Barefoot in the bush?

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If you were a television presenter responsible for the promotion of the physical enjoyment of the natural environment, would you - as part of your presentation - allow yourself to be seen walking barefoot in country that could pose any number of hidden hazards because, as far as one could tell, it either feels good or is bound to get the extreme vote, or would you rather promote the wearing of sensible footwear when traversing such environments?

Presenters are mostly just the face in front of the lens, the producers and directors would have more influence over content, and seeing as documentaries are an entertainment medium before they are an education medium the shot-callers would be more inclined to have the "slightly out there host who has some unique or risky character" as it would generate more popularity than would the conservative safety prioritized host. IMO
 
I too spent a lot of the time as a kid in barefeet, I remember stubbing my toe on the bitumen while riding my bike a few times. ouch. lol
 
It is hard to make a definitive judgment not having watched the footage. There are certainly some places you could go without, no issues. However, in general terms, not wearing footwear in Africa is a potentially serious health hazard. Apart from danger of snake bite, which kills many thousands of Africans every year, there are some very nasty and prevalent parasites that can be acquired that way. So if is not a cultural thing for her to go bare foot and she is just being comfortable or different or “communing with nature”, given she has the capacity to influence those less aware of the dangers, I would agree with it being irresponsible. Perhaps if they had bothered to provide an explanation. I cannot help but wonder how she would go trekking barefoot across some hot desert sand at 1 pm mid-summer...

Rach85
, Playing soccer or cricket barefoot on bitumen is not that great for the skin either. I can remember limping home on a number of occasions with a large thick layer of skin dangling off the front of my big toe, trail of blood behind. I have always hated wearing footwear and when I have to wear something, I prefer sandals or Taiwanese work-boots. But I would not work outside or go bush bashing without covered footwear.

That’s right Steve, no sympathy... just a nasty anti-tetanus jab in the bum. I know I did my bit to keep up the averages.


Blue

 
haha nice back peddle
Hehe. I have a tendency at times to mask the point I try to make by through ill-conceived ranting, typically seasoned with a healthy dose of invective criticism. What is more unfortunate is when I hit the "post now" button whilst still riled and standing tall on my soap box, only to realise later that the meaning behind my post could be conceived as being somewhat unclear ;)

I don't see the issue,people need to take responsibility for their own actions.In the case of kids doing the monkey see monkey do thing, then their parents need to educate their children a bit better.
Oh, indeed. But what we're talking about here is someone who is, however indirectly, teaching people that basic safety precautions can be thrown to the wind. but I guess that's the norm. Believe me when I say I am ALL about people taking responsibility for their own actions (please, OH PLEASE don't get me started on THAT, or the ranting invective mentioned above will take on a whole new level :D), but I just don't think people should be actively TAUGHT how to be stupid - there are too many people in this world who are already overly possessed of a natural talent for that!

As has been mentioned already check out Rob Bredl - The Barefoot Bushman.
I remember watching the Barefoot Bushman as a teenager, possessed - like all teenagers - with enough commonsense to rival a bowl of fruit. Even then however, I was shocked that a documentary presenter would be silly enough to be getting around barefoot in the bush... I guess I have more appreciation for 'traditional' nature-based media - more on that below


Presenters are mostly just the face in front of the lens, the producers and directors would have more influence over content, and seeing as documentaries are an entertainment medium before they are an education medium the shot-callers would be more inclined to have the "slightly out there host who has some unique or risky character" as it would generate more popularity than would the conservative safety prioritized host. IMO
Ok... deep breath... prepare for the inevitable onslaught these words will produce...
I am NOT a fan of the latest genre of "extreme documentary presenters"! Steve Irwin (at least, from what I remember, he wore footwear :p), Austin Stevens, and others like them, have absolutely NOTHING on the likes of presenters like David Attenborough. I would much rather watch Sir David sit quietly and wait as the animals come to him, speaking softly and moving slowly so as not to startle them. In my opinion, THIS is the way you produce a documentary and advertise the natural world. There is nothing natural, or particularly appealing, about watching a man dive head first into a river and chase down an annaconda, just to wrestle and manhandle it for the amusement of the small-minded amongst us. However, this is diverging from the point of the thread, so I will stop here before anyone decides to become personally offended by a broad general statement.


