We Went Up the Beach...and Then Into the Dunes..

The idea was to get out and about in the fresh air.      .We'd been up all night,and then had to deliver two paintings to a gallery,..an hour and a half away..      It was actually my birthday,..but no-one would know that becos i don't usually tell people..   Anyway,.we went up the beach,and into the dunes.It was a location known to me..Theres a high hill from where you can get a photo of the ever-spreading suburbs....Pretty soon this hill will be gone.Flattened to roll out more brick and tile..more bitumen..for more and more people..I like to enjoy the view before its wiped off the map.                               Anyway,..it was snake season,..and i was in bare feet and shorts,pushing thru the scrub,.trying to follow the wallaby tracks.    My dog was leading the way,..but she seemed a bit too keen,..so i got her to follow..                   We got to the highest point...took some photos and then began the descent.....          Sure enough,.there it was,.....a tiger snake,.about 3 foot long,..about 5 foot in front of us..heading in our general direction...I told the dog to stop,..then proceeded to get a few shots..                  .Next thing i knew the dog went around me and as i told her "No"..she stopped. She was standing above the snake,..which had stopped,with a paw either side of it,.real close....I did not take a photo of that,..but told my dog "Go"...She walked away,..and luckily did not provoke the snake..                  Then she sat,.to stay,..       I decided to pass in front of the snake,so it could see me.            From a couple of feet in front of this deadly snake,.i took more photos...Only when i circled around behind it,and was close enough to grab it by the tail,..did it suddenly turn,..me stepping back as it  quickly slithered away......                                             We made our way out of those bushy dunes,..at least a hundred metres (300+feet),..back to the beach,.and then 500 metres back along the sand to the car....Later when i looked at the photos,..i thought about what might have happened had either or both of us had been bitten....                 They can strike many times in seconds,..and have enough venom to kill half a dozen horses...However like many wild animals,..they have far more to fear from us humans and our pets,..as we endlessly sprawl our way across natural landscapes,.and turn them into generic suburbs.