

But have you seen the Min Min
Have you seen the light
Its bright and very scary
And only comes at night.