It is hard to make a definitive judgment not having watched the footage. There are certainly some places you could go without, no issues. However, in general terms, not wearing footwear in Africa is a potentially serious health hazard. Apart from danger of snake bite, which kills many thousands of Africans every year, there are some very nasty and prevalent parasites that can be acquired that way. So if is not a cultural thing for her to go bare foot and she is just being comfortable or different or “communing with nature”, given she has the capacity to influence those less aware of the dangers, I would agree with it being irresponsible. Perhaps if they had bothered to provide an explanation. I cannot help but wonder how she would go trekking barefoot across some hot desert sand at 1 pm mid-summer...

I added the bold format to the above, as I agree wholeheartedly. The footage in question was titled "A Lioness' Heart", or something similar. An otherwise reasonable documentary by an otherwise reasonable presenter.
 
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any twit who wanders into the bush with unconditioned feet wouldn't take long to realise the many errors of their ways.
i'm rarely barefoot in the bush, i protect my feet as i need them to get home.
 
Ok... deep breath... prepare for the inevitable onslaught these words will produce...
I am NOT a fan of the latest genre of "extreme documentary presenters"! Steve Irwin (at least, from what I remember, he wore footwear :p), Austin Stevens, and others like them, have absolutely NOTHING on the likes of presenters like David Attenborough. I would much rather watch Sir David sit quietly and wait as the animals come to him, speaking softly and moving slowly so as not to startle them. In my opinion, THIS is the way you produce a documentary and advertise the natural world. There is nothing natural, or particularly appealing, about watching a man dive head first into a river and chase down an annaconda, just to wrestle and manhandle it for the amusement of the small-minded amongst us. However, this is diverging from the point of the thread, so I will stop here before anyone decides to become personally offended by a broad general statement.

I grew up watching Steve Irwin so he was a big influence for me, his early work is far better than his later work IMO, but yes I don't think anyone could argue that David Attenborough is the pinnacle of documentary presenters and I can't stand the latest crop of presenters. Austin Stevens anaconda episode highlights how ridiculous documentaries are becoming when the scene cuts between murky river habitat to crystal clear rocky water when he is wrestling the snake... because that was shot in a ZOO and edited in... for the entertainment!

Back on topic, the presenter is Saba Douglas Hamilton, so i believe the barefoot character is her lifestyle choice and not put on just for the show. There are reports she was bitten by a snake when she was 18, so perhaps this does demonstrate the risks associated to those who know she was bitten previously?
 
I grew up watching Steve Irwin so he was a big influence for me, his early work is far better than his later work IMO, but yes I don't think anyone could argue that David Attenborough is the pinnacle of documentary presenters and I can't stand the latest crop of presenters. Austin Stevens anaconda episode highlights how ridiculous documentaries are becoming when the scene cuts between murky river habitat to crystal clear rocky water when he is wrestling the snake... because that was shot in a ZOO and edited in... for the entertainment!

My personal thoughts on Irwin's style of presenting aside, I should say that I do admire the work he put in to conservation and broadening the computer-game-numbed minds of youth at the time.

The less said about Austin Stevens the better :facepalm:

Back on topic, the presenter is Saba Douglas Hamilton, so i believe the barefoot character is her lifestyle choice and not put on just for the show. There are reports she was bitten by a snake when she was 18, so perhaps this does demonstrate the risks associated to those who know she was bitten previously?

And this is what struck me as particularly odd. I knew of the snake bite (did a bit of research before opening my mouth, just to be sure - initially I didn't want to mention names, but that concept left port several posts back :p) and I found it fairly vexing that despite this she still chooses to go barefoot. Just seems to fly in the face of common sense to me.
 
She would surely have a deeper understanding of the risks involved, more so than is probably portrayed through docos. I'm in no place to say what she is doing is good or bad as I don't have knowledge specific to the issue. I do have a uni friend from South Africa who's family operates a safari business and when he is home or working he uses no shoes, thongs or enclosed shoes, so at a guess there would be times when certain footwear is required while at other times it is not an issue.
 
We were constantly being told to put our shoes on in PNG as kids.
 
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