What rural Australians consider 'harmless': Great big bloody snakes

March 25, 2016

I woke up at four in the morning. I wanted to be away by first light as I was camping in a place that I wasn't really supposed to and I didn't want to get in trouble. Had I received a fine for camping illegally I probably could have technically had the fine rescinded because the sign that once said something like “Camping here overnight is prohibited - $500 fine” had faded significantly. The only words now visible were “Camp overnight” which, as I'm sure my lawyer could argue, meant I was justified in feeling compelled to pitch my tent. “It was effectively an instruction,” my lawyer would insist and I'd surely walk free, but the truth is I of course don't have a lawyer, so I just took my tent down at five in the morning and saved everyone the bother.

There were a lot of cars driving up the Mount Warning road during the early hours of the morning – I guessed probably hikers hoping to see the sunrise from the summit. They would have likely been disappointed, however, as at first light the world appeared draped in fog. This cleared by the time I passed Uki and when I took a steep pass up towards The Channing the scenery was positively beautiful with blue skies and sunshine to compliment the green hills.

On my way up a steep section I stopped to take a break and then as I prepared to resume I noticed something in the road ahead. It was long and thin and looked uncannily like a snake and it was lying in the middle of the uphill lane. A car came roaring along and passed straight over it, after which the snake-like object lifted its head and looked around. I cycled cautiously up on the opposite side of the road until I was close enough to positively identify the snake. It was a snake. A meaty black snake with golden flecks along its body. Other cars came and drove straight over it too, wheels passing safely on either side of it. I wondered why the creature didn't get scared or slither away back to the undergrowth. I suspected it might have been run over and part of its long body stuck to the road, but I could see no evidence of that. It seemed in pretty good health; a good reason, perhaps, for me not to loiter any longer.

The snake was not the only wildlife that I saw. I spotted my first kangaroo in months, and then my second. I had to admit, however, that kangaroo-spotting was a lot less fun now that I had no one to compete with. I tried playing kangaroo-spotting with Kevin in the afternoon, but it was a 0-0 draw, which made me feel no better at all. What did make me feel better, however, was the dog that came and sat with me when I took a long break from the sun in the sleepy little village called The Channing. He was very friendly, and had a face that was half black and half white, literally divided straight down the middle, which I thought was kind of cool.

When I finally resumed from my long break I was able to take a really great gravel back road that had no traffic on it at all. This was great but as it started to get towards the end of the day I had a bit of a problem, a common one in Australia, that fences were lining the road and I had no place to camp. What with the lack of traffic and with me looking around for a place to sleep I wasn't paying as much attention to the road as I might, and I very nearly ran straight over this thing...

...which probably would have been a mistake. My front wheel must have passed the snake by a matter of inches, my right leg was no doubt directly above its head. And this one really looked like a nasty one too, with its yellow spots and large body size. I felt like I might well have come to some considerable harm had it bitten me, and felt fortunate not to be contemplating my final seven minutes as I paused and looked back it. Then I was surprised by the sound of a truck coming towards me on the otherwise deserted road. I waved at the pick-up to alert it to the snake and the driver stopped and wound down his window. Looking at the reptile spread out on the road ahead he said to me, “Oh yeah, that's a carpet snake. They're harmless. They are a constrictor. You know what I mean? They crush their prey.” He closed his hand into a fist in demonstration. “They'll bite you too. You'll get pretty crook. But you'll be alright.”

Interesting what rural Australians consider 'harmless' isn't it

Today's ride: 70 km (43 miles)
Total: 47,634 km (29,581 miles)

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