Snakes!

Yesterday I did the snake handlers course run by Brian Bush. He's a bit of a legend in WA, and even has a monitor lizard named after him.

We started slowly, with general chat and myth debunking and things. Just to let the adrenaline subside.
Then moved on to the lizards...

And the legless lizards...

Then the nasties!

Death adder.

Some brown snake or other.

Shockingly fast Whip Snake

Out came the Pythons, for an up close and personal look and feel of snakes. These ones were definitely pythons and hence non venomous (but can still bite, I do believe, just do less harm) but a lot of snakes look the same, especially from a distance. So always assume a wild snake is venomous. If you're in Australia the chances are it could kill you, so why risk the odds!

Then we were put into the hot seat, learning how to capture and remove snakes from environments where they are causing a threat. Like in my swag or if one gets into our caravan and refuses to budge:

I now feel much more confident around snakes. Not to a stupid degree, but at least now I'm less likely to freeze up or do some thing stupid if I ever do run into one. Its only a matter of time really. I've been here 18 months and have only seen 1, and that was out of the car window... We generally scare them away, but one day there will be one who would rather stand his ground, and now I'm much more prepared for that fact. 

I'm even tempted to get my licence from the government to be a suburban snake remover. But I think that might be a step too far!

And Brian Bush is an amazing character. And that laugh! If you ever get the chance to meet him, especially if he's teaching about lizards and snakes, take it! You won't regret it (unless you're easily offended!)