There's three hollows in a big camphor laurel tree on Bob Skelton's Minmi property.
A huge diamond python has decided to take up residence there.
"He went up the tree, where the goanna and possum live," Bob said.
"There's three holes in the tree. I hope he picked the right one."
Bob, the 'Minmi Magster' bush poet, noted the importance of habitat trees.
"I reckon I should have been charging rent on that tree. I'll have to put a no-vacancy sign on it," he said.
The snake is extremely long and has a massive bulge in its belly.
Bob knows the snake is longer than the width of his driveway, which is eight foot [2.4 metres]. "I reckon it's near nine-foot [2.7 metres] long," he said.
Bob wondered whether the snake had eaten a young rabbit.
"Or is it a female with young'uns in its gut? I don't know," he said.
He took a video of the snake weaving its way through lattice.
"I don't know how it squeezed through. It went in and out. I thought it'd get jammed, but it didn't. They're a bit slimy," he said.
If the snake knew Bob was once a taxidermist, it may have steered clear.
"I've skinned a few of them back in the day. They make beautiful leather for a belt. I know they're protected now. And I didn't want to do that to him. He'll keep the rats away," he said.
The NSW environment department says on its website that: "All snakes are protected in NSW and killing one can be considered an offence. Only licensed people are allowed to catch or keep snakes." Fair enough, then.
Jim-dandy
Bob: "It's a bloody jim-dandy, that snake."
Topics: [laughing] "What's a jim-dandy?"
Bob: "It means it's pretty good. Our mate, that was his nickname. They called him Jim-dandy because if you asked him how he was going, he'd say 'Jim-dandy'."
Time for a getaway
With lockdown over and most people vaxxed up, travel is back.
Booking.com said the top 20 most searched domestic destinations for November to January by Australian users were: Gold Coast, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Cairns, Adelaide, Airlie Beach, Noosa Heads, Byron Bay, Mooloolaba, Hobart, Port Macquarie, Caloundra, Hervey Bay, Coffs Harbour, Port Douglas, Nelson Bay, Newcastle and Darwin.
Well, at least we got a mention. So where would you go? We'd go to Noosa. That place has a great vibe.
Top 20 most searched international destinations were: Fiji, Singapore, Dubai, London, Honolulu, Paris, Queenstown, New York, Bangkok, Patong Beach, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Phuket Town, Sorrento, Istanbul, Rome, Las Vegas, Bali, Hong Kong and Auckland. So where would you go? We'd go to New York. We'd love some of that "New York state of mind".
