I jumped out, camera in hand, to get a few shots. Meanwhile, Glen, managing to grab the fleeing snake, had simultaneously lost the torch off of his head. It lay on the ground, with Glen and the snake beside it. He held the snake by its tail, and it made wild and desperate maneuvers to try to free itself from his grasp. It happened to be doing all of this maneuvering right atop the torch.

“Dom, grab the light.”

I though about this for a moment. We were in the middle of nowhere. Not exactly the ideal place you would want to get bitten by an unidentified snake. Not that you’d want to get bitten at all, but if it did have to happen, I’d say the emergency room table, with a modest fleet of venom specializing doctors, would be idyllic.

“Its all right, he won’t get ya.”

I gave this statement the kind of laugh it deserved. “Nah, that’s all right mate.”

The snake again danced over the light.

“Oh, he won’t get ya,” Glen laughed.

I held my position.

Glen, letting the snake go for a moment, grabbed the torch and readjusted it to his head.

“Is it venomous?” Sue squeaked from behind the safety of the car door.

“No, I don’t think so,” Glen said, “But I haven’t really had a good look at him yet.”

I need not point out here, but I will anyway, that not 20 seconds before this Glen was urging me to reach my hand down into striking range of said unidentified snake.

I gently related this observation to him, but Glen was again holding the snake – this time with proper illumination – and not paying attention.

“Yeah, he’s a little python,” He was saying, “He’s cool. He’s not gonna hurt anybody.”

He may not be able to hurt anybody, but that’s not to say he wouldn’t try. As Glen got a little closer, the python gave a quick but meaningful strike.

“He’s cranky, though.” Glen laughed.

“So who’s gonna hold him?”

Sue volunteered, but quickly declined after witnessing the aforementioned display of hostility. “I don’t like snakes,” She added.

“Let him go, then?” Glen said.

“Yeah.”

We watch him slide into the scrubs; me with great relief that it didn’t strike us dead, Glen with a sort of paternal pride. “Lovely,” He smiled. “I love pythons!”

We climbed back in the Landy and continued on, but were, moments later, again brought to a stop by another snake in the road. “Sna-,” I said, but couldn’t even get the word out before Glen was out of the car and chasing it into the trees beside the track. Sue, Fiona and I looked on from the safety of our enclosed environment.