It is a fear that exists within many South Africans, especially in the Lowveld where about half of the national snake population exists. It’s called ophidiophobia, an extreme, overwhelming fear of these limbless reptiles with their long bodies.

A snake rearing its head from your shower’s drain, usually only exists in nightmares (where it should preferably stay) and the mere thought of it, is enough to send shivers down your spine.

But, as the old saying goes, “Africa is not for sissies.” Australian holidaymaker Lawrence Bowen experienced this during his visit to the Kruger National Park (KNP). He rightfully refers to his run-in with a Mozambican spitting cobra, as stuff of nightmares, which could have easily turned into a fight for survival.

Bowen returned to South Africa for the first time since the pandemic, after relocating to Melbourne 11 years ago, to celebrate his mother’s 80th birthday with her.
“We always try to include a trip to the Kruger when we visit,” he said. “I woke up at 05:00 wanting to get a head start as we were moving camps from Letaba to Satara that day (January 20). We had stayed at Letaba for four nights.

“At 05:00 the sun has not quite risen yet, so it’s still dark and I had to turn on the lights. I was the first awake and thankfully the first to jump into the shower (I can’t even think about what would have happened if my kids had encountered the snake),” he said, thankful to have escaped the ordeal unscathed.

“When I got into the shower there was no snake and the drain cover was as it should be. But halfway through my shower… I felt something around my feet, so looked down and to my absolute horror I saw the snake coiled around my feet in the shower with me! I had no idea what kind it was, focusing solely on getting myself to a safe space. It is all a bit of a blur as to how I managed to escape, but I essentially dived through the glass shower door and landed horizontally on my elbow on the bathroom floor, still covered in soap and dripping wet,” Bowen recalled.

Out of the shower, he managed to close the glass shower door to contain the snake, shouting for help (and a camera). “With all the commotion it had partially retreated into the drain and its head was just sticking out. Thank goodness the shower had a glass door and not a shower curtain!”

His wife joined him and they took some photos and a video, while assessing what to do next. “As the snake seemed happy to remain in the drain, we needed help to remove it.”

View the video below

“I got dressed and drove to the camp’s gate looking for somebody who could help. But at this time in the morning nobody was about. I tried the petrol station and the shop but to no avail. I then tried reception which was closed, but they had an emergency number on the door that I called. Thankfully someone answered and the said they would get someone to come help,” he said. Shortly thereafter (05:45) Bowen received a text message saying, “John is on his way to catch or remove the snake”. “Five minutes later, John (who we later worked out was a guide at Letaba) arrived in his bakkie to help us.”

ALSO READ: Quick action saves Hazyview baby from snakebite death

“I think he gets these kinds of calls quite often, so he was very relaxed. He said these calls don’t usually turn out to be a snake… usually it’s just a lizard. We walked into the bathroom with John and the snake was no longer in the shower. This was very disturbing as we did not know where it had gone,” he said. Bowen added that they rushed around the bungalow, putting plugs in the bathroom and kitchen drains, and closing the toilet.

“John suggested turning on the hot water in the bath, basin and shower to flush the snake out… assuming it was still in the pipes. We stood at the back of the bungalow where all the drainage pipes exit it and waited a bit. It did not take long for the snake to appear, but it shot out the pipe and went up another one and John was unable to grab it.

“Not long after this the snake appeared out of the pipe again and John was able to grab it. He had a long snake grabber. He said it was ‘rather placid by cobra standards’ as it had not lunged at him. But it did not take long before the snake spat venom at him (he was wearing sunglasses to protect his eyes).

“It took a while to get the snake into a cooler box, which he had on the back of his bakkie. It tried to escape a couple of times before John was able to close the lid. We were all so very grateful once the snake had been secured – and I felt justified to celebrate my lucky escape and its capture. John jumped into his bakkie with the cooler box on the passenger seat and drove off. He was going to release the snake into the bush away from the camp.”

Bowen said they were all really rattled by the whole incident, and had to regroup on their stoep with a cup of coffee and a rusk. “It worked out well that we were moving camps that day. I would not have been able to spend another night in that bungalow.”
He was thankful that their kids had slept through the whole ordeal. “We only told them about the snake once we had left the KNP five days later. There is no way they would have ever gone into a bathroom while we were in the park if they had known.”

ALSO READ: 8 Most-dangerous snakes of the Lowveld

Though one can now look back at the incident with gratitude, Bowen said he is rather disappointed in the park. “The drain cover should not have been that way and the incident, which could have had a much worse outcome, could have been avoided.”

“Though we love the Kruger and will return, we might consider staying outside the park in better accommodation or in one of the private camps.”

His last thought, for anyone anyone going to the KNP… “Make sure you keep all the doors and windows closed and please check the drain covers to make sure they are securely fitted!”