Done with deadly

We cracked.
After over a month of convincing ourselves that we could find our own darn kangaroos, wombats and crocodiles, we finally dug deep and paid to go to an Australian animal sanctuary.
It was actually worth it.
Not only did Kath and I almost get a kangaroo to bite Rob in the butt, but Kath finally got to pet a koala (something we had been hearing about since Day 1).
We also learned a fair bit about the Aussie animals from the rangers in the park. Did you know that a crocodile's sex is determined by the temperature it is exposed to in the egg?

There were koalas, kangaroo, emus, crocs, wombats, and more. There were also snakes....

I watched from as far back as possible (with feet up on the bench) as the ranger pulled snake after snake out of oversized pillowcases.
I listened as she told us all about the different snakes, how to tell which ones were venemous and which ones weren't. Which ones could kill 100 humans with one strike, and which ones could only kill a small child. I noted that most venemous snakes have skinny heads, not boxy heads and that you shouldn't try to play with snakes in the wild like she was playing with them in the park. I also noted that snakes don't like to be surprised, taunted or stepped on...among other things.

After the crocodile feeding session, and a serious hand washing session, we hit the road. satisfied with our Aussie animal encounters.

The next day, we drove into the rainforest outside of Cairns to find a waterfall that cascaded into a fresh water swimming hole. It was H-O-T and muggy and we were all feeling a little groggy. A cool dip was in order.

We got into our bathers and headed down to the rocks. I stopped to read a sign about the Aboriginal history of the area...apparently, this was the place that the Aboriginal people believe their 'creator' brought all of the SNAKES!!! Perfect...my kind of place. At least those snakes have had a few million trillion years to move on and find new homes...or so I thought.
We continued walking down the dirt path. It was then that things started to move in slow motion. I felt Rob's arm swing out in front of me. I looked down and saw a big patterned stick crossing the path...hmmmm....a big patterned stick...snake? stick? snake? SNAKE!!!
My yells made Kath, who was walking in front of us, shorten her gait mid-stride, bringing her foot down less than a foot from the stick/snake.

By this time, I was 3 meters back down the trail in the direction we had come. Kath and Rob were close behind. The snake, all six or seven feet of it, the diameter of a cob or corn, lay unmoving, aside from its little tongue.

Kath ALMOST stepped ON the snake. I thanked the snake gods that the snake was just about as groggy as the three of us or Kath would have been snake food.

One very important thing that I think the ranger could have touched on when talking about snake safety, was where to walk in the bush...from personal experience I have decided that is is safest to walk second in line.

Here I am petting the joey...no snakes or crocs for me thanks!