This is one of the largest spiders in the world, the Golden Orb Weaver and they spin enormously large webs. I came across this rather large lady in the rain forests of Australia’s, Kuranda National Park. It was pointed out to me by one of my excited students, telling me “it was the biggest spider they had ever seen!” The webs of this species can reach up to 15 to 20 feet and can be anchored in a multidimensional fashion, sometimes over a 8 foot deep span. This is an observation I have made by running into and through their webs in Florida’s outback, not Australia’s. The webs I have seen in Australia weren’t quite as large or complicated as their Florida brethren. Although I can say that the Australian Orb Weaver is indeed a bigger spider and not quite as hairy. The smaller spiders on the flip side of the web are the males and you will often see more than one.
I took this shot with my Canon EF f/2.8L USM Macro lens. I love this lens for macro in the field, quick, sharp and fast.
Eric Blackmore Photography 
Stunning shot, Eric. Sure glad we didn’t run into any when we were in Kuranda. I’ll bet those males are thinking the same…
I have only seen of few of them both times I was in OZ. Here in Florida you can find them everywhere.