Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

I KNOW how much you all love hearing stories like this, so I thought I would tell you about what I saw when driving out of the supermarket car park today

65 replies

ghosty · 07/03/2008 03:23

DD was chattering away as we were inching out of the supermarket carpark today - behind a row of cars also leaving.
The car in front was being driven by a dear looking old lady. As DD was chatting to me from the back seat my attention was caught by a movement on the roof of the old lady's car.
I thought it was a leaf.
It wasn't.
When I peer forward to take a better look (murmuring agreeable sounds to DD "really darling?" that sort of thing) I saw that is was a FARKING HUGE HUNTSMAN standing on the roof of the car
It started to walk along - no, wait ... it positively sauntered along the length of the car and started to make it's way down the rear window of the car. It was at least the diameter of the palm of my hand ... [pass out]
Then it stopped ... and I am sure, postively positive it waved at me .
It was joy riding ... it was a hoon huntsman!
All the while the lady was inching forwards and I was inching behind her. My hair was on end and I was speechless to start with. I then started to jabber ... "Oh my fucking god" and the like, with DD saying, "Pardon Mummy, what did you say?"
After a few "Aaaaghghghhghgs" I began to think if this lady bothers to look in her rear view mirror she will have a cardiac arrest ... unless of course the huntsman was her pet ... which is entirely possible (these Aussies can be hard bastards, even the grannies)
Anyway, when it was her turn to pull out into the traffic the HoonHuntsman was settling himself for the ride ... I am sure that when she pulled off he gave me a rude sign and I swear I heard a small voice shout "Burn it Grandma!"

(I bet they parked in the parent and toddler zone too ... )

OP posts:
auntyspan · 07/03/2008 22:36

I had to google it.

It's a spider. Quite a big one.

DualCycloneCod · 07/03/2008 22:37

thats IT?
a spider.
ithoguht it was liek that crocodiel man

Maidamess · 07/03/2008 22:38

I've killed a huntsman. And scooped up its dead body with a tennis racket.

auntyspan · 07/03/2008 22:44

Knock yourself outhere

ghosty · 07/03/2008 22:45

Yeah Cod, it's easy to be all blase and say "That's IT? a spider" when you are sitting cosily in bleedin shropshire or wherever you are ...
Try sitting in a car staring out one of these buggers ... then you won't be so calm ... [looks hard]

OP posts:
Maidamess · 07/03/2008 22:46

They rear up on their legs when they are feeling threatened too. And they are as big as your hand.

MrsJohnCusack · 07/03/2008 22:59

ergh

piffle, I don't see many spiders here, and only little ones

have not seen a weta yet though - there will be a gibbering thread on here if I ever do...

BoysOnToast · 07/03/2008 23:21

i lived in oz for a year.

someone gave me a car... gave me the keys and directions to it anyway. was parked in a leafy street in Manly.
i found car, got in, started it up and found it was out of petrol. drove it around the corner to nearest garage.
got out, reached down to open petrol cap... fucking huntsman climbed out form wheel arch inches from my hand.
i stepped back and sucked in my breath. i shit you not, i am THAT hard
Bloke across forecourt looks up, rolls eyes at pathetic female, comes over and bats it off the car.... i swear to god i heard every one of its feet hit the concrete its that fuckin big and it scurries off audibly.

i then filled up the car and drove it an hour across town to my flat in Glebe, expecting at any moment to have another one crawl onto my shoulder... knowing full well that when it did i would crash. intentionally.

ahhhhhh, happy adventurous days.

chloeb2002 · 08/03/2008 02:24

eidsvold.. five of them cant wait.... Dh hated spiders with a passion even he is taken with henrietta! DD informs me she has six eyes... nice eh!
we did have a female funnel web in the house a couple of months ago with an egg sack.afraid she got the fly spray treatment before being relocated to the garden to die quietly. I draw the line at those that will enjoy killing us!
We used to play scare the pomme where i worked years ago.. in the shower which was in a grotty caravan we had a few resident huge huntsmen so we would time how long it would be before a new arrival would run out in the nude screaming!
mean i know.....
Mad yes am dribbling nicely as i type...

eidsvold · 08/03/2008 03:37

ghosty - that just reminded me - coming into the yard the other night from shopping - I suddenly sped down the driveway and swerved hard left. Dh who was watching from the deck asks what the hell I am doing - especially since I have dd2 in the back. Nothing I reply - just getting the cane toad

Now that is one ugly thing and this was a biggun - dd2 was traumatised that I had killed the toad. They are poisonous and feral.

bamamama · 08/03/2008 05:50

We've been in Oz since August and we've had 2 huge huntsman feckers on our bathroom window. I don't mind spiders too much but really, is there any need for them to be so HUGE? DH has also nearly hit 2 brown snake on his bike, and he's been caught in a rip. Twice.

Don't get that in blighty....

twentypence · 08/03/2008 06:16

I was a gibbering wreck at a Praying Mantis. This sounds horrible.

Ds had a reading book all about spiders that jump. Great for first week of term.

liath · 08/03/2008 07:06

LOL at hoon huntsman.

My worst huntsman experience was when I was working in the NT. There was a vast hairy one in my sink so I grabbed a collander to catch it and I SWEAR the f*cker leaped out at my face like that thing off alien!

I'm not generally scared of spiders but you should have heard the scream I let out !

sunnydelight · 08/03/2008 11:08

Finding a huntsman on the wall behind the headboard of DD's bed a couple of weeks after we arrived (and DH was out) made me re-evaluate the definition of arachnaphobia pretty quickly!

AussieSim - can't remember where you are but please tell me it wasn't one of the garden centres on Mona Vale Road

madamez · 08/03/2008 11:15

FFS! Aaargh! WHEN will I learn not to click in the links in threads like this

New posts on this thread. Refresh page