I love the idea of sending postcards, but I can never find cards that really capture the true spirit of a country. They all feature fuzzy wildlife and corny clichés. Sure those things can be found if you go poking around in the wilderness, but let’s be honest here: in my home city of Melbourne, I see a lot more of these hairy fellows than fuzzy koalas …
Sharing a home with hand-sized huntsman spiders is just one of the great features of this fine country.
Torre DeRoche is the author of two travel memoirs, Love with a Chance of Drowning (2013) and The Worrier’s Guide to the End of the World (due out September 2017). She has written for The Atlantic, The Guardian Travel, The Sydney Morning Herald, Emirates, and two Lonely Planet anthologies.
25 Response Comments
Ahhhhh! I’m never moving to Australia… and if I do, I’m carrying Raid with me at all times.
Raid will not help you. It just makes them run around psychotically for about 45 minutes before they finally find a cozy place to die, like your pillow. The best solution is to capture them in a glass, throw them over the back fence and make it someone else’s problem. Or you can squash them, but they can be very juicy. I once saw someone stomp on a pregnant huntsman, and the juice arched up to hip level. Sorry. This just keeps getting worse. Wish you were here!
And… there goes my breakfast. Thanks. Really.
Any time.
I’d love to visit Australia but the spiders and snakes thing just terrifies the life out of me – especially now you’ve shown us these postcards of spiders hiding in the fruit! 🙂
Julia
If Australia terrifies the life out of you, then it HAS to be your next adventure. If it doesn’t get your heart racing, what’s the point? Comfort and safety is for people who live in hospices.
I saw a book the other day called “Come to Australia and DIE!” I love the image Australia has as a place that you are in fear for your life all the time and grateful to make it through each day. I feel like I’m building up bragging rights by living here ;o)
Ha! That’s cute… and the reason that scares me the most about visiting Australia. I hate spiders….my palms sweat when they are close. Yikes! My bf went to New York with his sister and instead of sending the traditional Empire state building postcard they took crazy pictures of themselves and sent them to the family. It was really cute.
oh my. I’ll be moving to Melbourne next year so…I need to ask…are they dangerous?
Oooh this is creepy and I am not sure this postcard would make anyone visit Australia. As they say, the truth hurts! My skin is crawling now.
No. I can’t do it. That things is scary creepy and just this photo has me at risk for dreaming about that creature. LOL. OMG. I just read your response to Sally, “they can be quite juicy.” Thanks for that one.
I wonder if I’m at spider risk if I stay in a fabulous hotel, and I don’t camp out.
EEEEEWWWW. I have arachnophobia. Not going!
I’m new to our travel memoir writing group and have quickly become a fan of your writing and graphic design work. Love it.
If you still work on other gigs, I’ll be checking in with you on my next memoir cover!
Hahaha, I feel your pain! 😉 Recently had one taunting us on the car window and then speedily running to the other window as you turn your head – it’s there! bloody huntsman!
http://brookevstheworld.com/straight-out-of-a-horror-film/
Haha, I love Australia, but hate the creepy crawlies. And I’d rather a spider than a snake!
Hahaha, thats cute
Huntsmen are the only part of Australian fauna that terrify me. Strange but true.
I’ve had to kill venomous snakes and I’ve been chased by a surly red kangaroo. Swooped by rabid magpies and shared space with funnel webs – but put a huntsman in my eyeline and I turn to jelly. *Shudder*
My husband keeps talking about going to Australia, but the only thing I think of when I hear the word Australia is spiders!
Oh. My. God. My scalp is tingling just looking at those pictures! Me and spiders do not mix well. Not at all. GAH!
Oh my gosh! I lived and traveled through AU for 6 months and I totally agree with this! There are so many creepy crawlers that it was actually very interesting to see them all. I enjoyed walking through the rainforest and identifying bugs that I would never see here in the States, HOWEVER, when I found them in my place of living or even in my hair (several times!) I did not enjoy them as much! haha
Huntsman? Nice postcard, I would prefer these over those commercially produced/photographed postcards. There are many postcard services you can use now that will let you send a postcard of yourself or anything you want (when appropriate of course) as you mentioned already.
Though I have to be honest, those huntsman don’t look huge as proclaimed (at least not in the perspective of the pics in the postcard 🙂
They’re usually about the side of the palm of your hand, but sometimes they’re large and juicy. It’s not the size that makes them scary—it’s the way they move. One minute, it’ll be on your wall, and then you blink and it’s gone … but where?! They move like freaks.
Spiders, Blah, freaky but usually harmless in Melbourne, try Scorpions living in the sand in Dubai ! Theres lots of sand here, so lots of bloody scorpions ! Loved your book Torre, got it from Amazon.com
Life is an adventure, good on you for sailing the pacific, big up’s girl !
Mark
Thanks Mark! I’m glad you enjoyed the book.
And no thanks on the Dubai scorpions. Gross.
Ahhh! This is exactly why I’m scared to visit Australia!!! Are these spiders really very common in the cities?
This is an awesome idea! I wish I thought of it when I was living in Australia, my family would have freaked out.