At Least the Spiders Won’t Kill you: Overcoming Arachnophobia in Africa

I was taking an overnight train across Zimbabwe.

A group of curious local women were sitting with me in the compartment and asking all about my solo trip:

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“You’re so brave!!!”

I blushed and stammered about how it wasn’t that special- most of them were technically traveling alone, too.

They insisted: “But you are still very BRAVE!”

Immediately after I noticed there was a spider by my hand. I jumped up and basically ran out of the compartment squealing like a baby.

See Also: Taking Trains Across Africa

The women burst out laughing- “You are not afraid to travel across Africa alone but you are afraid of this spider?!”

They were right. What in the world was wrong with me?

A few weeks later I was alone in my tiny tent listening to lions roar somewhere in the wilderness.

I was camping at a safari lodge with bathroom facilities, and so I summoned up the courage to leave my tent and run over to relieve myself. I breathed a sigh of relief  when I made it inside.

I went to the toilet, and as I tried to lock the door an enormous spider ran out from behind the lock. I squealed and froze. I preferred my spider-free tent (that was possibly surrounded by lions) to that tiny bathroom stall.

There are spiders everywhere.

When you look at a guide book to anywhere I doubt they mention big nasty spiders. When I hopped on my flight to the African continent I had more important things on my mind than spiders in Africa. When I look back at my trip I think of all the amazing experiences I had and forget the fact that, well, there were huge, disgusting spiders everywhere.

See Also: My Southern Africa Trip Overview

But during my trip, during the mundane, day to day parts; the get from point A to point B parts; the “where am I going to sleep tonight?” parts; well, spiders were everywhere and, at least at the beginning, it was very difficult for me.

Spiders on my bag. Spiders in bathrooms. Spiders on the walls. Spiders on doorknobs. Spiders on ME…

But there are a lot of other things to worry about…

That peaceful river is full of crocodiles that want to eat you. The nice forest has black mambas in it that will kill you with one bite. The bus you are taking is overcrowded and one small error on the driver’s part could cost you your life.

See Also: Safety Tips for Camping in Africa

When you walk to the safari lodge’s bathroom at night you could piss off a hippo who will kill you.

There are dangerous people on the streets after dark. Trains can derail.

I mean, you will find bad drivers and train derailments all over the world. The threats unique to the African continent involve African wildlife.

But you know what?

The spiders can’t kill you!

Among the deadliest spiders in the world, very few, if any, actually live in Africa. And a lot of the fatalities attributed to them are disputed anyway.

Spider venom kills small animals, and thankfully we humans are just too big. Sure, some of these little guys can still give painful bites that require medical treatment, but unless you have a specific allergy to these bites you don’t have much to worry about on the African continent.

The amazing safari guides at the lodges always assured my pathetic self that I had absolutely nothing to worry about.

As I spent more time wandering around Africa my arachnophobia took a back seat to my fear of being attacked by larger, scarier animals.

Dear spiders in Africa,

YOU DON’T SCARE ME!

My final test…

I decided to really prioritize my fears after some lions did decide to visit my campsite one night in Zambia.

The time eventually came when my new anti-arachnophobia stance was put to the test.

I was staying with a family in Zambia. It was a Couchsurfer’s dream: a whole bedroom to myself! I won the jackpot.

We said goodnight and when I went to my room I saw it: there were spiders everywhere.

I counted at least 10 on  the walls in the small room.

What was I going to do? Complain to my generous hosts? They must be used to them. The house was very clean. I don’t think it was really something they could control or really cared about.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, relieved to be in a cozy bed and not surrounded by enormous, wild animals. I forgot about the spiders and fell asleep right away.

They were all gone the next morning. WHERE DID THEY GO???

At least I can say that this big trip did make me a tiny bit braver…if anything the spiders in Africa don’t bother me so much anymore.