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Straight Dope Message Board > General QuestionsA question for the Aussies

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Jeffro

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Registered: Jan 2001

Posts: 63

I will be visiting Australia in June of 2002, will be going to a convention with a large group of yanks. Anyway, we have been making plans and the subject of spiders and snakes came up. I know Australia has some very nasty

ones but the guy hosting the con has assured us they will all on vacation that week.

He also tells us the area(Surfers Paradise, Queensland)

is too far south for the crocks. What I am wondering, is there a particular season the spiders/snakes are more active, or are they always there just waiting to sink their fangs in ya!

And what about the crocks? Is Surfers Paradise too far south for them or is that a load of bull.

I wont even ask about the sharks.

08-03-2001 06:35 PM

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Padeye

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Registered: Nov 1999

Posts: 2110

Don't forget about the box jellyfish.

I wouldn't worry, the incredible hospitality of the folks down under is more than enough to make up for any bitey/stingy/pointy/venomous critters you may encounter.

08-03-2001 06:40 PM

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Jeffro

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Registered: Jan 2001

Posts: 63

more creepy crawlies

There's also an octopus that's supposed to be very nasty. I saw this on Nature but I cant remember the name.

08-03-2001 07:02 PM

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Gaspode

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Registered: Aug 2000

Posts: 669

Jeffro, mate, relax.

Gladstone is as far south as you're ever going to find crocodiles, and Surfer's is about 500km south of that. Box jellies only go about as far south as 1770, which is still about 450km north of where you'll be, so we can rule those two out unless you're a very enthusiastic swimmer.

Blue ringed octopi don't go around mugging tourists. Unless you're in the habit of picking up strange objects in rock pools you're quite safe.

Dangerous spiders in that part of the world are restricted to redbacks (our name for black widows) and white-tails. Neither of them are likely to be fatal to an adult. You've got a better chance of being struck by a meteorite than even seeing a funnelweb in Surfer's.

Snakes are an overrated threat. It really is a case of you leave them alone you they'll leave you alone. Poisonous snakes in Australia can't climb (with one exception that's so mild we don't even consider it poisonous) so they're not going to be leaping through your window. There are antivenoms available for all poisonous species, so there's absolutely no chance of dieing from snakebite in Surfer's. Considering you'll be here in the middle of winter in a major city your chances of even seeing a snake outside a zoo is pretty remote.

For all the nasties we've got here I can safely say that if you don't go looking for trouble from the wildlife your chances of them worrying you are so remote as to be ridiculous. You have more to worry about from your plane crashing on the flight over. (What? You have a fear of flying. Sorry)

(No one tell him about the drop-bears)

08-03-2001 07:37 PM

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TheLoadedDog

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Registered: Feb 2001

Posts: 731

All of what Gaspode said....

Surfers Paradise is an urbanised resort area. Think, I dunno, Miami Beach or something. The most dangerous creature there is the elderly retiree at the wheel of a '78 Toyota Crown.

Spiders: The only really dangerous one is the Funnel Web. It lives only in the Sydney Basin, and a small surrounding area. And most people in Sydney have never seen one face to face. None in Surfers Paradise, which is nearly 1000km further north.

Crocodiles: You'll be too far south.

Snakes: Extremely rare in urban areas. Don't go walking through long grass on a farm, and you'll be safe.

Marine stingers: If you're very unlucky, you might come into contact with something that'll give you a sting of about the same intensity as that of a bee ( maybe a bit more). Unlikely. The deadly box jellyfish can't afford to live in Surfers Paradise.

Aussie Girls: Treat with caution. Known to be deadly.

XXXX beer: If you're in Queensland, you might as well drop into a pub and ask for a "fourex". They'll love you for it. I think I'm the only non-Queenslander who actually likes the stuff.

Drop-Bears: There are no drop-bears in Australia. None. None at all. OK? Did I do good, Gaspode?

Enjoy your trip, and try to make it south to Sydney if you possibly can.

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08-03-2001 08:36 PM

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Gaspode

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Posts: 669

You did well Turbo, we can't let forners know about them or our entire tourist undustry would be finished. In future though only mention them in this special small text that only Aussies can read, OK.

One small nitpick, the highest densities of Funnelwebs are found on Fraser Island, well north of Surfer's. They're fairly common right through Southeastern Australia, not just Sydney. The Sydney funnelweb is the only one proven to be deadly, but considering the venom in some of the other species is almost identical I wouldn't let one bite me to find out.

08-03-2001 11:57 PM

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TheLoadedDog

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Posts: 731

quote:Originally posted by Gaspode

One small nitpick, the highest densities of Funnelwebs are found on Fraser Island, well north of Surfer's. They're fairly common right through Southeastern Australia, not just Sydney.

Yeah, you're probably right there. When I was a kid in the 70s, I grew up on the New South Wales Central Coast (about 80km north of Sydney). That area was Funnel Web Central. They covered a small range from south of Newcastle to the Northern suburbs of Sydney. Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River at that time were the natural barriers which prevented the spiders from spreading further south. Last I heard was about ten or fifteen years ago when they had crossed into southern Sydney and beyond into the Wollongong and Goulburn areas. So by this stage, it's not surprising the spread is even wider. Interesting about the Fraser Island thing though.

Note to self: Drop-Bears in small, Yank resistant text.

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08-04-2001 12:58 AM

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woolly

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Registered: Aug 2000

Posts: 297

Re: All of what Gaspode said....

I'd endorse almost all my earstwhile colleagues have said:

Amongst the concrete towers and flat beaches that comprises Surfers Paradise ...

the only crocks you'll see will be in wheelchairs;

the only sharks will be trying to sell you bits of coastal real estate;

the magority of the spiders will actually be icecream sodas;

the magority of the snakes are found near red lights.

The most dangerous time of year in Surfers is too hideous to describe in these forums, but it doesn't occur til later in the year. It's called Schoolies Week.

But dropbears are different ... they are not a myth, they're extinct. My grandfather shot the last one in self defense in 1927 and got awarded the Order of Australia for it.

heh, and you two jokers thought I was going to blow it, didn't you.

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08-04-2001 02:47 AM

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Beltane

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Registered: Jul 2001

Posts: 8

quote

quote:But are different ... they are not a myth, they're extinct. My grandfather shot the last one in self defense in 1927 and got awarded the Order of Australia for it.

but what? are different?

hey - there isn't some kind of secret code here that I can't read is there?

is there?

08-04-2001 01:50 PM

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Jeffro

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Registered: Jan 2001

Posts: 63

Thanks for the info ladies & gents!

08-04-2001 07:22 PM

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dtilque

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Registered: Jan 2000

Posts: 842

quote:Originally posted by Gaspode

Blue ringed octopi don't go around mugging tourists.

But fairy penguins do...

To be fair, this assertion by the Cecil was disputed...

08-04-2001 07:38 PM

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tavalla

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Registered: Jul 2001

Posts: 39

quote:Originally posted by Beltane

hey - there isn't some kind of secret code here that I can't read is there?

is there?

Dropbears are something we Aussies don't like to talk about. There have been many horrible incidents involving dropbears, so just drop the subject, okay? Gaspode, TheLoadedDog and woolly shouldn't even have mentioned it.

08-04-2001 09:49 PM

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