Last Updated on August 18, 2019 by Red Nomad OZ
If not for my mate pointing it out, I would never have noticed this sign on the dunes near the Largs Bay Jetty, South Australia.
It’s pretty small, and doesn’t have any of the visual cues that indicate warning. If I noticed it at all, it would have been to subconsciously dismiss it as a kind of yin/yang sign, and therefore pretty much irrelevant to me.
BUT … look at the detail, and you’ll see that’s not the case at all!
To state I have an antipathy towards snakes is like saying Winston Smith (of ‘1984’ fame) didn’t like rats very much! The prospect of snakes in the dunes therefore bothers me A LOT!!! They tell me the Brown snake has apparently taken over from the Death adder of yesteryear – but I’m not sure whether that’s something to be sad or glad about …
So am I alone in wondering why anyone would set up a SNAKE WARNING SIGN that was a) small, b) barely noticeable and c) obscure in both image and intent??
The great irony is that in order to get this photo, I had to get pretty close. And to get pretty close, I had to – yes, you guessed it – climb up onto the dune! Where the snakes were!! And I couldn’t say I hadn’t been warned, either.
It didn’t occur to me until afterwards that this might not have been the best plan – but luckily the cold air kept the snakes away. This time, anyway!!
Such are the sacrifices of blogging …
Stay calm!!
@River – you’re one of the lucky ones then! But isn’t it the vibrations that warn them? BUT … dunes aren’t known for that either!!
@Loz – Welcome, I’m with you on that one!!
@Chris – better watch out, this’ll become a habit!!! Not actually sure whether the sign was ‘official’ (ie council) or just a well meaning local who is into yin/yang?!?!
That sign is pathetic! Utterly useless. Good shot, though.
BTW I must admit, though I don’t have any particular rodent-phobia myself, that scene from ’84 made an incredibly powerful impression on me…
Got to admit I’m not a great fan of snakes
Snakes don’t bother me much, if you make enough noise they’ll hear you coming and move away. Of course dunes aren’t exactly noisy, but I’ve always known snakes live there, lizards too, so I usually keep an eye out. Haven’t been near a beach for a while though.
Woo Hoo! Exactly 40 followers (welcome, Freya!) and exactly 1200 individual visitors!! Are the planets aligning? Is it time to buy a lottery ticket?? Or am I just getting all excited about nothing??? Thanx all for your visits and comments!!
@Andrew – never thought of jellyfish, but you just might have something there!!
@Jayne – nor me, if only I’d actually thought about what I was doing instead of sacrificing all for my blog!!
@Betty – yep, it sure doesn’t scream ‘WARNING’ or ‘SNAKES’ or even ‘DANGER’ does it?!
@Kath – maybe they’re trying to break us into the idea gently?? Whoever ‘they’ are …
@Freya – welcome again! Either brave, or stupid! You decide!!
I really hate snakes, haha but what an original sign although it would have taken me quite a while to figure out that this was a warning sign for snakes, very brave of you to get up in the dunes 🙂
great blog.
Jeez, I’ve walked around there a few times over the years and never even thought that there’d be SNAKES there….. ~shudder~
I didn’t notice that the sign was about snakes until I looked at it for second time.
Snakes can be so dangerous and absolutely frighten me.
I hope your weekend has been well.
B xx
Snakes *shudder*, you wouldn’t have got me up on those dunes to snap that pic lol
Nothing in the world quite frightens me like snakes. But I thought the sign was a jellyfish warning. The sign is facing away from the sea. Odd. It should be turned around.