A couple of Qs for the veterans

ElevenBravo said:

well that's two Aussies in two days calling my wife a princess. Maybe something's getting lost in translation.

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It’s the Aussie sense of humour.

Fellow @ElevenBravo (lots of time at Ft Benning), y’all will be fine. I did the same thing and worried unnecessarily for many weeks. It’s not as bad as we make it to be in our minds. Go have fun, take more photos than you want to, because you can always delete, but can’t ever add once back at home.

I've spent maybe 4 months total in the bush in Africa. During that time I've personally seen 2 puff adders and 2 cape cobras. All of them were trying to get away. Another hunter in our party once saw 2 puff adders in the same trip and the PH had to jump away from one of them.

Snakes can kill you for sure, but........ We have plenty of Western diamondbacks where I live. I asked one of the old silverback ER physicians how many snakebites he'd taken care of over the years. He estimated about 20. I asked him how many of those people were deliberately messing with the snake. He said 100%.

In all the years I've been on this forum I don't recall hearing of a hunter, PH, or any member of a hunting party ever bitten by a venomous snake. I could have missed one, I suppose....... Fill me in if I'm wrong.

As for nature's call, my wife has been many times, as has my sister. The PH's wife is often along too. I have no idea what they do, but I assume they figure it out. Not much help eh?

In roughly 60 days in the bush of South Africa and Mozambique I’ve seen exactly 3 snakes. A gaboon viper in Mozambique while stalking nyala. My tracker almost stepped on it but heard it hiss like many pit vipers will do. We moved him off of the trail and continued on our stalk.
The second was a smallish black mamba of about 8 feet. We were hanging a leopard bait along a sluggish river and the snake started to swim across but was intercepted by a crocodile.

The only snake I’ve seen in South Africa (Eastern Cape) was a cape cobra being carried away by an aptly named snake eagle.

We did see a track made by a python in the Limpopo province that was about 10 inches wide. Actually I would have seen him.

I’ve actually spent some time looking for snakes in Africa but havent had much luck while actually looking for them.

Most of my time the weather has been too cold for snakes to be very active.

Snakes tend to be an everyday thing around our home so they don’t bother me much, mostly cottonmouth, eastern diamond backs and the odd coral snake so I’ve kinda gotten used to them.

As far as the other question, my wife snd daughter have just found a hidden spot and done their business. As someone else mentioned just stay out of the long grass and away from fallen logs and rocks.

@BryceM, there was a PH in Mozambique that died from a cobra bite a few years ago, they just didn’t get him any antibiotics venom in time. Don’t really remember the details.

BryceM said:

I've spent maybe 4 months total in the bush in Africa. During that time I've personally seen 2 puff adders and 2 cape cobras. All of them were trying to get away. Another hunter in our party once saw 2 puff adders in the same trip and the PH had to jump away from one of them.

Snakes can kill you for sure, but........ We have plenty of Western diamondbacks where I live. I asked one of the old silverback ER physicians how many snakebites he'd taken care of over the years. He estimated about 20. I asked him how many of those people were deliberately messing with the snake. He said 100%.

In all the years I've been on this forum I don't recall hearing of a hunter, PH, or any member of a hunting party ever bitten by a venomous snake. I could have missed one, I suppose....... Fill me in if I'm wrong.

As for nature's call, my wife has been many times, as has my sister. The PH's wife is often along too. I have no idea what they do, but I assume they figure it out. Not much help eh?

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There’s a hunting video from Dalton and York and one of them think it’s Dalton was in a leg brace from a snake bite.

ElevenBravo said:

) Apparently SA has a lot of snakes, many of which are venomous. What is the likelihood of encountering something like a mamba, puff adder, or cobra? Are snakeproof gaiters recommended? We ran into a water moccasin last year while hog hunting in Texas. I blew it apart with my 45-70, which she found amusing getting rained on with snake bits but afterwards started getting a little anxious about running into another one.

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In 5 trips to Africa, total 45 days boots on the ground, I saw snakes only once. Mamba and cape cobra, 2 days apart. And in both cases they were sunbathing on the road. i was not stalking or similar, I have just seen them from a car.
It was first week of september in Namibia.
2 sightings in 45 days on the ground in 5 safaris

I asked about snakes on the farm then.
They do not keep antivenom of any kind.
In 30 years of running the farm, with dozens of clients per year, they never had a snake bite.

One more detail. In the area where I hunted, they also have non venomous rock python.
In 30 years, PH on the farm saw rock python only once,

Snakeproof gaiters, I see no harm in having them unless they are heavy or clumsy.

They are like parachute. You will never need them, but if you do need them, you will need them badly. I saw other clients in the camp. I know several PH's, never saw anybody wearing gaiters.

On a large sample like this forum, nobody ever reported a snake bite.
However, tick bites are not uncommon, take a rep for them

ElevenBravo said:

2) A question probably better suited for the women of the forum, but what do you do when you gotta go while out in the field?

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When you really gotta do what you gotta do, you just do. It is not debatable
Plenty of bush around to provide privacy.
And plenty of leaves for second part of operation.
Smart PH will have some emergency role of paper.
You can take role of paper in your backpack as well.
The rest is up to imagination

On snake bites, attacks, as I have been in multiple African countries, some times for extended periods & lived & worked in Australian Outback it is inevitable that encounters will happen.

