Family Rescued Near Kempsey Stunned by Swarm of Snakes, Spiders, and Frogs in Floodwaters
As record floods swept through parts of the NSW Mid North Coast, it wasn’t just rising water that terrified residents — it was what came with it.
Julie Botfield, a single mother living in Clybucca, near Kempsey, described the horror of watching her home’s bottom level become engulfed by water — along with a mass of wildlife, including snakes, spiders, and frogs.
“There were spiders galore, all different varieties, lots of frogs, lots of snakes, so yeah, quite scary,” she said.
Ms Botfield, along with her two children (aged 10 and 19) and their two dogs, was forced to evacuate early Friday morning. The family had watched in disbelief overnight as water levels rapidly rose around their rented home.
“I checked at 2am and there was no water near the paddock,” she recalled. “By 4am, it was in the paddock and just kept rising. It was like a river in the front and backyard.”
Though they were safe on the second floor of the house, their shed — containing many of their belongings and their car — was submerged.
“I was devastated,” Ms Botfield said. “All of my belongings are in the shed. It’s going to be a really big clean-up.”
Wildlife and Water Everywhere
After calling the SES and triple-zero without an immediate rescue, Ms Botfield phoned a friend with a boat. Boarding it was another challenge.
“It was really hard to get everyone into the boat. The spiders were everywhere, and the snakes and frogs. I didn’t want to put the kids in the water,” she said.
Once on board, she was shocked by the scene around her — the house itself was almost unrecognizable.
“It used to be yellow — but it had turned black with all the spiders crawling over it,” she said.
Neighbours Stay Behind, Watch and Wait
Just down the road, neighbour Holly Gaddes chose to stay on her cattle property. She and Ms Botfield stayed in close contact through the night, sharing updates.
“I was urging Julie to get out,” Ms Gaddes said. “We were texting all night — checking how things were at her place and mine.”
Ms Gaddes, who has lived in the area for over a decade, said she was prepared for floods — but the speed of this one was different.
“Floods don’t surprise us out here, but usually they take longer to reach us. This happened a lot quicker,” she said. “Even when you’re prepared, it can be a shock when it hits so fast.”
Despite the devastation, Ms Gaddes and her husband have no plans to leave their land.
“He grew up just across the road. His family’s been farming here for generations,” she said. “It’s such a beautiful part of the world.”
