Snake sightings are an inevitable part of our Australian summer – but you don't expect to see them wrapped around your car's side mirror while you're driving.
However, that is what Nolan's Auto Parts Pambula employee Ted Ogier saw on Wednesday, January 10, when driving along the highway to Pambula from Eden.
Mr Ogier was returning from Eden after making deliveries when a red belly black snake dropped down on to his windscreen from the vehicle's roof.
After failed attempts to enter the vehicle, the excitable reptile then tried to enter the driver's side window after first wrapping itself around the car's side mirror.
After travelling with the reptile for some time, Mr Ogier pulled over at Oaklands Event Centre near Pambula and rang his manager, Kai Pearse, for assistance.
“What do I do here? I have a snake on my bonnet!” Mr Ogier told Mr Pearse over the phone.
When Mr Pearse arrived at Oaklands he saw the snake on the roof of the vehicle, which he described as being between 2 and 2.5 metres long. After some careful manoeuvring, the snake was ushered away with a broom before it slithered safely into a nearby paddock.
Photos of the encounter have received a huge response on social media.
Many of those commenting wrote messages along the lines of needing a change of pants had that happened to them, or that the car needed torching now.
Mr Garbutt returned to his car after an evening walk at Kurnell on December 28, to find a note had been left on his windscreen by a passerby warning him that a red-bellied black snake was seen crawling up into the wheel of his car.
“So I popped the bonnet and there it was coiled up underneath,” Michael told the Leader.
“To say I was shocked is an understatement. On reflection I didn’t think I would have put my hand out to pop the bonnet if I had known it was there.
“My main concern was how do I get rid of it.”
Michael found the number of Andrew Melrose of Shire Snake Catchers of Engadine who headed straight out to Kurnell to remove the reptile.
Mr Melrose said it is common to find them in cars.
“If they get startled they look for the first place that is safe,” he told the Leader.
“The place I found it was very bare. There was no place for the snake to escape. People would have startled it and the only place for it to hide was the car.
“The driver could have driven off completely unaware.
“Snakes will do anything to stay away. That’s why they get into a car.”
Luckily for Mr Garbutt a note from a Good Samaritan saved him from a similar experience to that of Ted Ogier on the far south coast.
The story, Snake hitches ride from Eden to Pambula, first appeared on the Eden Magnet.