I was bitten by a deadly snake and waited SEVEN hours to be rescued in a canyon hundreds of miles from civilization

A BRAVE mother waited seven hours to be taken to safety after being bitten by Australia’s most venomous snake while hiking in a remote gorge.

Megan Brouwer, 36, was with her husband and five-year-old son when the venomous snake attacked them in Karijini National Park – 300km from the nearest town.

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It took rescue workers and emergency services seven hours to lift them off the floor of one of the two Western Australia steepest gorges and brings them to safety.

The family had just started their return trek in the scenic Knox Gorge when Mrs Brouwer’s husband called out “snake”.

“I just knew from the way he screamed it that it was either on top of me or very close to me,” she said abc news.

“So I jumped around frantically for a moment and then saw it slip away out of the corner of my eye.”

She said she looked at her legs and saw blood and a stab wound from the brown snake.

Luckily, an off-duty doctor was nearby and applied a bandage to the wound.

The doctor, who had a first aid kit and a satellite phone on hand, managed to call the emergency services.

Mrs Brouwer said: “[The off-duty doctor] had a pressure bandage and put it on me.

“She also had a satellite phone in her hand… but unfortunately it didn’t work, we were so far down the gorge.

“So then she ran to the top of the gorge — which took about an hour or so.”

It took Karijini rangers, local police, state ambulance and St. John Ambulance volunteers seven hours to get Ms Brouwer and her family to safety at the nearest hospital.

She was carried across three pools of water while strapped to a stretcher before being lifted onto a narrow path lined with dozens of loose stones.

The mother said the exit route was “pretty hairy” at times and the whole experience was “like something I’ve never experienced before.”

“The path itself got pretty narrow at the edge of the cliff, and it was pretty scary for me to maneuver a stretcher around trees and up the cliff,” she said.

“There were also some unexpected things like wasp nests and lots of loose rock, so stand was really, really important.”

Luckily, Mrs. Brouwer had received a “dry bite” from the highly venomous snake.

She said: “I’ve since learned that if it caught me a second time, it might have been a venomous bite.

“But I am fine. I know a lot more about snakes and I know how best to be prepared when hiking in very remote areas.”

Ms. Brouwer thanked the rescue team for their efforts.

“Me and my family thank you all, we are eternally grateful,” she said.

The mum also stressed the importance of having a first aid kit with you on hikes, saying it could “make all the difference”.

The Gwardar or Western Brown Snake is one of Australia’s most venomous snakes.

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