AAP has reported that two school teachers were bitten by the same snake at a Christmas function in the South Australian desert.
Teacher Lauren Williams was bitten on the foot at Watson on the Nullarbor Plain; one of the most remote parts of Australia’s outback.
Ms Williams was among a crowd of people who had travelled to the Indian Pacific train track, where Santa was arriving to hand out candy and gifts to schoolchildren.
She had escorted her class from almost 300 kilometres away.
Another teacher, Bob Sim, who was with another school, was bitten on the finger as he captured the metre-long reptile.
He declined to go to hospital and later released the snake back into the wild.
It is believed the snake was a poisonous yellow-faced whip snake.
Ms Williams was treated at the scene by a Royal Flying Doctor GP who happened to be travelling on the train.
She was then taken to meet a Royal Flying Doctor plane, which transported her to hospital.
The annual rail trip had been organised to raise money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.