'Bloody surreal': Rare venomous sea snake washes up on NZ beach

You expect driftwood, maybe a washed-up jellyfish… but a venomous sea snake? Nope.

That’s exactly what turned up on Ohope Beach this week, and yeah - it’s as wild as it sounds.

The visitor in question was a yellow-bellied sea snake, one of the only sea snakes you’ll ever (hopefully never) see this far south. According to DOC, they’re extremely venomous - but not considered dangerous unless handled.

A beachgoer who came across the snake spoke to George FM Breakfast, saying: 

“It was bloody surreal.”

She said she almost walked straight past it, thinking it was just another eel doing its thing. That was until she clocked the bright yellow colouring.

“I was heading out for my morning walk and literally just stumbled across that snake,” she said.

As you do.

DOC says snakes like this don’t tend to stick around in Aotearoa for long. Our waters are usually way too cold for them.

It’s likely a recent weather event swept the snake down to our shores.

And while it might sound like something out of an Aussie beach horror story, sightings like this are super rare here. New Zealand is famously snake-free - one of the flexes we have on the rest of the world.

Still, it’s a good reminder: if you see something resembling a snake at the beach… maybe don’t poke it for the group chat.

Snap a pic, keep your distance, and let the pros handle it.