Snake safety when hiking in Australia | How to hike safely with snakes

Thanks for watching everyone. A Patrion Dave also made the great comment to take a “sharpie or a pen and if you can, circle the bite on your skin, and then again circling the area once bandaged. This makes it easier once you get to hospital, because the staff can then just cut the bandage at the bite site and swab the exact location, making identification of the snake easier.” Thanks Dave

Shhhh. We tell the world how dangerous Australia is to keep tourists away!

I’ve never been fussed with snakes while hiking on my own. I’ve encountered many in my travels and never had an issue. My anxiety comes from hiking with my new assistance dog who can’t wear protective clothing in the heat. Do you have any tips for navigating the bush with your dog? We are going to do some extra training so he learns not to chase them or go go near them but would love to know any other ways to keep my dog safe!

too true !
Sometimes if it seams like a really snakey day and environment and the snake paranoia starts Kicking in . I grab a walking stick and tap it on the ground as I am walking along . they will feel the vibrations and piss off way before i get anywhere near them . one exception , the deaf adder . they will stay put because they use ambush as their way of hunting . most other snakes are active hunters so will always piss off instead of hanging around

Hey Kate, thanks for another brilliant video! An abundance of valuable information in such a compact package. Quick question - do you use a mobile phone when hiking, or is a compass and physical map your preferred method? I personally leave my phone at home as I find it can be quite distracting out on the trail. 🧭

Great flowchart! I went to a talk on snakebite presentation in the emergency department a while ago, and the dr said only about 2% of bites were actually envenomed, and most of those were in professional snake handlers or drunk idiots hassling snakes.

one of my first hikes i saw two snakes and almost stood on the first, but i was hiking at night with my partner and it was sleeping on the pathway , as i stood its darted off into the scrub and i barely even knew it was there and wouldnt have if my partner didnt yell out to me

Thanks for that. Great to hear some good advice

I’ve been hiking in the Brindies / Namadgi for many years. The amounts of snakes I’ve come across has been a plenty. But none have ever had a go, they usually just stay stationary. As long as you respect it, they do nothing.

Your advise with fallen down trees is spot on. Especially when bush bashing through the scrub.

I carry a Garmin inReach now when hiking, Mtn biking in Namadgi, mainly for snakes or injury. I still can’t believe I went for years not having some Personal Beacon.

Oh it’s you! I just finished watching Alone, I wished you’d stayed longer! Didn’t realise who did this video til I started watching 😂

Over the 40 years I’ve been hiking I can count 12 encounters with snakes in Australia. These include a tiger snake I just missed stepping on as it was camouflaged in the leaves, a death adder hiding in rocks, a brown snake under a metal sheet and lots of red bellied black snakes and unknown snakes (shades of grey) that slithered by my foot and scared the living daylights out of me or crossed the path ahead of me. Not one of them have attacked me. I always wear long pants and gaitors just in case though.

Thank you Kate😊

Thank you for the educational vid Kate. It’s always on my mind more so for my best mate my pooch. He’s always on lead and I try to stomp and make as much noise as possible to vibrate he ground, though I do let him stretch his legs later in the evening and that’s where I try to not take my eyes off him to monitor if he jumps suddenly or yelps etc. Not many think of their pets when out in the bush ay.

Beautifully elaborated Kate 👏

Thanks for your great advice Kate. On a side note, I love your trousers...can I ask what brand please ?

Never had a snake strike at me but i hear they are very accurate with their aim and they aim for the loose clothing or gaiters which is way away from your skin. do not hike in shorts or thongs. Keep your tent shut and In " snakey " ground step heavy, bang logs with your poles or stick and the vibrations they pick up move them on, like you said big things like us are not food, big things eat or trample snakes. Cool video thank you. Ray.

I heard most bites occur on the extremities, so I always try to wear gloves when collecting firewood. I also tend to run into snakes the most near water, they're always very easy to avoid. I think the story of your friend is actually a good one. Most snakes will feel you coming and get out of the way but also they can be a bit dopey sometimes and be really hard to see, being observant of where your feet are, especially at river crossings when you might have your shoes off is really important. fantastic video kate.

Drop bears are much more dangerous!

The snake’s “ethos”, if we can call it that, is that other creatures are either a potential meal or a potential threat. Snakes do not want to risk getting injured or killed by a potential threat. I remember back in the 1980s when I was about 15 nearly treading on a probable copperhead snake(given I was in Tasmania’s central highlands, the most likely species of that size there), and noticing it at the last second I extended my step to miss it. We both continued on our merry ways… though I nearly need a change of undies! 🤣

Yeah, I'm usually out on my own and even though I keep an eye out for snakes, I can't say I see many. Mind you, if it's well camouflaged, you might not see it anyway.
I wear long pants and gators for protection, but mainly to protect my shins from getting smacked about. At my age, it doesn't seem to take much to break the skin these days and end up having a wound to clean and dress. Snake bite is a secondary concern but it's the one you don't see that may be startled and strike. Gators are not a 100% guarantee against a snake bite but I recon it's better than bare legs or even thin pants. I see some folk bushwalking in sandals and I think they're nuts, but I guess if they're sticking to a marked trail it's probably ok.
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As a male I hike naked, I find they look at me and start laughing and it gives me enough time to hide behind a tree and cry 😂

Well said, Kate! Be prepared (I always take 2 of the bandages too), but the chances are small. I hate leeches more!

Yep, in my experience, snakes you come across in the Aussie bush, are just trying to escape from you. My understanding is that if a snake is heading towards you, it's beacuse that is the way it wants to flee, it's not actually "chasing" you. And that is why the advice, when you see a snake on the path ahead is for you to 'stop' and then allow it room to escape. And for sure, we need to respect our animals and critters, they are not hunting us.
😉