lis

Hi,

I have a bit of a silly question. I want to go cycle touring around Tasmania next year - 4 weeks, timing unclear yet but I'm vying for February

I have toured New Zealand before for two months, so I don't think this will be that different in terms of the cycle touring aspect. I will pack camping equipment and will hope to camp most nights. The one issue I have though: I'm arachnophobic. I'm not too badly arachnophobic - not by any stretch a clinical case but a spider certainly sends me into a spiral of panic that I don't really have much control of. If it's small, I can usually keep calm, but a big one (by european standards) just has me crying for help, paralysed in fear.

New Zealand was great - not a single decent spider there. Unfortunately, Tasmania has many. I've travelled in countries with big spiders before - Thailand, Indonesia, Fiji, mainland Australia even - but usually staying in backpackers, not camping. I've often found that even if a country theoretically has a bunch of spider species as big as a dinner plate, the odds of you running into one are fairly slim. And if you do, it'll be high up a tree in some forest you took a walk in, and will be very easily avoided. The odds of finding one under your pillow or in your shoes or crawling inside your tent are practically inexistant if you're reasonable about it.

So my question to people out there who have toured Tasmania / Australia before is - what do you think the odds are of finding a big spider tucked under my saddle after a night camping at a national park? Or hanging in the vestibule of my tent early morning? (thereby trapping me in for days possibly, screaming my head off until someone can hear me and get it out...)

Also, are there good tips to avoid spiders? (I will not camp in grassy areas as I think that would be full of bugs, and in NZ people said the few spiders they did have liked the eucalyptus trees - should I avoid pitching right next to those trees? Or any trees?)

Anyways, I think I'll go despite the big spiders (hoping for good odds of not seeing any), but if a big, close encounter of the hairy kind is guaranteed, perhaps I should choose a different spot - there are many other places I'll happily tour too...

Thanks

Lis

Machka 

Rowan, my husband (who was born and raised in Tasmania) could probably give you a more detailed answer on the spiders you might encounter, but during the two separate 3-week periods of time I've spent in Tasmania, I recall seeing one spider, and I saw that spider climbing the wall of a friend's house. It was probably the largest spider in Tasmania, a huntsman, but they are generally harmless ... and by large, I mean about 2" in diameter, including the legs.

Living here in mainland Australia (Victoria, north of Melbourne), I have encountered a whole lot more spiders, including the redback and the whitetail, which are significantly more dangerous than a huntsman.

If you're concerned about something crawling up under your saddle, put a plastic grocery bag over the saddle like the Brooks saddle riders do ... and tie it around the seatpost. Oh, and bring your shoes inside the tent.

lis

Oh thanks for the plastic bag tip. Incidentally I intend on buying a Brooks saddle and did wonder what the best would be to conceal my easily-removed $100 saddle without having to actually take it with me... I understand now all those riders that I assumed were just really trying to keep their saddle dry and clean!

And your statistics sound very reassuring to me

axolotl

It was quite a few years ago that I toured in Tasmania, and I camped part of the time I was touring there. I don't recall seeing any spiders. I probably shouldn't tell you this, but Tasmania has 3 species of snakes and all 3 are venomous. Of those, 2 are quite dangerous. I nearly stepped on one while hiking in Cradle Mtn.-Lake St. Clair Nat. Park.

Keep your eyes out for a thylacine.

lis

Ha, see phobias aren't very clever from an evolutionary standpoint, regardless of what scientist will tell you. I'd be much happier seeing a 1 inch could-kill-me-in-an-instant redback than seeing a 8 inches harmless huntsman. And I really couldn't care less about snakes. Go figure ; ) That being said, now that I know some are poisonous, I'll be cautious if I do run into one!

safariofthemind

Watch out for toilet seats. Always lift and inspect

Machka 

If you see an 8" huntsman, you might want to call someone to report a record-sized spider!! I have seen a lot of huntsman spiders now, and they range around 2" in size, including legs, although I suppose if they stretched their legs all out, they might be slightly larger. They are furry, but they are usually somewhere between grey and tan in colour. If you're interested I could post some pictures of the spiders I've seen on mainland Australia.

Where did you get the idea that there would be spiders that large and plentiful in Tasmania? Did the New Zealanders tell you that.


And yes, you'll want to be very careful around the snakes.

valygrl

With respect - get some counseling, get over your irrational fear, and get on with your life.

djb

(good thing another woman said that......)

Rowan

I wouldn't worry. Keep away from woodpiles, fallen logs, piles of long-discarded rubbish and the like. Long-drop toilets are a favourite area for spiders. You can check around picnic tables for webs, but most people wouldn't have a clue what was lurking because the spiders remain well hidden.

Try to pick green grassed areas to pitch your tent. Keep the zip closed at all times (other than going into and getting out of it). If an area looks derelict and hasn't been visited for a while, then it's probably best to steer clear. Spiders prefer dry areas, hence the suggestion about the green grass, and keeping away from derelict places.

There is a largish black spider in Tasmania (about half the size of the huntsman) that tends to spin webs in corners with a well-defined hole, but in my experience, these spiders tend to hide and will retreat very rapidly if they poke their legs out and are disturbed. Their food of choice is flies, with other insects for dessert.

Also in my experience, spiders and snakes aren't predatory creatures as far as humans are concerned. They are most likely to retreat in the opposite direction rather than take on a person. Most bites occur when the creature is provoked.

