Silverback (Seychelles Palm Spider)

Yes this is it... the monster I’ve been talking about; the biggest spider I have ever seen, quite a lot bigger even than the wasp spiders I saw in France a couple of years ago.

I was braver once the wind had dropped and the 2m web had stopped flapping about like a giant net to catch me! Close up, with more light highlighting her silver back, she’s more beautiful than I thought. If you zoom in you’ll see she’s slightly downy and clearly bashful, as she’s hiding her face. What you miss however is her size - about 5” or 12.5cm. I will also mention that for the sake of Blip, I put one foot into the vegetation, which I feel warrants a bravery or stupidity award I’m not sure which?

For those who haven’t already departed swiftly, her underside is in extras and her real name is Seychelles Palm Spider. She may well grow to 20cm or 8”!

I had a first go at teaching Dad to snorkel today. Given he’s pretty much a non swimmer, he did fantastically well just to put his face in the water and take his feet off the bottom (with me guiding him along). Mum is a little more confident and swam a little after some help getting started from Lauren and Anthony, so we will try slightly deeper water tomorrow with buoyancy jackets.

The weather has been mixed windy, sunny, overcast and wet. Little wonder it’s a verdant jungle. Full of giant spiders!