Anyway, it gives me a moment to write about the flora and fauna of rainy season. I'll start with the flora (briefly) as I guess people will find that less interesting :). When we arrived, the Jacarandas were just starting to flower. Amazingly the two waves have kept us surrounded constantly by purple flowers all the time. On the way to the Mess we walk over a carpet of purple flowers - it seems a shame every time Alick sweeps them up!
A few weeks ago the Frangipanis started to flower. Nat has one in her garden and when we arrived the weekend before last she had a flower in her hair - very exotic. Last Friday morning I noticed that the leaves were coming out on the Baobab on the running route - I'm sure they weren't there at all on the Wednesday, so they must have started quickly. I'm really looking forward to it getting its full complement because I've never been in Africa when they've had leaves before!
Most recently a tree with bright red flowers has flowered. Nat refers to them as fire trees, but I'm pretty sure that's not their real name!
All of this activity points in one direction - the rains are coming soon!! Everyone tells us the 24th of October and we've only recently realised that this is because it's Independence Day!
And we've noticed a difference with the animals too. The prevalence of snakes has definitely increased over the past couple of weeks. Nat nearly trod on one. We saw one on the way back from Tiko's the other night. Two people were bitten on hospital grounds this weekend. There was one wrapped around the loo seat at the students' house and they found another this evening. Things are waking up.
Unfortunately this also extends to the spiders. The students first, with another of the big spiders with ultra long front legs that we saw at their party. They are known round here as Red Romans or Sun Spiders - they are Solifugae and, if Wikipedia is to be believed, can travel at 10mph! Except if Pete has splatted them with his shoe.
Next to 'benefit', as some of you on Facebook know, was the Roberts household. Yesterday morning Geoff got dressed only to make mad shaking movements as he attempted to get a spider off him (it was on his clothes when he picked them up - a common trick apparently). This was soon dispensed with.
In the evening I was sat by myself doing some data entry for our study. Geoff was on call and had headed in to see a fracture. I saw something move out of the corner of my eye - normally this would be a cockroach or lizard. Tonight it was a rather large (but I have to admit not one of the two largest sorts of) spider. It saw me see it peeping out from around the half wall to the bedroom and quickly made a dash for the shoes. A cunning move designed to prevent me from arming myself. I thought I had outwitted it by reaching for the bug spray that works 'ultra fast'. I sprayed the offending area only to see the spider shoot out of its hiding place and return to the bed area (where there is still no light!). This was not ideal.
I returned to my chair to work out what to do. I decided that I could see the main aisle from my seat and that it was likely to try and come back towards the shoes shortly. So I should just sit and wait. I forgot to arm myself with a shoe. Just as I realised this mistake it came peeping out around the wall again. I flinched towards the shoe at which point it made a break for it, heading towards our bed on the other side of the room. I decide that this is unacceptable. I'm not having it sneaking around my bed so the bug spray will have to be used again. I sprayed it hard. Nothing happened. I sprayed again. It did a forward roll. I sprayed again. It did another forward roll. [I'm waiting for it to do what everything else does and flip on its back.] More spray. This time it lies on its belly and lifts all its legs in the air. Maybe this is what I've been waiting for. Now is my chance to whop it with the shoe but I remember that Mum wanted a photo of the spiders and I can't splat it! Not much of a photo. As I'm debating whether it's safe to turn my back it starts to move. Very slowly it lowers each of its legs in turn and crawls off under the rucksack. This is too much. This spider is immortal, unkillable and like a zombie. It is also, clearly, a man eater.
I retreat to my chair and lift my feet off the ground. Who knows where the bloody thing is now? This is the first time that part of me wishes I was back in the UK and another part of me is quietly pointing out that I laugh at anyone (mostly girls) that say they stand on chairs to get away from spiders until their boyfriends return. However, I'm not getting down until back up comes. Suddenly I hear a noise over my left shoulder and on the floor is a large cockroach being chased by a very small lizard. I'm in a zoo!!
I have chronicled the events on Facebook and, just as I text Geoff to tell him my position, I get a call from Nat offering to be back up for me - as long as I kill the cockroach! I get off the chair and do the deed - simple enough. When she arrives we decide that she should have the weapon (her own bug spray) and a torch and I will have a torch and the mop to poke the rucksack with. We prepare for the worst (OK, I prepare for the worst and Nat is left wondering why I've allowed the bodies of 3 dead cockroaches to remain under my bed - in truth, I thought there was only one (and I was leaving it as a warning to others, as you would a dead crow) and now I can see the dust under there I'm a little embarrassed). Anyhow, I poke gingerly at the rucksack and immediately it becomes apparent that the spider crawled under it to die - for there it is just twitching slightly. Nat sprays it with Doom for good measure and it becomes motionless.
Now it's safe to photograph (see below - yes, I know, there's no scale). On reflection, I might have overreacted slightly but I still insist that holding a torch, a weapon and a poking device is really a 2 man job - plus two sets of eyes to watch the crafty things are essential! In the past 24 hours we have sealed all the windows and ventilation bricks with mosquito netting and blocked the gap under the door - take that, suckers!
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| Man eating spider - was about 4.5" across fully extended |
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| Pet frog turning black, showing it is coming out of hibernation |
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