For anyone who thinks Australia is exaggerated...

[alexh]

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

Being a native of Middlesbrough, I'd rather walk around the Outback naked than deal with our local fauna!!

[Disposable Hero]

So, Aboriginals are actually English guys walking around buttnekked in the scorching sun trying to avoid chavs?

Sounds like a good plan.

And vegemite. WTF?

[BigbyWolf]

This is what we call "Daddy-Long-Legs" in the UK, but we also get Harvestmen as well.

I used to live in South Africa, and the biggest we got there were the Huntsmen (although we called them Rain Spiders) and King Baboon Spiders. Although we did also get the odd Black Widow and Violin (Recluse to some of you) Spider, and plenty of Sac Spiders & Jumping Spiders. They were the poisonous ones (the first two in particular).

[Nazguire]

OMG I wish I hadn't googled that! The Wiki says they can grow up to 12 inches!

Yes, they also like to chase you as well, and though they don't cause hospitilisation with their bite, to my knowledge at least, it still effin' hurts if you get bitten by one.



I also remember a pic of a Golden Orb Weaver in Qld being shown by the newspapers that is eating a finch.


I always laugh when these threads about Australia pop up. They seem to happen semi-regularly, and I get the feeling it's probably because a Pom or two went on holiday and never came back...(and not because of our superior national sport, climate or beaches)

[carlisimo]

Is that really a golden orb? In the Daintree Rainforest (yes, in OZ) I saw a much larger spider with a similar shape to the one in the video. Its body was nearly 4" long, and its abdomen had blue and yellow. Its abdomen was a much more regular oval shape than golden orbs'. It was sitting in its web, right next to the entrance to a touristy restaurant.

What I'm saying is, the spider in the video looked too big to be a 2" spider, and there are certainly larger ones out there.

[New Cult King]

If it was something like this fellow, then yeah I'm pretty sure it's still a Golden Orb:

http://www.shenzhenparty.com/files/i...tos/spider.jpg

[Nazguire]

If it was something like this fellow, then yeah I'm pretty sure it's still a Golden Orb:

http://www.shenzhenparty.com/files/i...tos/spider.jpg

...

That guy is far too keen about things that should die painful deaths for his own good.

[mongoosedog300]

Watching that video I have to wonder what that guy was planning to do once he had that ginormous spider trapped under that container. Hold it there against the ceiling until it starved?

Looking at the Australian fauna I would feel the need to have a flamethrower at hand at all times.

You get a bit of paper, slide it between the roof and the container and take the thing outside so it can keep keeping your house bug free. Spiders are our friends!

But yeah, lots of exposure to horrifying things breeds us tough down here....kind of like connor from angel or robin williams from jumanji.

[BigbyWolf]

But yeah, lots of exposure to horrifying things breeds us tough down here....kind of like connor from angel or robin williams from jumanji.

Overly emotional and overly hairy?

[EmperorNorton]

You get a bit of paper, slide it between the roof and the container and take the thing outside so it can keep keeping your house bug free. Spiders are our friends!

But he did not have a piece of paper!
And even if he did...that spider would laugh at a normal sheet of paper. It would probably take it from him and beat him with it.

[Verm1s]

...

That guy is far too keen about things that should die painful deaths for his own good.

What a terrible thing to say.

I mean, on a thread about Australian gribblies, I expected a bunch of big guys running round squealing like little girls. But that takes the biscuit.

[Druchii Monkey]

Ah, Australia. So dangerous even our Daddy Long-Legs' are more spider than everyone else's...

Hellebore

I've seen the shed skin of a Huntsman spider in Sydney a long time ago and it was fully the size of my hand. Big.

Also the thing with the spiders out there is apparantly different species crossbreed. When you get bitten by a spider they say capture it so you can figure out what bit you and then in the hospital there are apparantly various jars for the spider identity parade, so they can figure out how to treat you but the crossbreeding apparantly makes things confusing.

Even the things you think look cute in Australia are potentially dangerous, like the platypus.

Not forgetting the salt water crocodiles, box jellyfish, tiger sharks, kangaroos, drunken koalas, and the millions of feral camels living in Australia. Nice place to visit though.

[New Cult King]

Platypus. Not only was crossing a duck with a beaver good enough, we had to add venomous spurs.