Our snakes are not aggressive and will quietly slither away if given the chance, we do not want to frighten anyone or discourage you from exploring Mandeni Park, we also do not claim to be experts.   If you see a snake do not be alarmed, simply leave it in peace, it is part of the natural environment and has every right to be there.

We are not medical advisers, our advice is to call an ambulance on 000 and take their advice.   

In the meantime we strongly advise against searching for the snake – they are hard to find and searching in scrub for a snake that has already bitten someone is very dangerous.   If you can easily take a digital picture, that is probably a better means of identification than pieces of mangled snake, but do not waste time trying to identify it.

If you are unable to speak to the ambulance service we offer the following advice – but be warned this is not necessarily the best advice available.   Basically, keep the victim quiet, apply a pressure bandage – not a tourniquet – splint the limb if possible and seek proper medical advice.   The bite might need to be swabbed later, so do not bathe or wipe it.    Forget the old stories about sucking out the venom – that may have applied to a rattle snake bite in the USA where the venom could attack tissue, but Australian snake venom generally only affects the nervous system, the best treatment is not to interfere but to seek medical treatment.   There should be no long term effect.