• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Professional Hobo

Traveling full-time in a financially sustainable way

  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • DESTINATIONS MAP
  • TRAVEL STUFF
  • CONTACT
  • BOOKS/COURSES

Eek! The Australian Huntsman

Last Updated: December 11, 2020

Eek! The Australian Huntsman

Eek! The Australian Huntsman.

This post was originally published in 2008, toward the beginning of my 18 time in Australia. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content. 

For a subsequent entertaining incident where I shared my car with an Australian Huntsman for quite some time, check out this post and this video.

Over the last few months, I have managed to convince myself that there really aren’t an abundance of spiders and snakes here. Having heard from abroad about the proliferance (proliferance [proh-li-fer-ants]: derivative of prolific, meaning in abundance – I really wish that were a word; it makes sense to me) of creepy crawlies in Australia, the vast majority of which are poisonous, they have remained in the back of my mind constantly. I used to check under the toilet seat (a common hang-out for spiders) every time. Going for hikes, I would stomp loudly to scare away the snakes. And I would never, ever grab on to a tree for support before scouring it for creatures that have it in for me.

But having been here for almost four full months now, and having seen only one snake (from a distance), and only a few spiders, all of which were small and far away enough to ignore, I have become complacent.

Sure – the winter season in the southern half of Australia means the snakes are hiding and the spiders are sluggish. But that didn’t matter. Between seeing native Australians’ general nonchalance towards sharing their homes with poisonous creatures, and the lack of seeing any myself, I had truly convinced myself that they wouldn’t actually be IN our home, if they even exist at all.

Not so.

Apparently there are two things that tend to happen when rain is coming: 1) the kookaburras sing – a delight guaranteed to put a smile on your face, and
2) the huntsmen come out.

And by “huntsmen”, I’m not talking about guys dressed in cammo looking for wildlife to shoot.

A few years ago, a friend relayed a personal experience to me of his own travels through Australia and his first encounter with a huntsman. It climaxed in a face-off between my friend with a cleaver in his hand, and the dinner-plate sized spider sitting a mere inches from his face. The spider won.

And now, I get it.

Although the Australian huntsman we encountered sitting placidly on our microwave clock is apparently small in comparison to some of his larger brethren, I am truly hoping not to meet them. The mere fact that this creature likely lives (sorry, lived) in some dark corner of our home is unsettling enough to cause me to lose some sleep. The fact that the huntsman is harmless and that there are other spiders – spiders which can pack a punch – is enough to make me not want to sleep again. Ever.

I simply have to continue to remind myself that people live here. They have lived here for ages. And I don’t know anybody (or even know anybody who knows anybody) who has been killed by them.

Yet.

Sharing is Caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Australia

About the Author: As a former CFP (Certified Financial Planner), Nora Dunn traveled full-time for over 12 years. She is an expert in remote work, long-term travel, financially sustainable lifestyle travel, and much more. She is a celebrated author, speaker, writer, coach, and YouTuber. Read More…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amanda says

    September 22, 2008 at 7:47 pm

    Yuck… your photo made me physically shiver. The last time I saw one of those spiders was one that lived inside a wall-mounted air-conditioner in a classroom I sometimes teach in, in Perth – I was teaching a really badly behaved group of visiting Korean school kids aged 12 – 14. The Hunstman came out from the air-con now and again and rather than letting the kids realise how terrifed I was, I told them the spider was my friend and he came out whenever kids were being naughty. Those were the only minutes the kids behaved (and thank goodness that spider didn’t drop down on one of them, or worse, on me!). yech ….

    Reply
  2. Nora Dunn says

    September 23, 2008 at 8:45 am

    Amanda: I had wondered what sorts of creepy crawlies you see on your side of Oz…the more I talk to Australians, the more I discover that there is really quite a division between Western and Eastern Australia. Thank goodness you don’t see to many Huntsmen! I’m seriously bothered by the fact that I’ve been sharing my home with it!
    And just last night….Kelly thought he found a Redback in our bathroom. Grrr……

    Reply
  3. wwax says

    October 8, 2008 at 4:50 pm

    I am rather partial to the old huntsman spider, they keep the other bugs at bay. I also find them fascinating they actually have things that look like eyes on the back of their head and numerous sets of eyes on the front.

    The spiders you have to watch out for you won't see until its too late as they are tiny.

    My mum got bitten by a white tip spider and within minutes you could see the red streaks ofinfection spreading up her arm.

    I say infection as according to the doctor we spoke to its not the poison in those guys that will kill you but the bacteria that live on their fangs. Her bite resulted in a trip to hospital lots of antibiotics and a story she loves to scare her Pommy relatives with every chance she gets.

    I figure if I can see the huntsman spider around, he's hopefully living up to its name and hunting & eating the small poisonous spiders I can't see.

    Reply
  4. Sharell says

    July 8, 2009 at 9:54 pm

    These huntsman spiders have a nasty habit of wedging themselves between objects, such as books on a bookshelf. There have been numerous times that I’ve put my hand into a bookshelf to pull out a book, and my fingers have found themselves on top of a furry squishy body!! Eek indeed! Despite this, I’m still quite partial to them myself. They really don’t do any harm despite their scary looks, unlike some of those tiny horrors!

    Reply
    • theprofessionalhobo says

      July 9, 2009 at 2:15 pm

      @Sharell – true enough! I would much prefer a surprise encounter with a hunstman than some of the other critters we have around!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

WELCOME!

This site is part travel tales, and part lifestyle travel tips.

Check out my free Travel Lifestyle Guides to answer all the questions you have about your own travel journey!

I'm Nora Dunn. I traveled the world full-time for 12 years, and I still travel for half the year (pandemics notwithstanding).
Expert on long-term travel, personal finance (as a former CFP), remote work, and lifestyle design.
If there's a high-adrenaline activity, I've probably done it. Weird food? Eaten it. Former shaman's apprentice. Always an actor/singer/dancer. Professional speaker. All that. And more…

Get Free Accommodation

how to get free accommodation around the world

Here’s Where I Get Almost All My Clothes:



Use the discount code NORA20 for $20 off orders of $120 or more!

To Maximize Your Free Credit Card Travel Rewards, I Recommend:



buy hats at wholesale price on dhgate for travel

Search

Categories

Before Footer

Nora Dunn The Professional Hobo Featured in Conde Nast Traveler, Forbes, MSN Money, Yahoo, Lonely Planet, Wise Bread, Business Insider, and many more

Footer

About This Website

The Professional Hobo is about how to travel full-time in a financially sustainable way, as experienced since 2006 by Nora Dunn, former financial planner and current world traveler/writer.

  • Writing Portfolio & Speaking Credits
  • Contact
  • FAQs
  • Travel Resources
  • Web Stories

Follow Me!

Copyright © 2009-2021 TheProfessionalHobo.com. All Rights Reserved.

Disclosure: In accordance with FTC guidelines, I disclose that I may be compensated if consumers choose to utilize links located throughout the content on this site. Additionally, some posts might be sponsored to support this blog. Please do the appropriate research before participating in any third party offers. All opinions are my own.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Privacy Policy: While you may rest assured that we at The Professional Hobo are not using your information for evil purposes, here is everything you need to know about our Privacy Policy.