Had a Spitting Cobra spit & miss my eyes just after hitting one of the house Dogs in Kenya, couple of close calls with Mamba, Eastern Browns & Death Adders, was actually struck on the boot by a Brown, which I thought at the time of impact was a stick flicking up but was in fact a Tick riddled Snake on his last few breaths, which it was as I killed him, when I skinned him out he had massive blood clots where the Ticks had sucked him to near Death, had I been wearing short boots so could I have been.

Treated a lot of UTIs in the desert due to female soldiers holding it. The ones that figured out a poncho covered everything did fine. Remember they had to have a beauty shop there also. Male vs Female never the same....ok there will always be a few....very few. My PC filter has been turned off for years.

I encountered the Puff Adder and the Mamba. I don't wear snake proof boots or gaiters, the snakes always ran away from us. I attached a photo of the Mamba we came across.

coreydb said:

I encountered the Puff Adder and the Mamba. I don't wear snake proof boots or gaiters, the snakes always ran away from us. I attached a photo of the Mamba we came across.

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That Mamba’s running days are over Eh ?

Three trips to Africa and only once saw a snake, a cape cobra, crossing the road in Namibia, that was in November. I think you are safe during the winter season but if you want to be more safe it is no harm to buy snake proof gaiters.

Been a lot. Snakes are rarely seen due to it is winter when you go.
As to peeing - "pop a squat" is the tried and true. She never go camping before???

Sarg said:

That Mamba’s running days are over Eh ?

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Yep.....killed entirely.....by the PH.

dogcat1 said:

Been a lot. Snakes are rarely seen due to it is winter when you go.
As to peeing - "pop a squat" is the tried and true. She never go camping before???

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not very much and never in a place that didn't have Andy Gumps or something similar.

In my many trips I've seen mambas on 3 occasions, saw a puff adder once, saw a couple of cobras, but look at it this way, when is the last time you read on this forum where a hunter died of a snake bite? Then realize that wherever you are hunting, all of those people have spent their life out in the field hunting and doing whatever chores are needed to keep a hunting camp going, and you don't hear of them getting bitten.

If either of you would feel more at ease wearing snake proof gaiters, they make some that are pretty comfortable, and I wouldn't feel embarrassed wearing a pair.

4 trips over.

Eastern cape of South Africa in June. No snakes

Northwest province of South Africa in July. No snakes

Botswana in July. No snakes.

Botswana in April. Snakes freaking everywhere. New tent camp. They killed 4 puff adders in camp. I saw 3 puff adders, a banded cobra, a mamba. A tracker in a separate truck looking for elephant on my hunt was killed by a mamba on day 5 of the hunt. He was napping in the shade at lunch and a mamba crawled over him. He freaked and it bit him on the arm. They got him to a clinic within 2 hours and administered anti-venom but he passed away that evening.

ElevenBravo said:

The Mrs. is getting into the spirit of things but has asked me a couple of questions that I can't answer so I'll leave it to the old timers who have done it before:

1) Apparently SA has a lot of snakes, many of which are venomous. What is the likelihood of encountering something like a mamba, puff adder, or cobra? Are snakeproof gaiters recommended? We ran into a water moccasin last year while hog hunting in Texas. I blew it apart with my 45-70, which she found amusing getting rained on with snake bits but afterwards started getting a little anxious about running into another one.

2) A question probably better suited for the women of the forum, but what do you do when you gotta go while out in the field?

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In multiple trips to Zim, SA and Namibia (april-october) I've seen one puff adder and one cobra. Snakes are a non issue.

I would certainly not bring snake chaps lol…
I wouldn’t worry about snakes in the least…you might see one from the truck or where one crossed the road.
Zero to worry about…
As to your wife…. Some toilet paper and a bit of privacy.
My wife has gone three times and my daughter twice.
No different than if you go hiking or camping somewhere here.
As Scott said… perhaps go with her to make her feel more secure (but my wife would tell me to go away lol)

1: Snakes are the last thing to worry about. I’ve hunted Africa my whole life and seen maybe 50 or so. There’s also no reason to kill them. Most of the best camps have snake removal equipment.

2: A roll of white gold and some privacy has your second question covered.

Too much is being made about snakes. If you are worried about snakes wear those low gaiters. Snakes want to avoid you. Just pay attention to things. My family and I have seen a few including Black Mamba, puff adder and spitting cobra after many trips to Afrcia and countless walks in the bush. The Ph and the blacks look after all that for you. If you want to hear fear in action, it's when the black mamas see a spitting cobra in the kitchen door way. They scream like hell until somebody comes and kills it with a shovel. ( One time the cook found a Puff adder being the stove. In the bush you are always walking behind a Guide, PH or tracker. He/she will see any snake long before you do.

Remember that our summer is South Africa's winter, snakes are all hibernating! There is nothing to worry about when you are in the African bush with a PH and tracker. ( If you need to go behind bush to "wizz", ask the Ph to walk over and check the spot first. He will understand completely. That is part of his job. )

If you want to worry, save it for when you are in that G.D. OR Tambo Airport! It is infested with thieves.