For anyone who thinks Australia is exaggerated...

[New Cult King]

I present to you a spider eating a snake:

http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/s...-1226332961171

[canberraguy]

Makes me proud

[New Cult King]

Pretty sure there's nothing a Golden Orb won't try to eat.

[Satan]

Pretty sure there's nothing a Golden Orb won't try to eat.

...babies?

And you hear folks complaining about wolves in this country, yeeeesh. I bet they're positively harmless compared to Australian fauna...

[MyNameDidntFit]

And that's just the little ones...

[canberraguy]

Over summer we caught 4 brown snakes at our work.

[BigbyWolf]

The spider looks massive on the pictures, but thought they only average a couple of inches, so I'm guessing it's just a small snake. Although given the location of them, I'd guess they are both fairly poisonous?

I used to live in Africa, where all the gribblies were generally bigger but the sheer toxicity of everything in Australia is astounding. Do you all carry generic anti-venom doses with you at all times, or have you built up a natural immunity?

[superdupermatt]

I went to Australia back in 2003, and as an arachniphobic (sp?) i was bricking it. The worst I saw? 1 HUGE fruitbat hanging from a telephone wire in Sydney. So much for facing my fear...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[de Selby]

Australia is highly exaggerated. In reality it's no bigger than Middlesborough. They do it with mirrors.

[Killgore]

Makes the place look like a Deathworld!

[Dargon]

The spider looks massive on the pictures, but thought they only average a couple of inches, so I'm guessing it's just a small snake. Although given the location of them, I'd guess they are both fairly poisonous?

I used to live in Africa, where all the gribblies were generally bigger but the sheer toxicity of everything in Australia is astounding. Do you all carry generic anti-venom doses with you at all times, or have you built up a natural immunity?

Yeh, Golden Orbs are only 2 inches (5cm) so that's a (relatively) tiny snake in the picture... although they do breed the gribblies big up in Queensland.

General rule of thumb in Australia is simply keep your eyes open and don't get bit. Always pays to have a solid pair of big boots on, just in case a snake sees you long before you see them, but most snakes will generally slither away rather than attack if they have an avenue of escape - it's only really when you accidently step on one while it's napping that the trouble starts. Spiders are a bit more problematic, but you learn to notice the webs, take care lifting anything outside that might have a spider under it and give your boots a good check before putting them on. Most hospitals generally keep a good stock of antivenom on hand.

[canberraguy]

I went to Australia back in 2003, and as an arachniphobic (sp?) i was bricking it. The worst I saw? 1 HUGE fruitbat hanging from a telephone wire in Sydney. So much for facing my fear...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Yeah, but what do you really expect to see in the city? Go out to the bush (which no tourist ever does) and you see a very different Australia.

[superdupermatt]

Yeah, but what do you really expect to see in the city? Go out to the bush (which no tourist ever does) and you see a very different Australia.

I did go to somewhere out there... It was called Bathurst I think? I chose to stay indoors :-D

Sent from my noosphere using binaric code.

[New Cult King]

Yeh, Golden Orbs are only 2 inches (5cm) so that's a (relatively) tiny snake in the picture... although they do breed the gribblies big up in Queensland

Yeah up here the abdomen alone can get to 2 inches or more long, and the legspan? I've seen Golden Orbs with a legspan as big as my hand, so more than 6 inches from tip to tip.

And I swear their webs are strong enough to ensnare low flying aircraft...

[Hellebore]

I used to live in Africa, where all the gribblies were generally bigger but the sheer toxicity of everything in Australia is astounding. Do you all carry generic anti-venom doses with you at all times, or have you built up a natural immunity?

Why do you think we eat so much vegemite?

Hellebore

[Satan]

Why do you think we eat so much vegemite?

Hellebore

Because all the venom you've ingested have made you lose your sense of taste?

[canberraguy]

Vegemite is righteous. Nothing tastes better on toast or on a sandwich

[Daniel36]

Lol!! Click through and you see another Golden Orb devour a bird... Seriously!!

The other day I stumbled upon a spider as big as my thumb... And THAT scared the living crap out of me. Biggest spider I've ever seen in the wild.
I sure am happy not living in Australia. At least the good news is you guys can easily convert your own Arachnarock Spider if you want.

[Nazguire]

I would love to show someone from Europe a full grown Hunstman spider. Just for the sheer shock factor. I'm sure you'd love it.

[canberraguy]

Or the amount of redback spiders around the average home. I killed about 5 or so last weekend when cleaning and gardening outside