Right before I moved to Australia with my husband, who is Australian, I watched a television show about the ten most deadly creatures in the world. I looked right at my husband and joked, that, if all ten were from Australia I was not moving. Little did I know I was not far off. Nine out of the ten creatures were from Australia.
My first encounter with a local arachnid came late one night when I wondered why there was a large frog shaped thing on the wall by the light switch as big as my hand. It all became clear when the light was switched on as it turned out to be a Huntsman Spider that got the shock of its life as much as I did and reared up on its hind legs and jumped at me , just missing my head and scampered away as fast as I did but in the opposite direction . These spiders, I later found out are not harmful, in fact, its good ,apparently, to have one in your house to eat the blowies (Blue bottles flies). I never did find my uninvited guest again but hoped it had been as traumatized as I was and moved out. My Husband told me that a whole can of insect Spray wont kill the big ones (mine was medium size) and they often used to fall on him when he used to clean the family car under the car port If only he had told me about that BEFORE I moved half way across the world .
I am no better with water creatures then I was with the spider. If anything touches my skin, while in the sea, I swim faster then ever. I am not a strong swimmer and the currents terrify me, add the fact that the ocean is full of box jelly fish and killer sharks, now I am petrified. I was even more so when my husband suggested we go sailing in the Whitsundays.
Although I was scared, I must admit, it was breathtaking. Turtles were swimming in the shallow water and dolphins followed us into the deeper parts. From then on I become more confident and started to swim in the water.
The water is so amazingly crystal clear here and so blue it is mesmerizing, that is until you see a dark shadow in the depths below you that seems to be coming nearer and nearer. It would be an understatement to say that I almost ran on top of the water shrieking like a banshee. I leapt up the ladder to find my Husband in fits of laughter pointing to what I had been swimming from " not a shark as I had automatically assumed or a jelly just a Clown Fish . Well it WAS the size of a dinner plate but I guess I was the clown!
My first encounter with a local arachnid came late one night when I wondered why there was a large frog shaped thing on the wall by the light switch as big as my hand. It all became clear when the light was switched on as it turned out to be a Huntsman Spider that got the shock of its life as much as I did and reared up on its hind legs and jumped at me , just missing my head and scampered away as fast as I did but in the opposite direction . These spiders, I later found out are not harmful, in fact, its good ,apparently, to have one in your house to eat the blowies (Blue bottles flies). I never did find my uninvited guest again but hoped it had been as traumatized as I was and moved out. My Husband told me that a whole can of insect Spray wont kill the big ones (mine was medium size) and they often used to fall on him when he used to clean the family car under the car port If only he had told me about that BEFORE I moved half way across the world .
I am no better with water creatures then I was with the spider. If anything touches my skin, while in the sea, I swim faster then ever. I am not a strong swimmer and the currents terrify me, add the fact that the ocean is full of box jelly fish and killer sharks, now I am petrified. I was even more so when my husband suggested we go sailing in the Whitsundays.
Although I was scared, I must admit, it was breathtaking. Turtles were swimming in the shallow water and dolphins followed us into the deeper parts. From then on I become more confident and started to swim in the water.
The water is so amazingly crystal clear here and so blue it is mesmerizing, that is until you see a dark shadow in the depths below you that seems to be coming nearer and nearer. It would be an understatement to say that I almost ran on top of the water shrieking like a banshee. I leapt up the ladder to find my Husband in fits of laughter pointing to what I had been swimming from " not a shark as I had automatically assumed or a jelly just a Clown Fish . Well it WAS the size of a dinner plate but I guess I was the clown!
About the Author:
Before you travel to Australia for your next get away , check out www.TropicalNorthQueensland.com.au. From port douglas accommodation and port douglas hotels to information on local events and travel guides. They have everything you will need for an exciting time.
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