Outback adventures part 5 - Mount Surprise

I take the bus to Mount Surprise (pop. 160) and find at a rest stop a toilet with three large green frogs in it! In Mount Surprise, there’s not much to do so I watch TV in my air conditioned room and take some more pictures at sunset, when it has cooled down a bit.

After checking out of my motel on the day I leave, I walk around, having a few hours to kill before my bus to Atherton departs. I pass the pub and the general store and have now almost reached the end of the town when I see a man waving his snake at me. 

No, not what you think. He’s a real black headed python named Clancy. The man’s name is Russell, and he asks me if I liked snakes. I tentatively nod and a second later, I have Clancy around my neck. I also meet Wendy, a carpet snake, who is much colder, stronger and more tense around my neck. I’m less relaxed with her. They don’t mind to cuddle, and Russell explains a bit about snakes, and even makes me a good price for my coffee that I have later in his barn/cafe/museum/shop. Later, I meet Justin, a kid from Brisbane, now a track worker in Mount Surprise, who’s very curious what a stranger like me is doing here, in the middle of nowhere. He kindly entertains me until my bus to Atherton arrives. Not much else to do for him either I guess.