Shaking out the snakes and spiders

Population:  2 and about 4 goat shooters

It’s very quiet here.

The tiny regional airport is a small shed that receives three flights a week from Perth.  We transferred to a light 4 seater aircraft with an interior that looked like it came out of a 1982 sedan complete with lambs wool seat covers and a dashboard made up of antiquated dials.

The landing strip on the island is scratched out of the clay and about 6kms from the house.  There was a helicopter parked at one end of the runway.  The goat shooters from the Department of Environment Conservation are on the island for a few days.  They hadn’t wanted us back on the island while they are here, but the owners managed to convince them with a loud “we LIVE here!” argument but we aren’t allowed beyond the homestead acreage until they are finished with their cowboy goat shooting from a helicopter.

The homestead has been empty since November with only a caretaker staying to keep an eye on the place.  There has been two years worth of rain in the past month.  The main town has been flooded twice and is completely devastated.  But the island is very green.  Greener than anyone can remember.

The mother and I are here alone for the first few days.  We are shaking all the deadly snakes and spiders out of the house and classroom before the others arrive on Wednesday.   Dugart snakes are amongst the world top 10 deadly species, but aren’t terribly aggressive.  They are everywhere on the island and the long grass from all the rain isn’t helping.  I asked what I was supposed to do when I saw a snake.  It seems running away in fear isn’t very helpful if the snake is in the house.  I should yell “snake” and keep my eye on it because they slither away quickly.  That should give another brave soul the time to grab a shovel and come to kill it.

There are also mice everywhere.  I don’t usually like cats and I shudder to have them in my bedroom, but Lucy the resident cat is my new best friend if she wants to hunt mice in my room.

My room is at the front of the homestead/guesthouse overlooking a sandy bay.  The view is spectacular and peaceful.  The water is so clear you can see the sand dunes and the rocks all the way to the bottom.  The family live in their own house around the back so until the guests start arriving in March, I have the whole guesthouse to myself including two lounge rooms, a commercial kitchen, and plenty of chairs on the veranda to sit and watch the world go by. 

Maybe I’ll go skinny dipping with the sharks before the others arrive.  I’ll just hope the goat shooters don’t come whizzing by in the helicopter.