A deadly brown snake hitched a ride with me on my bike!

I have been paranoid about the deadly Eastern Brown Snake, since one wriggled over my toes, when I was four. It is the second most venomous land snake in the world and can cause death, severe reactions, such as vomiting and hallucinations.

My bike riding keeps me fit and healthy and I am usually on my way by eight in the morning, in the summer time.  It had been extremely hot and the day before had been a scorcher at 43.5 degrees C. We have a quiet gravel lane close to our house that is perfect for a peaceful, energetic ride. However, to get there we  have to ride through a neighbours property for about 60 metres and then open his gate and we are off.

I am travelling downhill at a good speed and there is a dead branch in my way, so I veer around it and feel a "stick" hit me in the lower calf just above my ankle, my thoughts were, "gosh I didn't see a stick in my way" and then only 5 seconds later I felt another "big stick" hit me on my back just below the waist. Either I was going too fast to see what I was running over or I am going blind. I looked at my leg and could see a ten centimetre scratch.  By this stage I am flying down the hill towards the gate to the lane, I have to apply the brakes, gently at first and then hard to stop, so I can get off and open the gate. As I tip the bike to dismount, a very comatose, six footer falls out of the back wheel of my bike and drops to the ground. He had come in from the left, past my left foot, through the pedals and attacked my right leg and then got caught up in the back wheel and hung on and while rotating lashed out and hit my back. He had spun around in my wheel for 40 metres.

The Eastern Brown is the second most deadly snake in Australia and all our first aid lessons, say you must keep the patient still and calm, being alone and not knowing the severity of the attack on my back, I had to start walking for help. The neighbours whose property weren't home and most of the home owners in the Estate all go out to work.  Being school holidays, I was lucky that another neighbour is a teacher, had just done a first aid course and came to my aid, bandaged my leg from toe to thigh and also bandaged around the stomach from the crotch to the waist and called an ambulance.

She potentially saved my life.

The snake couldn't inject his venom, luckily I was travelling too fast and after spending 14 hours in the hospital, there weren't any reactions.  But there were a few nights of little to no sleep with nightmares of things crawling out of holes etc.

Greedy Pelican, would not share with his mates, Harrington breakwall

        

When we go caravanning, we always try to take our bikes, and ride where ever we can.  I had ridden down to the Manning River breakwall at Harrington hoping to photograph or film something interesting. The fishermen were cleaning their catch and the pelicans were hanging around them and wouldn't leave. One particular pelican seemed to have lost his neck down into his body. One of the men told me he had a fish he was ingesting and had been like that for a while. However, the pelican had two mates who were very intent on sharing his meal with him, but he was having none of that. They chased him trying to tire him out and eventually they all flew out of sight.  I wonder who won the argument?

Dive Bombing Pelicans, Tea Gardens, Port Stephens

We left the pier where we had landed to walk across the bridge and discover Hawkes Nest. The dreadful racket of the pelicans waiting for a free feed attracted my attention. They were coming in  from all directions, divebombing into land.  Screeching and squawking as they fought with each other over the scraps from the fishermen cleaning their catch.

Tea Gardens panorama taken from the bridge linking Hawkes Nest. Tea Gardens sits on the Myall River flowing into Myall Lake and   surrounded by Myall National Park, the Myall River emptying into Port Stephens.

Tea Gardens Panorama

Beautiful yacht

 We caught the ferry, a quaint, old fashioned boat, from Nelson Bay, after missing the first trip by ten minutes, we had to wait for the next schedule. We could hear the chugging before we saw the boat. We all looked at each other with apprehension, as the boat pulled into the pier, we were a little concerned that we wouldn't make the trip.

Our mode of transport was a little more rustic, quaint, antiquated, but cute

Wind power

Canoeing the Myall Lakes

House without mortgage

Visiting Goannas - Harrington

Staying at the Big 4 Caravan Park on the Beach at Harrington, there were a family of goannas resident in the bush next door. They visited the park regularly. They are quite vicious and not to be played with

 

Goannas are regular visitors

Harrington pier strectches into the bay

Trying out the panoramic setting on my new Fuji Xe2.  The Harrington breakwall stretches across the mouth of the Manning River, controlling floods and tides

Sunset dinner at Ibis Styles River Lodge Harrington. A beautiful hotel with an Irish Pub, we watched the sun set over the Manning River. Our meals were delicious and we had some great company

Kookaburra watching over the caravan park residents

Fairy Wrens, Tumut River Wetlands

There is something about lakes, ponds and rivers that I always find I have an attraction to. While walking around the Tumut River Wetlands, situated just off the main road into Tumut, the peace and quiet was interrupted by the constant chirping of a group of fairy wrens in an old fallen River Red Gum tree trunk.  I stopped and stood still until I could get spot them and get my camera operating.
They flitted and chirped as they hopped from one spot to another on the exposed timber hole in the big old gum with its raw edges, where it had snapped as it had been blown over in a storm, were showing the beautiful rich red colour that is reknowned for and the more exposed areas having weathered to a dull grey
The males fairy-wrens are brightly coloured with rich blue and black plumage above and on the throat. The belly is grey-white and the bill is black. Females and young birds are mostly brown. Superb fairy wrens feed in small social groups on insects, mostly on the ground, but may also be taken from low bushes.