Hikers warned to tread cautiously after close call with snake

A hiker traipsing through the southern Drakensberg near the Bushman’s Nek border post in KwaZulu-Natal had a close call with a puff adder recently. 

According to the Underberg EMS team, who were called to the scene by a resident in the area, the 38-year-old male was indeed hit by a puff adder bite. 

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 Luckily, the snake bit his shoe, and left only a small puncture wound to his right foot.

Paramedics immediately called on Ezemvelo Wildlife rangers to attend to the scene on horseback to fetch the hiker. 

After it was found the hiker had likely only experienced a “dry bite”, he was transported to a Pietermaritzburg hospital for further treatment. 

Underberg EMS urged hikers to walk with extreme caution, with this being the second snake bit in the past week in the area. 

Nica Richards