The great thing about taking the Big Lap is than no matter how long you have been travelling, something new and completely unexpected could always be just around the next corner.
Tanya Tamm and her partner have seen some sights during their multiple trips around Australia … but they were still not prepared for being trapped in their motorhome by two mating brown snakes! They were well into their current three-year odyssey when they decided to camp along the River Murray at Toora in South Australia.
“We were enjoying the peace and quiet when something caught my eye and I turned to find two brown snakes entwined in a mating ritual,” said Tanya. “They were like this for over an hour in front of our motorhome!”
While making sure she was safely in the rig, Tanya did pluck up the courage to take some amazing photographs of the ‘incident’.
“We were prisoners in our van as we could not leave the area and we watched them the whole time,” she said. “Then, when they were through, they slithered away in different directions … it was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed!”
While this was the most memorable reptile encounter the veteran travellers have enjoyed, it wasn’t the first. Back in November, the pair was setting up camp at the water’s edge at Lake Watchem in Victoria when the atmosphere suddenly changed.
“It was a lovely little spot and we were relaxing after setting up camp when I noticed something in the water swimming towards us … it was a brown snake!” said Tanya. “I went into the van and watched and became quite distressed when the snake came out of the water and headed straight for our van and the green mat we had on the ground.”
The couple decided to make a lot of noise inside the van, and eventually the snake headed off into the bush. However, as they were unsure exactly where the reptile had gone to they felt so uncomfortable that they decided to pack up the motorhome again and move to a new camp.
* Have you ever had an unnervingly close encounter with a snake while on your Big Lap? Comment below.
Camped at friends property near Adelaide River, NT. Sitting under the awning on my computer organising a play list for my step daughters BParty. Happened to look around, to see a 3metre Brown snake slither out of the bush and under our van. It was on a mission, with me not in its sights, but that didn’t stop me going hysterical. Husband had just started the chain saw, so he didn’t hear me- just happened to look up, and see me. Snake went under car and then under the house in the end. Never knew where it went from there, but I am going to be far more aware when sitting out in the wild!
Yes. In 2008 we had set up camp on a bore drain, out west in NSW.
It was late September after a very hot day the air filled with Locasts and million’s of bugs and spiders. It was out looking for its food source. There were lots of large cracks in the earth, and I guess thats where it had come from. I was getting dinner ready and had all the lights turned down. My wife was sitting reading a novel when a brown snake stopped under her. I asked her not to twitch as…….. I picked up a long handled shovel and it took off under our camper trailer.
I had an LED headwear light on. I will never forget its head and flicking tounge looking at me, curled up under the inside right tyre. I used a shovel load of dirt in its direction and it was gone in a flash.We to retreated inside for the night.