I see the snake leggings. I take it that's a necessity Down Under? We have a couple of less deadly pit vipers that inhabit our woods, but snake bites are so rare they are usually front page news.
Ah yes, the gaiters. Yes gaiters can be worn for snake protection but would have been worn here for leg protection (reduce the bleeding
). We tended to walk in shorts and wear gaiters even when off-track walking in the middle of winter (we breed them tough around here) as we were on this weekend. As this was in July, our winter, snakes wouldn't have been an issue as they sleep through the cold months.
On the other hand around September onwards, gaiters have come in handy once or twice when I have upset a
Tiger snake enjoying the sun ... whoops
Thankfully my closest experience; it reared up but then as I stepped back it did the same so to speak, was not an alright out attack it did remind me that my gaiters need to be double in length
As to snakes, well Australia is known for having one or two venomous ones. Of the 10 listed here at the
Australian National Geographic I have had the pleasure of "meeting" a Western brown snake (it actually chased me up the road ... I was on my loaded touring bike at the time); one or two or more mainland tiger snakes (pretty common where I used to live (had one living in a shed two units along one summer) and one not listed but which has the ability to kill people, the
dugite. Dugites are very common here in the south-west Western Australia so I expect to see them every summer when I am outdoors. My most memorable experience was sharing a nature break with one :eek-54: Not sure who was more offended
We also have
death adders here in our local bush but I have never come across one thankfully. They tend to stay still curled up in the leaf litter so one can easily step on them. Prior to the development of anti-venom death rates were around 60% apparently.
@NoSeconds lives further north in WA and has a few other choice friends to share his world with including my friend the Western brown snake.