The Wild Kingdom

Freaked. That is the word of today as I write down my journey to Brisbane.

Many of my friends at BYU have exclaimed, “Your mission is so cool.” For the most part that has been the general response. Until I went to Kinkos to make some copies of some Visa stuff with my dad.

For those of you living outside the state of Utah, pretty much everyone here is Mormon, especially in Provo. So when my dad and I went to Kinkos and handed the guy some forms to copy he knew I was going on a mission. His words, “Man I do not envy you. Australia has some of the deadliest animals in the world just roaming around.”

WHAT??? Here I thought I was the luckiest person in the world, getting to go to a place where it is never below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Naturally, when I got back to my dorm room the first thing I did was Google Australian animals.

There’s three I won’t really have to worry about since missionaries aren’t allowed to swim—The Box Jellyfish, The Great White Shark and then there is the Saltwater Crocodile. I should’ve known about the jellyfish and great whites, I mean how many times have I watched Finding Nemo while babysitting. Nemo’s dad and Dori encounter the Great White and Box Jelly Fish. Thank you Disney for preparing me!

Snakes. I hate them, but they are all over Australia and none of them seem to be harmless garden snakes. There’s the Taipan Snake, which has the most toxic venom in the world. Then the Brown Snakes—which are pretty bad anywhere—but in Australia the Brown Snakes have fast killing venom. Then the least scary of the snakes in Australia is the Tiger Snake. These snakes are smart and usually retreat when approached. Thank goodness!

 

Spiders. Gross and hairy. The Red Back Spider has neurotic venom, which causes extreme pain. And the Funnel Web Spider is highly populated on the East Coast of Australia. Lucky me. I am on the East Coast of Australia so my chances of coming across at least one of these hairy eight legged creatures is very possible.

 

In the end these creatures are very intimidating and I am a little freaked out about my chances of meeting one day. However, I know I will be protected and thankfully I will be serving near a hospital so if anything does happen I can receive the right medical attention.