Advice re Katoomba & Spiders!

Hi, I've another question. We'd like to visit Katoomba. Could anyone
reccommend a good place
to stay that would range from 120-170 a night for 6 people? Like most
people, we're trying to do
things on the cheap but a lot of the websites for Katoomba list very
expensive accommodation.

Also, my nephew is freaked out about Australian spiders and thinks there
will be one lurking under
each blanket. What is it with the spiders anyhow? They'd be deep in the
bush, right? He thinks we
have to be extra cautious or something. Now he's got my mom worried and
it's getting contagious.
What's the real story? Thanks.

Kathy in BC, Canada

Of course there are spiders, just as there are wolves in Canada - and I'm
sure more Canadians die under the fangs of wolves each year than Australians
die from spider bite!!! Only 2 venomous spiders are common - the redback,
which is a nervous and reclusive distant relative of the black widow (which
I believe is in Canada) - and the funnel web which is a ground dwelling
spider and not aggressive unless you break into its tunnel. I can't remember
when the last spider bite fatality occurred!!!

For cheapish accommodation go to the Blue Mountains option on:

http://www.wotif.com.au



"Kathy Garner" wrote in message
news:%xfoc.66$RM.40@edtnps89...
Hi, I've another question. We'd like to visit Katoomba. Could anyone
reccommend a good place
to stay that would range from 120-170 a night for 6 people? Like most
people, we're trying to do
things on the cheap but a lot of the websites for Katoomba list very
expensive accommodation.

Also, my nephew is freaked out about Australian spiders and thinks there
will be one lurking under
each blanket. What is it with the spiders anyhow? They'd be deep in the
bush, right? He thinks we
have to be extra cautious or something. Now he's got my mom worried and
it's getting contagious.
What's the real story? Thanks.

Kathy in BC, Canada

Now, calm down, "A Mate" I'll forward your reply to the kid.
Nope, never seen a wolf...only a sasquatch! :-)

Thanks for the link.

Kathy

A Mate wrote:

Of course there are spiders, just as there are wolves in Canada - and I'm
sure more Canadians die under the fangs of wolves each year than Australians
die from spider bite!!! Only 2 venomous spiders are common - the redback,
which is a nervous and reclusive distant relative of the black widow (which
I believe is in Canada) - and the funnel web which is a ground dwelling
spider and not aggressive unless you break into its tunnel. I can't remember
when the last spider bite fatality occurred!!!

For cheapish accommodation go to the Blue Mountains option on:

http://www.wotif.com.au



"Kathy Garner" wrote in message
news:%xfoc.66$RM.40@edtnps89...


Hi, I've another question. We'd like to visit Katoomba. Could anyone
reccommend a good place
to stay that would range from 120-170 a night for 6 people? Like most
people, we're trying to do
things on the cheap but a lot of the websites for Katoomba list very
expensive accommodation.

Also, my nephew is freaked out about Australian spiders and thinks there
will be one lurking under
each blanket. What is it with the spiders anyhow? They'd be deep in the
bush, right? He thinks we
have to be extra cautious or something. Now he's got my mom worried and
it's getting contagious.
What's the real story? Thanks.

Kathy in BC, Canada

In article ,
"A Mate" wrote:

Of course there are spiders, just as there are wolves in Canada - and I'm
sure more Canadians die under the fangs of wolves each year than Australians
die from spider bite!!! Only 2 venomous spiders are common - the redback,

uh no, You are perpetuating myths. No one has been killed by wolves in
Canada for a generation or 2. Dogs, definitewly, dingoes definitely,
but not wolves.

I wager more Aussies die from spiders in..... 6 months than Canadians
from wolves in the past 20 years

which is a nervous and reclusive distant relative of the black widow (which
I believe is in Canada) - and the funnel web which is a ground dwelling
spider and not aggressive unless you break into its tunnel. I can't remember
when the last spider bite fatality occurred!!!

For cheapish accommodation go to the Blue Mountains option on:

http://www.wotif.com.au



"Kathy Garner" wrote in message
news:%xfoc.66$RM.40@edtnps89...
Hi, I've another question. We'd like to visit Katoomba. Could anyone
reccommend a good place
to stay that would range from 120-170 a night for 6 people? Like most
people, we're trying to do
things on the cheap but a lot of the websites for Katoomba list very
expensive accommodation.

Also, my nephew is freaked out about Australian spiders and thinks there
will be one lurking under
each blanket. What is it with the spiders anyhow? They'd be deep in the
bush, right? He thinks we
have to be extra cautious or something. Now he's got my mom worried and
it's getting contagious.
What's the real story? Thanks.

