This past Saturday night I traveled with a group of students into the dry country of Queensland, just west of the Great Dividing Range. We were going on an overnight stay with a man named Daryl; a true “Outback Jack” character whose property I was told was eerily reminiscent of the film Wolf Creek. Being over 40 km from the nearest town, I was looking forward to some camping in the bush. We arrived at 5 pm, pitched our tents, and sat around a fire. Daryl was a very agreeable man and a great host, offering us food ranging from fried crocodile to gourmet ice cream (no I didn’t eat the crocodile). We sat conversing until dark upon which I ventured out in search of snakes. It was surprisingly cool, and the several mile hike down the old mining roads produced only a small burrowing frog. I returned back to camp disappointed and haphazardly strolled by the corner of Daryl’s house. Something reflected in the shimmer of my headlamp. I look up where the roof meets the adjoining wall and there sits a gorgeous Eastern Carpet Python (Morelia spilota mcdowellii), a different subspecies and color morph than what I’ve been seeing in the rainforest. But the snake was nearly 9 feet up, and nothing around in sight to stand upon. Frantically, I ran inside the house to see if being within the enclosure offered me better positioning…it didn’t. Worried that the snake would escape, I jumped up and grabbed the top of the wall with one hand (praying that no enormous Australian spiders, which are so common, were atop the wall), snake with the other, and slowly worked him out of the cinder block wall. An exhaustive capture, but a successful one nonetheless. Despite the intrusive manner of my capture, this 52” male never once even attempted to strike and sat quietly as he was passed around from student to student for a photo to “freak mom out with.” The rest of the night was spent exchanging stories and political views around the fire into the odd hours of the night, upon which I bid Rosy (Daryl’s domesticated Agile Wallaby which feeds upon spaghetti and watches television on his couch) goodnight and headed for my tent. An enjoyable night in the bush of Australia.
