Rough guide to snake safety

Triply lucky today at small local wetlands. Come close to stepping on grey-barred snake snoozing on rain-saturated track. Quick picture.

Step around and line up more composed shots. Snake tastes air. Acknowledges intrusion. Slowly eases into action. Slips gently away into longer grass. Resist urge to pat it goodbye.

Happy in ignorance. Assume it's an oddly marked non-venomous Keelback, though scales don't look right. Into town. Bump into snake breeder. Relate grey barring. Show pictures.

Rough-scaled Snake (Tropidechus carinatus), says breeder. Why didn't I capture it? (snakers are not like you and me!). Pretty easy answer to that one. Dangerously venomous, says Reptiles of Australia. Guidebook picture unlike in markings and colours, but head tells story.

Lucky to see snake, lucky it stuck around for pictures, lucky to forgo farewell pat.