The last thing a barely-awake Mark Lawlor of Umtentweni expected to find while reaching for a coffee cup in the cupboard at 04:00 was a green mamba curled around the sugar container. The mamba was probably equally as surprised – it was 04:00 after all and who’s awake at that time?

Mark had gotten up early, as is his usual morning routine in getting to his gym in Port Shepstone. Mark is extremely well known in the gym and bodybuilding industry as has been for many years, both locally and further afield.

He opened the cupboard (which is at roughly the same height as his face) where the coffee and sugar are kept – and reached into the cupboard to get the coffee. His close vision eyesight, like many over a certain age, is not as sharp as it once was. Hence, there was an element of feeling around for the coffee in the cupboard, in the early morning when everything is still coming in to focus.

Sarel van der Merwe catching the mamba in the cupboard.

“At first I didn’t notice the snake. I was irritated that the sachets from the Jacobs box had fallen out everywhere in the cupboard. But, then something didn’t feel right… and then I saw it. Well, I guess I also touched it. The snake was less than half a metre from my face. It was the last thing I expected as the cupboard is always closed,” he said.

Mark added that he kept calm like all ‘super-humans’ do.  “I wasn’t too stressed as the snake would have battled to penetrate my rock hard muscles,” he joked.

Mark immediately called snake-catcher Sarel van der Merwe, who was having some hassles with his car’s radiator. In the end, Mark fetched Sarel and brought him back to the house to catch the snake. After the snake was caught and placed safely in a bucket, Mark and Sarel enjoyed a strong cup of coffee together.

If you need a snake removed, contact Sarel on  082 6831604.

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