SSG Bandage Bear TB

We went to where there was a cache GCBGDM8 on a small island you could walk to on low tide. This was opposite a small cliff face. We walked down the narrow steep track near there that led to a rock shelf you could walk around the base of the cliff to where the small island was. When we arrived at the rock shelf, we thought it looked like it might be too slippery and we thought we probably wouldn't do it. Mrs TiedyeSmileys thought she would see how slippery it actually was.

She found out.

She took one step on the slippery bit and her right foot shot out forwards but her left foot twisted around and there was a loud crack like a branch snapping and down she went.

Called 000. This was at Middle Point near Hobart Airport. It took about 20 min for the Ambulance to arrive. They then called for extraction help. There was a small jetty there but that was high chest height above the rock shelf. The track going up the cliff was fairly narrow and rough and steep. The decided to have the water police come to take her out by water rather than try up the track (any movement sent sharp pain through her leg).
The local police also turned up to assist. The water police had a shallow draft barge type tinny they brought from their depot in the Northern suburbs of Hobart (Glenorchy) which they put into the water nearby. That came around to us slowly. Turns out that was the first time they had used it in 12 months and it was having trouble with a water pump or something. I had a name badge from the Hobart MEGA geocaching event we had been at and was able to give them the safety pin from it which they used to fix/clear the blockage.

There were blankets spread on the rocks by the paramedics. These weren't the welcome carpet for the water police, they were to stop anyone else from slipping.

All up it was about 2 hours from when it happened until she was loaded onto the boat. A long time for her lying on the wet rocks.

She was taken to Calvary Lenah Valley Hospital. There was a delay there for a few hours for x-rays, but as soon as they were done, surgery was organised and she was in theatre about an hour later. She managed to snap her Tibia (the bigger bone) just below her knee which spiral fractured downwards and fibula above the ankle. She also cracked her ankle bone.

Surgery was to insert a rod into her tibia and pins from the fibula to this. Also when the bones snapped, the smaller fibula punctured her skin then went back in so they had to clean that out.

She has an Aircast boot on her leg to support all this. She can hobble around with touch pressure only, not weight bearing on it for the next couple of weeks, then progressively smaller amounts of weight.

This was her little adventure, about 16 years after Mrs TiedyeSmileys fell off her bike cycling to a cache in the Adelaide Hills, breaking her Elbow and requiring surgery for that as well.

This story was copied from Facebook.
20/12/25
Sarah Eastlake-Smith Will be spending the night at Campbelltown Hospital under observation after an Eastern Brown snake got stuck in the loop at the back of my shoe. I was near GCB88TC and after an unsuccessful search, I started walking back to the car only to find the snake around my ankle. Called 000 and 15 mins later, the paramedics turned up and we waited for the snake catcher to arrive. I wasn't bitten but the paramedics treated it as though I was just in case there was a potential bite through my sock. First blood test has come back clear.
Update 21/12/25
Update: I arrived home about an hour ago. Last night, after the splint and bandage was done removed, I noticed my lower leg was hurting a little bit when I walked around. My leg is still quite sore because there are a few puncture wounds showing that I was actually bitten. This is the first I knew about dry snake bites. Yesterday we thought the area around my ankle, where I already had a small abrasion, was just irritated from the long grass and heat. Now it looks like I won't be caching until my leg stops hurting.
*PSA - one of the nurses asked if my tetanus vaccine was up to date. I had the DPT Boostrix vaccine earlier this year so I was covered. If you can't remember when your last tetanus shot was, please get a booster.
Update 22/12/25
Reptile Relocation Sydney is feeling glad in Narellan, New South Wales, Australia.
Saturday afternoon’s job was without a doubt the most bizarre call I’ve ever attended.
I received a call from NSW Ambulance requesting urgent assistance for a possible brown snake bite. They advised that if the snake could still be present, and they needed it removed before they could safely treat the patient. Ambulance were already on the way.
While I was on the way, they rang again and said they were sending me a photo so I could identify the snake. As soon as I saw it, I confirmed 100% that it was an Eastern Brown Snake.
What I saw next was something I still can’t quite believe.
The snake had gone into the small loop at the back used to pull shoes on and had become completely wedged. The odds of that happening are almost nil. It was absolutely unreal.
At that point, everything changed.
This wasn’t adrenaline anymore, it was a sudden feeling of heaviness, The reality hit hard. This lady was standing in the middle of the road on a 36–38°C day, with an Eastern Brown Snake stuck in her shoe. Brown snakes are highly reactive when stressed, and there was nowhere to take cover, nowhere to approach from safely, and no room for error.
Any sudden movement could cause the snake to react.
If it reacted, it could bite her.
If it bit her, the consequences could be fatal.
Every decision mattered. Her life was literally in my hands.
When I arrived and assessed the situation, i could see the heat had begun to affect the snake. It was showing signs of heat stress and wasn’t as reactive as it normally would be. That small window gave us a chance.
I carefully pinned the snake, and worked to free the lady from this terrifying situation. The snake was wedged so tightly that it couldn’t be moved forward or backward, the only option was to cut the heel loop open to release it.
When she was finally free, the relief was overwhelming.
Due to privacy laws, I wasn’t given any personal details, but I was later told that she went home from hospital. That’s all I needed to hear, she’s alive, and that’s what matters.
We did ask how it happened. She had been geocaching, searching in a garden bed, felt something touch her leg, ran into the road, looked down and realised there was a snake in her shoe.
An absolutely insane situation, one I’ll never forget, and a reminder of how quickly things can escalate and how important calm, measured decisions are in moments like these.
If the lady happens to read this, I’d genuinely love to hear how you’re doing.
Stay safe out there.
🐍Eastern Brown Snake
📞Cory 0455 570 000
#reptilerelocationsydney #snakecatcher #venomoussnakes #24hourservice #snakeremoval #sydneyaustralia #strayanimals #geocaching #geocachingadventures

Discovered at a geocaching event. Thankfully no injuries meant no bandage bear 🐻 😅🇦🇺!