Things i’ve learned.
In addition to the usual plasters, crepe bandages and antiseptics, Australian first-aid kits need tick removers, anti-histamines, Stingoes and a snake bandage. 😳
It’s ok to scream like a banshee when a Huntsman spider runs up your arm or turgid leech falls ‘splat’ at your feet (it did) having sneakily attached itself an hour ago as you walked innocently through the rainforest.
Teeny weeny Scottish spiders will seem cute compared to their large Antipodean cousins.
Freaking out at the sight of a rat INSIDE your house, jumping cartoon- like on a chair, screaming till someone comes is a perfectly rational response.
The cute green tree frog landing innocently on your arm didn’t deserve to be fired across the room in a panic (it survived, lived to tell the tale)
Bumping into a paper wasp nest clad in ear mufflers, massive hat and over-shoulder whipper snipper is not to be recommended, you’ll run faster than you’ve ever done in your life, they sting like a b@^*#•d.
Trust your senses, that unusual noise and tiny movement out the corner of your eye might just be a large escapee pet Python hiding in a rolled-up yoga mat enjoying your company in the early morning light.
Learn, that blowing on the face of a small pet Python will make it release its jaw if it bites the hand of your child (who’s just about to leave for school) and won’t let go. Be glad your husband was home to deal.
Again, trust your gut, “is this really a good idea?” (it wasn’t) a steep walk deep into the rainforest 24hrs before a flight overseas, (mini drama day before involving passports, don’t ask🙄) logs turned over, boulders lifted, trees climbed, spider holes peered into, Rob’s foot bitten by a random nasty ant swelling to twice its size. Didn’t make for an enjoyable flight.
Learn that QLD caterpillars are not tiny squidgy green things but big stripey hairy buggars, fascinating to look at, hideously itchy if hair touches skin.
Believe the mother of one of your kids friends “jeez, you’re very tolerant” after she’s been taken on an embarrassing whirwind tour of your various pets.
Last but not least … speck of dust? Wipe it off, ah doesn’t wipe off, closer inspection “Is it a tick?? Is it? Is it? Eeeew it is!!”
So you’ll become an expert remover of these teeny, nasty burrowing blighters that feed leech- like on your actual body. Many in our household over the years, in various bodily locations 😫 telltale sign the itch, the rash, the swelling, (worse on removal)
Make sure the thing is DEAD first, (don’t leave half its body insitu) spray with insect repellant or freeze with ice cube, if the ticks dinner is the body of a toddler or small child one person may have to wrap/pin them down while the other does the tweezing. Child will scream like you’re sawing off their leg.
EVERY time post removal you’ll all examine it, make sure it’s complete, note how tiny it is, discuss its evil properties.
Don’t let any of this put you off coming to Oz, you’ll love it!