Nov 2018, Lake Bolac, Vic
It is a warm still evening that doesn’t drop below 22˚c. Getting into bed Woody spots a hairy Huntsman* scurrying off the doona. We madly strip the bed and spray half a can of fly spray around the bed and into all the crevices while Woody stands naked in the kitchen stomping on my socks. When all is quiet, about an hour later I crawl into bed and revel in the fact that all of the hatches and windows are open and there is a gentle breeze flowing through the van. It would be lovely to smell the canola paddocks if it wasn’t for the lingering scent of fly spray.
*A large spider about the size of a human hand.
Yes scary, up there with cockroaches 😱
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Of course you have those monster cockies ours look undernourished compared to yours. 😜
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Are they actually dangerous, or just scary?
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Big and scary. I believe a bite can put you in hospital but not serious. They rarely bite. Because they live around gum trees they were constant visitors in our last house. But in a caravan it’s a little close for comfort like snakes on a plane.
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One of the risks or campervanning in Oz I guess, but you must be well used to all the creepy crawlies by now.
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Never! And I worry constantly about snakes, crocs, sharks, funnel web spiders and a few other deadlies. Now you’ve got me worried as the next trip will involve 2 of the above. Thanks!!!
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Anytime.
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You do have the best spiders in the world in Oz!
I remember lounging on my bed, reading a book in a Backpackers when I thought I saw a crack on the ceiling move. I looked up and then away, thinking “Don’t be so stupid.” Then it moved again!
That was a Huntsman. It was HUGE! We alerted the owner of the backpackers , who came with a man-sized pair of marigolds and a bucket. He donned the gloves then knocked the spider into the bucket. Job done!
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Ha ha they are enormous and hairy and seem to enjoy the ceiling above the bed.
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