Blue Gum Tree and Zoleo

Non Australians might be interested to know there are two sub-species of Blue Gum Tree.  The Tasmania and Victoria Blue Gum (Eucalyptus).

Whilst cycling through the nearby Whiteman Park yesterday I noticed a Blue Gum.

This isn’t a Tasmanian or Victorian Blue Gum.  Rather, it’s a dead gum tree that has been painted bright blue.  A number of them can be seen when traveling through rural Australia.  Why?

A colloquial expression for feeling depressed is to feel “Blue” and in recent years there has been a spike in suicides amongst male Australia farmers.  A campaign was started to help “blue” (depressed) farmers by painting dead trees as a visual reminder to seek assistance. 

Jan called me outside on dusk to point out the Blood Red Moon.

It’s caused by bush fire ash in the atmosphere.

The Zoleo I ordered was delivered in the post this morning.

Zoleo with a computer mouse for size comparison

Last time I went on a long and remote outback trip I rented a satellite phone which would enable me to seek assistance in event of an emergency.  It was expensive to hire.  As part of the planning for my next remote trip I looked for a cheaper option and discovered the Australian designed Zoleo.  It’s the size of a packet of cigarettes powered by a small usb rechargeable battery.  What does it do?  A number of things.

• It’s an emergency locator beacon much like an EPIRB.  Press the SOS button and an emergency signal with your GPS location is sent to rescue authorities.  It has worldwide coverage.
• I’m all right.  It has an “I’m all right” button which send a text message to your designated contact[s] along with your GPS location.
• Breadcrumb.  It can be configured to automatically send position locations to designated contacts allowing them to follow your route.
• Messaging.  Bluetooth connect your smartphone to the Zoleo and you can send and receive text messages and emails via satellite.  The phone becomes the Zoleo display and keyboard.

Jan squirreled around for discount voucher codes and managed to buy one for $310.  Considerably cheaper than hiring a satellite phone.