MichaelW

Apparently the wranglers who work on films such as arachnphobia use furniture polish to define walkways so their multi-legged actors can always hit their mark. It might be useful to coat the seapost in wax, it cant do any harm.

lis

Counselling - too expensive ; ) I actually tried some form of therapy, it didn't really work. Didn't keep it up because it was a lot of money for each session. I didn't feel it was worth the money considering that my fear doesn't stop me from getting on with my life - but I wouldn't choose to jump into a spider nest either... no reason to stress myself out and make myself have a bad time if I could just go tour somewhere else instead. It's just yet another criterion for a choice of travel destination... From everything I'm reading on here though, it sounds like it'll be fine - perhaps I'll see a couple but hopefully it'll just make a good story. (as opposed to running into one on a daily basis... which would not be fun)

I thought I read somewhere that a huntsman's span could reach 20cm - the kiwis didn't put me up to this though I'll quite gladly accept that this data/my memory was wrong! I'll keep your advice in mind for derelict / seldom visited areas. A friend of mine currently working in Australia said the same thing: there are some true monsters out there but you sort of have to go look for them in abandoned car wrecks and the like. I'm surprised that a grassy area might be good, I'll remember the spiders' dry preference! Thanks a lot!

NoReg

Huntsman spiders can attain the size of 11.8 inches, according to WIKI. They are now present even in Florida.

Machka 

Some information about the huntsman ...
https://australianmuseum.net.au/Huntsman-Spiders

While it indicates that there is the chance they can get up to 15 cm, I think that's rare.

We lived for a year (June 2009 - June 2010) in very rustic conditions in the bush here in Victoria, and the place had a lot of spiders of various sorts. This picture is the average sized huntsman we had around the place ... and is also about the size of the one-and-only huntsman I've seen in Tasmania.




Taking the focus off the spiders, however, here are some photos we took of our trip back to Tasmania in August/Sept 2009

https://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...7622035702408/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...7622229022181/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...7622339227271/

I saw way more of these than I saw spiders there ...

lis

Yikes, huntsman scurrying across a car's dashboard... one more reason to cycle! I'm certainly hoping to see lots of amazing wildlife while out there, thanks for the preview

Rowan

As someone who has lived in Tasmania for at least three-quarters of his life, I can tell you -- huntsman spiders do NOT attain the size of 11.5 inches on that island. It's fatuous nonsense to suggest otherwise.

Just go and enjoy.

lis

I could imagine that it's the theoretical max for the species, all over Australia; and perhaps they don't grow as big on Tasmania. Things often don't grow as big on islands... which was what I'd hoped for in the first place! (dwarf mammoths anyone?)

One thing I'll watch out for I guess, is a spider lurking in between my tent and the fly - sounds like the sort of warm place one might creep in...

Machka 

Tasmania, and Victoria where we now live, are in the southern part of Australia ... the cooler part. Things like spiders etc., don't seem to grow as large in the cooler part of the country, probably because they don't need the extra body surface to keep cool.

If you were to travel further north, that's where you might notice the larger spiders.

BTW - I think what Rowan means by choosing grassy areas to camp is grassy, like mowed lawns rather than tall grass. If you're planning to camp in campgrounds, many have a grassy area (short cut lawn) for tents.

djb

and a long grassy area for the spiders.

all kidding aside, I used to work for someone whose wife crashed their car when a wayward spider was walking around the inside of the car as she was driving. Not a phobia of mine,but I can relate to the reaction when doing other stuff.

lis

The only half critical situation I ever found myself in with a spider was cilmbing up a rock face. Not that critical since I was all roped up, but there was a spider (actually, a daddy long leg...) (yes I have no shame) and I just screamed, spider!, and shuffled myself along the rock face to escape it. I took it as a good sign that I didn't just jump.

Also once I smashed one with my bare foot because it was about to reach my baby nephew who was on my sister's lap - she's the same as me and was just screaming for me to help, so I just went and smashed it... (daddy long leg again) (and for what it's worth, I do appreciate that spiders are fairly awesome creatures and quite smart etc - I do try any solution that involves not killing them but panic is panic) (and yes she is trying not to pass her fear on to him - so far he calls spiders "cute ants" so all is good - sort of)

All silly stories aside, I'll definitely avoid long grassy areas just cos there's too much stuff lurking in there (I'm not phobic of all insects but I still don't want them going all over my stuff!) and it's not that convenient anyway. I'll just remember not to sit on logs with half rotten bark!

safariofthemind

Good one. I once went up into a tree while hunting, promptly dozed off for a second, and when I woke up there were a dozen tiny black widows on my mittens. Half scared to death. Thank God it was a cool day and they were very sluggish. In my experience, most bugs/critters don't have us on their menu, so leave us alone if we don't provoke them. In Africa I came across a Puff Adder on my trail - same thing, just said very softly "nice snaky, nice snaky" and slowly back tracked along the trail. We were always told to check our boots before putting them on and to check our bedding before crawling into bed. Never had a problem.

Machka 

Actually that's something else to keep an eye out for in Tasmania and other parts of Australia ... ants. Some of them have quite nasty bites. Just generally watch where you walk.

lis

Oh dear. Perhaps I should just tour the North Island What about sandflies? They were pretty horrid on the west coast of the south island. I researched it a bit and it would seem some spots in Australia are pretty bad (in Queensland, or western australia...) but it sounded like Tasmania was fairly spared.

safariofthemind

If you spray your clothes (before putting them on) with permethrin it helps repel all the creepy crawlies and it is harmless to humans. It's based on a substance produced by mums.
https://www.sawyerproducts.com/products.htm

Machka 

I've never noticed sandflies there. And really, the ants aren't that big of an issue. Just have a look around before you pitch your tent and generally pay attention to your surroundings.

Where are you thinking of going? What route?