Kathy in BC, Canada

"Not the Karl Orff" wrote in message news:canwine-
I wager more Aussies die from spiders in..... 6 months than Canadians
from wolves in the past 20 years




Interestingly-

http://www.general.monash.edu.au/muarc/hazard/haz35.pdf


reports 46 cases of spider bite attending emergency departments in Victoria
in 5 years, with NO deaths,

There were 5 deaths in those 5 years from other stings/bites - 3 from
allergic reaction to bee stings and 2 from snake bite.

For heavens sake - be VERY careful crossing the road.

--
Tony Bailey
Mercury Travel Books

"Not the Karl Orff" wrote in message news:canwine-
I wager more Aussies die from spiders in..... 6 months than Canadians
from wolves in the past 20 years
Overseas visitors to Queensland may find the reasons for hospital visits
listed here of interest-


http://www.qtic.com.au/documents/WILKS2_000.pdf

As one might expect, the major risk is MVAs!

--
Tony Bailey
Mercury Travel Books

"Not the Karl Orff" wrote in message news:canwine-
I wager more Aussies die from spiders in..... 6 months than Canadians
from wolves in the past 20 years


For those interested in snake bite treatment -

http://www.rfds.org.au/monographs/snakebite.pdf

This paper seems to suggest that snake bite treatment is so advanced in
Australia, that, if you must be bitten - Australia, in the vicinity of a
hospital, is probably the safest place to have it happen -

BTW 2.6 deaths per year - MVA about 3 000!

--
Tony Bailey
Mercury Travel Books

"Tony Bailey" wrote in message
...
"Not the Karl Orff" wrote in message news:canwine-
I wager more Aussies die from spiders in..... 6 months than Canadians
from wolves in the past 20 years


For those interested in snake bite treatment -

http://www.rfds.org.au/monographs/snakebite.pdf

I liked the following section:

Snake bite sometimes follows alcohol consumption. This can make initial
management difficult. Stories of drunks and snakes abound, and a favourite
true one is of a drunken man who was bitten by a Brown Snake and so returned
the compliment. He arrived in casualty holding a well-chewed snake and
promptly collapsed, having succumbed to the combined effects of alcohol and
snake venom.

LOL!

Tom

P.S. On my last rtip to Australia, I saw 4 snakes, all of which I think were
Tiger Snakes. This was during a 10 day trip to the SW corner of WA. We came
across them hiking, and in all instances they slithered away very quickly -
they were not going to hang around. Of course, we took the precaution of
walking with very heavy footsteps when we were in or near long grass or
thick overgrowth.


This paper seems to suggest that snake bite treatment is so advanced in
Australia, that, if you must be bitten - Australia, in the vicinity of a
hospital, is probably the safest place to have it happen -

BTW 2.6 deaths per year - MVA about 3 000!

--
Tony Bailey
Mercury Travel Books

"Tony Bailey" writes:

"Not the Karl Orff" wrote in message news:canwine-
I wager more Aussies die from spiders in..... 6 months than Canadians
from wolves in the past 20 years


For those interested in snake bite treatment -

http://www.rfds.org.au/monographs/snakebite.pdf

This paper seems to suggest that snake bite treatment is so advanced in
Australia, that, if you must be bitten - Australia, in the vicinity of a
hospital, is probably the safest place to have it happen -

Because treatment with antivenene is now the norm, and is highly effective.
Even the exceedingly neurotoxic venom secreted by sea snakes can be
treated with the antinvenene for the land-based tiger snake.
Same deal with funnelweb bites.

Not many deaths from sea wasps these days, either. Most jellyfish stings
can be neutralised with vinegar, which is why you see large plastic bottles
of the stuff on beaches along the east coast.

But there's always sal****er crocodiles. Crocodylus porosus still gets a few
tourists every year.

Mike McBain
Melbourne, Australia

Not the Karl Orff wrote in message ...
uh no, You are perpetuating myths. No one has been killed by wolves in
Canada for a generation or 2. Dogs, definitewly, dingoes definitely,
but not wolves.
Oh, that does it. I'm never going north of the border again--Cujo the
Dingo might kill me!

Back to the question of dangerous critters... Yes, there is an amazing
diversity of them in Australia. But I think the real problem is that
people tend to leave their common sense or alertness behind when they
go on vacation. Kathy my guess is that BC has poison ivy/oak/sumac, or
venomous spiders, or hornet nests, etc. Yet both you and your nephew
are still alive. The odds are strongly in your favor of returning from
Australia unscathed as well--provided you don't assume "I'm on
vacation! I can poke around blindly under rocks!"

If you're really worried, go ahead and do a quick bed check for peace
of mind (even here in North America, summertime means I do a quick
night check for earwigs on the sheet and mosquitoes on the walls, and
a quick morning check for spiders before I take a shower) and use a
flashlight if you head to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Nancy