Ok I've covered pet cats and premiership football so my next paranoid question is about snakes. I know Oz is home to multiple bad ass species and u hear stories about them popping up in garages, behind washing machines, in swimming pools etc.

How often are they encountered truthfully? I am headed to Gold Coast, probably Southport, Pacific Pines, Nerang area.

Gav

you wont see that many - unless you go looking for them Gav, had about four in the garden in four years, mostly harmless, sept the one that was in the laundry room - but thats a different story .....

Go on then, what happened in the laundry room?

Gav

Cousin born south of sydney, in her 40's has only ever saw one locally and that was a red bellied brown dead on neighbours lawn about 4 houses up from her, although sometimes you do see them squashed on the side of the road, but we were there for a month and never saw any.

Have a read of my thread posted a few days ago I've been here a grand total of three months LOL

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=485676

I'm in NSW - been here 18 months and not seen one yet (cue snake on my doorstep tomorrow morning!! )

Hi,
I hate Snakes Im petrified of them. One thing Iv found is everyone always has a horror story to tell you, and its generally something that happened to a friend, never actually them. people love to scare you. Its beautiful out here. Dont let the snake bit put you off. I nearly did.
I dont now ask anyone or let on Im scared.
A lot of things to prevent snakes from being on your property is common sense.
Dont leave piles of rubbish around your garden, or anything that will encourage mice.
I know at some point Im bound to encounter one as we have bought a house in the country. When I do I dont know how I will react. However there are people who live out here and have never seen one.

Be brave be bold and dont listen too much to "A friend of mine stories"

Hope helps

Chrissie

Seen one in 5 years. Dead on road.

Heard one was shot a few doors down last year. As you say, another person's story - more interest in the shotgun than the snake.

Seen three in 28 years.

Two dead at the side of the road. One alive whilst bushwalking.

I nearly trod on one while walking in a national park near cairns in the first week I arrived, the weather was cold and I think it was just basking on the path trying to get warm....made me jump though! Don't know what type it was but it was a dusty dark grey colour and about a metre long and moved out of the way pretty quickly, it saw me before I saw it

There is this perception that Australia has deadly snakes around every corner... but this just isn't true!!

In reality, its unlikely that you will come across e.g. a taipan or a death adder.

These dangerous snakes aren't found everywhere...they are actually quite rare.
However, there are extremely high populations in specific suburbs, like Nerang, Pacific pines. Southport too.

good luck...

http://www.snakecatcher.com/index.html

Thanks for all the feedback guys!!!!!!! Am doing my best not to let it put me off! I intend to turn my garden into a snake proof fortress!!

Gav

As we live in a 100acs near Margaret River about 250kms south of Perth we still only occasionally see snakes.
I always prefer to see a Bobtail Lizard as they have legs and are not poisionous but often give you a fright as you can nearlly walk on them them as they open up their mouth and show off there Blue tongue to try and frighten you off.

Unfortunenatley people seems to like running them over on the roads, they like the warmth as they are reptiles.....so watch out in the warmer months for them basking on the warm surface of our sealed roads.

I used to worry allot about snakes but gradually realised they have a right to life, usually most of us as scared of them as they are of us....just turn around and go in the opposite direction.
Come and enjoy Oz, regards Joy

Three in 28 years, all out in the bush while bushwalking - live ones that is. I think maybe two or three raod kill in that time. 2 or 3 lizards in the garden (big lizards that is) and the occasional gecko but you would probably have more geckos and big big lizards up in Queensland. Regularly get red back spiders in the woodpile and, yes, we also do have kangaroos hopping up and down the street (there was one road kill one 100m from Capital Hill a few weeks back!)